Ebertfest in Shatterglass limelight
Confidential Ebertholics! To distract you this holiday week from the physical absence of C-U Confidential #8, which is almost ready for press as of this writing, Shatterglass Studios has just dropped its annual video tribute to Roger Ebert’s Film Festival. All the expected guests – Oliver Stone, Steve James, Brie Larson, Spike Lee, Haiffa Al-Mansour, etc. – and figureheads – Chaz Ebert, Nate Kohn – appear in the piece, designed by director Luke Boyce and his collaborators to extract the sense of wonder and community engendered by attending the event, a signature function of the College of Media at the University of Illinois. Be sure to watch through the end credits for some laugh-out-loud zingers courtesy of Patton Oswalt, making good on his pledge to appear at “Ebertfest” after having to cancel two years prior. If you’re a regular then we don’t have to set this up any further. If you have yet to partake, we’ll allow one Sam Fragoso of Forbes to efficiently pose some of the virtues long cited as setting this movie showcase apart from nearly everything else making up the festival circuit in North America. You can always bear witness yourself when the seventeenth Ebertfest takes place April 15-19, 2015, in downtown Champaign.
~ Jason Pankoke
p.s. Not unlike our statement here, this will mark the beginning of our reduction in Ebertfest coverage to the bare necessities going forward. Sadly, we overreached our means in attempting to recount 2014, as our series has stalled since this post from August. Beyond practicality issues, entertainment media at large allots the show plenty of attention; we could readily divert our resources elsewhere without a crisis of conscience. As for philosophical differences … another time, dearest readers.
p.s.2 Good job with avoiding disclosure in your post, Mr. Fragoso, that you are also a regular staff writer for RogerEbert.com.