RESEARCH General Arts

ROGER EBERT
Festival champions films that critic says deserve greater recognition

Craig Chamberlain, Education Editor (217) 333-2894; cdchambe@uiuc.edu

4/1/02

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In between the big openings and big hype, many good films get overlooked.

That’s why thousands of film buffs will gather April 24-28 at a 1920s-era Champaign movie palace and the University of Illinois, for the fourth annual Roger Ebert’s Overlooked Film Festival.

Fourteen films are scheduled to be shown over five days at the historic 1,500-seat Virginia Theater, 203 W. Park St., starting with a newly remastered 70mm print of "Patton," the 1970 Oscar-winner.

Filmmakers, actors and producers connected with the films are invited to "Ebertfest," and many appear on stage with the film critic for informal discussions after the screenings. The festival also includes four panel discussions held on the UI campus, one of them moderated by Ebert. The panelists include scholars and others connected with the film industry.

In making his selections for the festival, Ebert, a Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, looks for films he feels have been overlooked by critics, distributors or audiences, and therefore deserve a second look. Ebert also co-hosts "Ebert & Roeper and the Movies," a weekly televised movie-review program. He is a 1964 UI journalism graduate and adjunct professor.

Among other highlights of the festival will be a Saturday evening that begins with the classic silent film "Metropolis," accompanied by the Alloy Orchestra of Cambridge, Mass., followed by a new Japanese animated film of the same name. Other foreign entries are from Australia, Iran and Senegal.

A free family Saturday matinee will feature a visually captivating film about a sick girl and her imaginary friend. The festival will end on Sunday with a documentary about gospel music, followed by a live performance by Chicago's Barrett Sisters, a group featured in the film.

This year's complete list of films, in the order they will be seen: "Patton" (United States, 1970); "Hyenes" (Senegal, 1992); "George Washington" (United States, 2000); "Wonder Boys" (United States, 2000); "Grand Canyon" (United States, 1991); "Kwik Stop" (United States, 2001); "Two Women" (Iran, 1999); "Innocence" (Australia, 2000); "A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries" (United Kingdom/United States, 1998); "Paperhouse" (United States, 1988); "Diamond Men" (United States, 2000); "Metropolis" (Germany, 1927); "Metropolis" (Japan, 2001); "Say Amen, Somebody" (United States, 1983).

The festival is a special event of the UI College of Communications.

Festival passes are $50; tickets for individual films are $6. Both are on sale at the theater box office, (217) 356-9053. Passes also may be purchased through the Web site at www.ebertfest.com.

For more information, visit the Web site or contact Mary Susan Britt, the festival’s assistant director, at marsue@uiuc.edu or (217) 244-0552; Nickie Dalton, festival manager, at n-dalton@uiuc.edu or (217) 333-2350; or Nate Kohn, festival director, at n-kohn@uiuc.edu or (706) 542-4972.