NEWS INDEX 2001 2002 December

Passes on sale for fifth Roger Ebert Overlooked Film Festival April 23-27

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

12/2/02

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Festival passes now are on sale for the fifth annual Roger Ebert Overlooked Film Festival, to be held April 23-27 at the Virginia Theater in Champaign, Ill., and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The passes, which cover all screenings during the five-day event, are $60. They can be purchased through the theater box office (phone: (217) 356-9063; fax: (217) 356-5729) or through TicketWeb by way of the festival Web site. Tickets for individual films will be $7 each when they become available closer to the event.

Ebert, a 1964 Illinois journalism graduate, adjunct professor and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, will again host the event and select the films that he believes have been overlooked by audiences, critics and distributors. The lineup of films, along with additional information on film-associated guests and other festival events, should be available after Feb. 1.

Updates on the festival, a special event of Illinois’ College of Communications, will be posted on the festival Web site.

About 20,000 admissions were recorded for the 14 featured films, associated panels and other events at the 2002 festival, most of which was held at the Virginia Theater, a 1920s-era Champaign movie palace. The 2002 festival also attracted more than 50 producers, directors, writers, actors and other guests associated with the film industry.

Sponsors and volunteers for the festival are still being sought. Those interested should contact Mary Susan Britt, the festival’s assistant director, at (217) 244-0552, or by e-mail at marsue@uiuc.edu. Those seeking additional information and updates on films, guests and festival events should contact either Britt or festival director Nate Kohn, at (706) 542-4972, or by e-mail at nkohn@arches.uga.edu.