Festival closes with empathetic film ‘Forrest Gump’ with guest Mykelti Williamson
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Roger Ebert’s Film Festival is pleased to announce the full lineup of films and accompanying filmmakers who will participate in the post-screening discussions at the 23rd annual event, which runs April 19-22 at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, Illinois.
As this year marks the 10th anniversary of Roger Ebert’s death, the program reflects his guiding principle of empathy, said Chaz Ebert, who co-founded and hosts Ebertfest.
“In Roger’s memory, we will gather together in what Roger has called the temple of cinema to reaffirm our connections to each other,” said Chaz Ebert.
The program for Ebertfest 2023, “Empathy at the Movies,” includes 11 films, two shorts, 20 guests, and two musical performances:
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19
NINE DAYS (2020)
This ultra-original fantasy drama considers the meaning of life as potential souls audition for the chance to be born.
Guests
- Director Edson Oda
- Producer Jason Michael Berman
THURSDAY, APRIL 20
TOKYO STORY (1953)
This year’s Ebertfest audience choice winner was called “one of the greatest films of all time” by Roger Ebert, who wrote: “With no other director do I feel affection for every single shot. … It says, yes, a movie can help us make small steps against our imperfections.”
THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1920)
This German Expressionist silent horror film depicts an insane hypnotist who uses a somnambulist (a sleepwalker) to commit crimes.
Guest
- Musical accompaniment by the Anvil Orchestra
MY NAME IS SARA (2019)
Sponsored by the Alliance for Inclusion and Respect
This prize-winning docudrama shares the story of Sara Góralnik, a 13-year-old Polish Jew whose parents were killed by Nazis at the outset of the Holocaust. Passing as an Orthodox Christian, Sara is hired as a nanny by a Ukrainian farmer and his wife and must endure grueling work, while trying to protect her true identity and discovering her employers have dark secrets of their own.
Guests
- Executive Producer Mickey Shapiro, son of the late Sara Góralnik Shapiro
- Director Steven Oritt
AMERICAN FOLK (2017)
Folk musicians Elliott and Joni go on a road trip from LA to New York City in the days following 9/11, forging a bond through their love of music and encounters with memorable people.
Guests
- Director David Heinz
- Singer/Actress Amber Rubarth
FRIDAY, APRIL 21
TO LESLIE (2022)
Inspired by true events, Leslie is a struggling single mom who wins the lottery only to waste it all on alcohol and drugs. Years later, she attempts to get her life back on track but the path to redemption may be more difficult than she can handle.
Guest
- Director Michael Morris
MARIAN ANDERSON: THE WHOLE WORLD IN HER HANDS (2022)
Through archival interview recordings, photographs, and personal correspondences, explore the career, art, and legacy of a Black classical singer and civil rights pioneer.
Guests
- Director Rita Coburn
- Producer Brenda Robinson
- Performance by Viveca Richards, University of Illinois Lyric Theatre student
DEREK DELGAUDIO’S IN & OF ITSELF (2020)
This biography explores identity and illusion while the storyteller and magician Derek DelGaudio attempts to answer, “Who am I?”
Guests
- Director Frank Oz
- Magician Derek DelGaudio
- Producer Vanessa Lauren
- Producer Jake Friedman
- Janet Pierson, SXSW Film Festival director emeritus
SATURDAY, APRIL 22
CLUB ALLI (2020)
This short sci-fi drama, which won the CU International Film Festival, examines America and the ever-present socio-economic divide.
Guests
- Writers/Directors Justen and Julien Turner
- Max Libman, Founder and Director of the CU International Film Festival
TEAM DREAM (2022)
In this short documentary, two friends discuss what it was like growing up in Chicago during times of segregation, and their experience with Team Dream, which trains women of color in swimming, biking, and triathlons.
Guests
- Director Luchina Fisher
- Madeline Murphy Rabb, Featured in Team Dream
FRESH (1994)
Roger Ebert described this urban crime thriller as “a story of depth and power, in which the dangerous streets are seen through the eyes of a 12-year-old who reacts with the objectivity he has learned from chess, and the anger taught to him by his life.”
Guest
- Producer Lawrence Bender
WINGS OF DESIRE (1987)
This German cinematic masterpiece features an angel who is willing to give up his perch high over Berlin, his ability to hear thoughts, as well as his immortality to return to Earth after falling in love with a trapeze artist.
Guest
- Michael Barker, Co-President and Co-Founder of Sony Pictures Classics
FORREST GUMP (1994)
“I’ve never met anyone like Forrest Gump in a movie before, and for that matter I’ve never seen a movie quite like Forrest Gump,” wroteRoger Ebert. The film follows the life of the slow-witted but good-natured Gump, from a young boy in the 1950s with braces on his legs to a father in the 1980s who becomes a part of extraordinary moments in history.
Guest
- Actor Mykelti Williamson
Other guests throughout Ebertfest include film critics:
- Nick Allen
- Matt Fagerholm
- Al Lerner
- Linda Lerner
- Nell Minow
- Michael Phillips
- Brian Tallerico
- Matt Zoller-Seitz
Please note that filmmaker guest appearances are subject to change, which may include adding a surprise guest to the program.
Passes to see all films with reserved seating are available to purchase online or by calling the Virginia Theatre box office at 217-356-9063. Individual movie tickets will go on sale on April 3.
Roger Ebert was a Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic, University of Illinois journalism alumnus, and Urbana native. Ebertfest is sponsored by the University of Illinois College of Media and Chaz Ebert.
Anyone interested in supporting the event as a festival sponsor may contact Molly Cornyn, the festival’s project coordinator, at mcornyn2@illinois.edu.
