And just like that – April is nearly here and the full lineup for Ebertfest just dropped. With Bob Fosse’s Star 80 headlining opening night and Malcolm D. Lee’s The Best Man featured center stage, the lineup now includes the audience choice pick, Robert Altman’s Cookie’s Fortune, and a personal favorite, Michael Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, with Oscar and BAFTA-award winning screenplay from the luminous mind of Charlie Kaufman. Of the film, Roger Ebert’s four-star praise included his observation that the “wisdom in Eternal Sunshine is how it illuminates the way memory interacts with love. We more readily recall pleasure than pain.” A thumbs-up, indeed.
Multi-instrumentalist and bi-cultural American Kaoru Ishibashi will join Ebertfest to talk about his documentary, Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi Bashi. His work tackles the intersection of the Muslim ban, the crisis at the U.S. Mexico border, and the incarceration of Japanese-Americans during WWII.
The Little Indian Girl story collective will present a panel discussion on “Women Who Embody Revolution Through Storytelling.” In our current climate crisis and war-ridden culture it can be easy to give in to despair. This collective revives the soul by reminding us that we are part of a shared culture and storytelling is the thread that weaves our stories together.
Matthew Singer will be on hand to discuss and sign his book Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever. What a fun addition to this, the 25th Ebertfest. I’ve been here for all 25 of them and look forward to everything this year has to offer.
Festival passes are still available and individual tickets go on sale April 1st.
Wednesday, April 17th
6:30 p.m. Star 80
Thursday, April 18th
11 a.m. Conducting Life / The Light of Truth: Richard Hunt’s Monument to Ida B. Wells (double short film presentation)
3 p.m. Stony Island
8 p.m. The Teachers’ Lounge
Friday, April 19th
9 a.m. Cookie’s Fortune
1:30 p.m. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
4:30 p.m. Little Richard: I Am Everything
9:30 p.m. The Best Man
Saturday, April 20th
9:30 a.m. Blackmail featuring the Anvil Orchestra
1 p.m. Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi Bashi
4 p.m. Albany Road
9 p.m. Man on the Moon
