13th Annual Ebertfest
The 13th annual Ebert Film Festival hosted by none-other-than Roger Ebert and his wife Chaz Ebert was held here, at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, just a few weeks ago. For those who are not familiar with the festival it should come to no surprise that it deals with plenty of film, but what may be unbeknownst to some is the wide variety of different films that are shown at the Ebertfest. From hand drawn, to documentary, independent or even silent films it can never be to clear what kind of film to expect.
These movies are usually chosen by Ebert himself and are typically ones that he feels are great but haven’t got the attention it deserved. This year the festival started its movie marathon with Metropolis, a 1927 silent film made in Germany, which is said to be the most expensive silent film ever made.
Many of who participated at the event where amazed by the film, not necessarily because of the plot but because of the history the film has had and what it has undergone. Over many decades some of the footage from the film was either damaged or destroyed which caused the movie to be reconstructed several times with more footage being rediscovered and a few new scenes put into the film to replace the lost.
Those who had the opportunity to see the film had the privilege of hearing the Alloy Orchestra live as they helped in making the experience that more entertaining. After every showing there is a question/answer and panel discussions with directors and actors apart of the film or other professionals who share their thoughts on the movie shown then the floor is open to people that still have questions about their thoughts on what they saw.
The festival consists of directors such as Paul Fierlinger, Sandra Schuette Fierlinger, Turner Ross, Bill Ross, Richard Linklater and many more. There were also actors/actresses such as David Call, Khomotso Manyaka, Tilda Swinton, and Rachael Harris who has been in films such has the hugely popular comedy “The Hangover” that attended the festival.
Those such as Robbie Pickering were fortunate to receive the “Golden Thumb” which is a golden casting of Roger Ebert’s thumb and is made by the same company that makes the Oscar awards.
Great, wonderful, outstanding, or spectacular are words that can’t even describe what the Ebert festival is because it is so much more than just viewing films. The event can inspire those who have interests in the movie industry to strive for that goal, and gives independent film makers with little to no money a chance to get their product out. The Ebertfest is an experience like no other and is recommended to everyone even if you aren’t a huge movie fan.
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