The 21st Annual Roger Ebert's Film Festival Announces 2019 Film Slate

The 21st Annual Roger Ebert's Film Festival, co-founded and hosted by Chaz Ebert and also known as 'Ebertfest," announced today the final slate of films for the 2019 event.

The 21st anniversary program lineup will consist of feature screenings and special guests including:

· ALMOST FAMOUS (d. Cameron Crowe, 2000, 122 mins) with special guest Richard Roeper

· AMAZING GRACE (d. Alan Elliott, 2018, 87 mins) with director Alan Elliott and producer Tirrell D. Whittley in attendance to discuss the film and following the screening, the Dr. Martin LUTHER King Jr. Community Choir will perform live on stage at the Virginia Theatre [Opening Night film]

· BOUND (d. Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski, 1996, 109 mins) featuring a conversation with special guests Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon

· CANE RIVER (d. Horace Jenkins, 1982, 90 mins) followed by a Q&A with special guests Sandra Schulberg, Dominique Jenkins, Tommye Myrick & Sacha Jenkins

· CŒUR FIDÈLE (d. Jean Epstein, 1923, 87 mins) with special guest Michael Phillips and a performance by the Alloy Orchestra

· COLD WAR (d. Pawe? Pawlikowski, 2018, 88 mins)

· MAYA ANGELOU: AND STILL I RISE (d. Rita Coburn Whack and Bob Hercules, 2016, 112 mins) featuring a discussion with director Rita Coburn Whack

· RACHEL GETTING MARRIED (d. Jonathan Demme, 2008, 113 mins) followed by a Q&A with Stephen Apkon, Jenny Lumet and Michael Barker[Centerpiece Film]

· ROMY & MICHELLE'S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION (d. David Mirkin, 1997, 91 mins) with a conversation with director David Mirkin

· SIDEWAYS (d. Alexander Payne, 2004, 126 mins) featuring a Q&A with actress Virginia Madsen to follow [Closing Night Film]

· SEBASTIAN (d. Sam Fragoso, 2018, 3 mins)

· WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? (d. Morgan Neville, 2018, 93 mins) featuring a conversation with director Morgan Neville

· A YEAR OF THE QUIET SUN (d. Krzysztof Zanussi, 1984, 106 mins) with special guests Heavenly Wilson, Maja Komorowska and Jerzy Tyszkiewicz

Special guests for this year's festival include:

· Directors: Rita Coburn, David Mirkin and Morgan Neville

· Producers: Allan Elliott and Tirrell D. Whittley

· Actors: Gina Gershon, Maja Komorowska, Virginia Madsen and Jennifer Tilly

· Additional filmmakers and critics including: Sony Pictures Classics executive Michael Barker; critics Nick Allen, Matt Fagerholm, Sam Fragoso, Chuck Koplinski, Scott Mantz, Jennifer Merin, Nell Minow, Michael Phillips, Pamela Powell, Todd Rendleman, Richard Roeper, Whitney Spence, Brian Tallerico and Matt Zoller Seitz

The festival is also celebrating Roger's TV partnership with Richard Roeper including clips from their broadcasts and an in-depth Q&A with Roeper by Chaz Ebert, following the screening of his film selections, ALMOST FAMOUS and SIDEWAYS.

"As we approach this sixth year of Roger's death, we are honoring him with movies from his Four Star reviews list," said Chaz Ebert, co-founder and host of Ebertfest. "I couldn't be happier than to welcome three of his favorite actresses, Virginia Madsen, Gina Gershon, and Jennifer Tilly, to this year's festival. Additionally, in our 21st year of Ebertfest, Nate Kohn and I strive to uphold Roger's standards and we are so pleased to present the Ebert Humanitarian Award to Morgan Neville for his film WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?, which is about Mr. Rogers and his radical kindness on 'Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood'. This goes hand-in-hand with Roger's message about empathy. "

This year's festival will open with Alan Elliott's AMAZING GRACE, the highly-anticipated film presenting Aretha Franklin's live performance at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Los Angeles in January 1972. Director Alan Elliott and producer Tirrell D. Whittley will be in attendance to discuss the film and following the screening, the Dr. Martin LUTHER King Jr. Community Choir will perform live on stage at the Virginia Theatre. The film will be released in theaters this April by NEON.

Additionally, The Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, through their Virtual Reality Lab and Innovation Studio, will host VR demonstrations on the plaza outside of the Virginia Theatre in between films on Friday, April 12. These demos will consist of a series of short films that allows one's senses to "experience" border crossings, natural disasters or joyous occasions in other countries.

"Roger was very much a techie and would have loved the fact that we are bringing a VR demonstration to Ebertfest that will give our audience a chance to experience 'empathy' through the lens of technology," added Chaz Ebert. "The Virtual Reality Lab and Innovation Studio at the University of Illinois will set up equipment to allow us to put ourselves in the life situation of another."

The 21st Anniversary of Ebertfest will be held April 10-13, 2019 at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, IL with related talks and panel discussions to be held at the Hyatt Place in Champaign and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This year's event will be dedicated to the memory of Scott Wilson, who attended the festival four times with SHILOH, COME EARLY MORNING, JUNEBUG and THE RIGHT STUFF.

Passes are now available for purchase and cost $150, plus processing. Four passes purchased together are $510 instead of $600, or 15 percent off. Also available are a small number of U. of I. student passes priced at $100 each. They can be purchased through the festival website, the theater website or the theater box office, 203 W. Park Ave., Champaign, 217-356-9063. Updates will be posted on the festival website. Tickets for individual movies will be available April 1.

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