by: Paul R. Benson
April 10th to the 13th was the 21st annual Roger Ebert Film Festival! Many people were lined up outside the Virginia Wednesday night, waiting for the festival to start. I was volunteering under Shatterglass studios, recording B-roll footage. The popcorn was popping, people were laughing, and movies were waiting to be watched.
After the death of Roger Ebert on April 4th, 2013, the event has been hosted by the lovely Chaz Ebert. The festival continues in memory of Ebert’s passion for films and his loving empathy for all human beings.
On the first night they played the newly released Aretha Franklin documentary, Amazing Grace. Aretha was performing live at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts. The footage had been abandoned for decades because of audio syncing technicalities and was only recently edited and released this year. It was like watching the revival of a lost cultural artifact. The documentary style felt similar to the type of B-roll coverage we were getting at Ebertfest, though the camera operators in Amazing Grace weren’t as good at staying out of each other’s frames. Before the film, Ebert gave out the phone number of Jeff Dowd – also known as ‘The Dude’ – so that people could wish him well on his surgery. Dowd was a guest from last year’s festival.
“It was really nice of them to recognize the work that usually goes unnoticed”
After the documentary, The Martin Luther King Jr. community Choir of Champaign Urbana gave a beautiful performance to end the first night. Once the event was over, we filmed interviews with the director, Allan Elliott, and the producer, Terrell D. Whittley. In the interviews, both Elliot and Whittley had kind words to say about the volunteer crew for Shatterglass. It was really nice of them to recognize the work that usually goes unnoticed.
The first night was a wrap. I went down to the changing rooms behind the stage, to drop off filming equipment. I turned to my right at the bottom of the steps and saw Roger Ebert’s name on the first door. My heart sank a little as I thought about what it might have been like to meet him. I went to bed wondering what was behind that door.
Thursday was a fun day. The festival started at 1pm by playing the Jean Epstein film, Cœur Fidèle (The Faithful Heart), a French silent film about love, violence, and resignation. Afterwards, they played the movie Rachel Getting Married by Jonathan Demme. The film was recorded to feel like the audience was a part of the wedding. A lot of Demme’s friends were at the wedding instead of actors and the camera movement wasn’t stabilized much. The film deals with dysfunctional families and has a very touching ending. Anne Hathaway plays the main character, Kym, who’s in rehab for accidentally killing her brother in a car accident. Hathaway deals with her feelings of guilt and in the end realizes that the wedding is not about her, but her sister Rachel.
We went outside briefly to get coverage of people entering the theater using a dana dolly track. As we were filming an elderly gentleman was watching us in awe. We asked if he wanted to get behind the camera, and he did for a few shots. His enthusiasm was adorable, and I enjoyed briefly interacting with him.
The next movie was the Wachowski siblings’ first movie, Bound. The film was introduced by guests Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon, who were a lot of fun and made the audience laugh. Bound is a captivating thriller about a lesbian relationship between handy ex-convict Corky, played by Gershon, and Violet, the trapped girlfriend of a mobster, played by Tilly. Corky and Violet hatch a scheme to escape and get caught up in a spiral of chaos through money, violence, and sex. I personally found this film to be the best the Wachowski’s had made, I even enjoyed it more than the Matrix. The Wachowski’s recently transitioned into being trans women. It feels like the film represents the sibling’s LGBTQ+ support. Everyone was full of adrenaline after watching the satisfying thriller. The panel afterwards was fantastic. Things got political when an audience member asked about violence in the media today and Jennifer Tilly gave a brief, tasteful speech about gun control. Overall, Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon’s friendship was hilarious and fun.
Friday started off with Cold War (2018) and Cane River (1982). The Festival was an hour behind schedule that day. The film that followed was the love movie, A Year of the Quiet Sun, in honor of Scott Wilson who passed away last year. Scott Wilson played Hershel in the TV show, The Walking Dead. After the film was a panel with Scott’s widow, Heavenly Wilson, and with actor Maja Komorowski. It was interesting to hear about Maja and Scott’s professional relationship and his relationship with his wife. Maja’s grandson translated her polish to the audience. She was very sweet.
The last film to play on Friday was Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion, which was a hilarious comedy and a perfect way to end the night. After the movie, the director David Mirkin talked about the ups and downs of working with the studio to make the movie work with his vision. He said that he enjoys working on the Simpsons as animation provides more freedom for his surrealist comedy.
After the panel was the after party. The party cleared out pretty fast this year. I missed out on chatting with David Mirkin who left pretty early. It was 1:00am so I couldn’t blame him. I had a good time talking with Shatterglass friends, drinking wine, and listening to smooth Jazz.
Saturday, the most emotional day, was the last day at Ebert Fest. The day started with the incredible documentary Maya Angelou. Many people in the audience cried not only for the sad parts, but also because of how good of a person she was. Her writing and her speech could be seen as a divine gift to humanity. The co-director Rita Coburn spoke after the film and she was an amazing guest. She had spent four year living with Maya Angelou and five years making the film. There was also a discussion about living in a more accepting and peaceful world in a time of fear and hatred. I was silently crying and recording the panel, my friends could only see me wipe away the tears behind my shades.
“It brought us closer together as human beings, as Mr. Rogers would have wanted”
As if the Maya Angelou film wasn’t emotionally stimulating enough, Won’t You Be My Neighbor played right afterwards. Just bearing witness to the kindness and thoughtfulness of Mr. Rogers is so powerful that I can’t help coming close to tears as I write about him. This film emphasizes what Ebert Fest is about – empathy. Chaz Ebert walked on to the stage in tears after the film. She couldn’t stop crying over how genuinely good of a person Mr. Rogers was. She said she noticed lots of men crying from this movie, which is so important in how it breaks gender expectations of men reserving emotions. The director Morgan Neville spoke on the panel and it was truly wonderful. So many of us in the theater were crying. It brought us closer together as human beings, as Mr. Rogers would have wanted.
The last two films were the comedies, Almost Famous and Sideways. The panel after Almost Famous had Roger Ebert’s partner critic, Richard Roeper, as well as other film critics/journalists. It was interesting to hear about the lens of a film critic and the connections the critics made between their career and the Rolling Stones journalist Cameron Crowe, who the movie is based on.
Chaz Ebert gave a shout out to John Isberg’s video production workshops at Shatterglass studios near the end of the day, which was really nice of her to give us that publicity. The rest of the night was pretty chill, all of the volunteers were exhausted and lucid from lack of sleep. I was planning to leave early for the night. I went down to the Equipment room one last time. I saw Roger Ebert’s changing room again. I stopped and looked down the hallway to see if I was being watched. I decided to open the door very slowly. I was afraid somebody was behind the door. A small peak inside revealed stools stacked on the make-up table. I put my head into the room to get a better look. The rest of the room was empty besides an old sofa in the corner. After glancing inside, I closed the door slowly. Walking away, I thought about Roger’s legacy and all the people who loved him. Despite feeling his presence, I can only wonder what it would have been like to meet him.
