CHAMPAIGN, IL (April 1, 2025) — Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, also known as Ebertfest, announced today the final three films screening at this year’s festival, to be held April 23-26 at the Virginia Theatre in downtown Champaign:
Francis Ford Coppola’s MEGALOPOLIS Walter Salles’ Academy Award®-winning I’M STILL HERE Lotte Reiniger’s THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMEDCoppola will participate in a virtual Q&A immediately following the screening of MEGALOPOLIS, Michael Barker, Co-President of Sony Pictures Classics, will discuss the Oscar-winning film I’M STILL HERE, which Sony Pictures Classics distributed domestically, and back by popular demand, The Anvil Orchestra will perform during THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMED.
“It is incredible that Nate Kohn and I are just as excited to present the line-up for this 26th Ebertfest as we were for the first!” said Chaz Ebert, CEO of movie review site Rogerebert.com and cofounder of Ebertfest. “What Roger said about movies being a machine that generates empathy is so true. My heart swells with emotion in anticipation of the films and guests who will join us. And I look forward to sharing this communal film experience with our Ebertfest audience. Roger, we thank you!”
“Echoing Chaz, this year’s line-up is one of the most exciting we’ve ever had,” said Nate Kohn. “There will be lots to celebrate in Champaign this year, and I know Roger would be very proud to see how his festival continues to grow.”
MEGALOPOLIS is a Roman Epic set in an imagined Modern America. The City of New Rome must change, causing conflict between Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver), a genius artist who seeks to leap into a utopian, idealistic future, and his opposition, Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare. Torn between them is socialite Julia Cicero (Nathalie Emmanuel), the mayor’s daughter, whose love for Cesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her to discover what she truly believes humanity deserves.
The film was nominated for multiple awards and had its world premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival in 2024.
“Francis Ford Coppola has once again given us big ideas to digest,” said Chaz Ebert, “Are the characters in Megalopolis akin to those in Rome before its collapse, or can we find some redemption in acts seemingly small, but that portend hope for the future. Does Coppola’s film hold a mirror up to today’s society? And if so, does this master director give us a roadmap to avoid similar obstacles? We will eagerly pose these questions and others when he appears after the screening of this gorgeously shot film.”
I’M STILL HERE is set in Brazil, 1971, as it faces the tightening grip of a military dictatorship. Eunice Paiva, a mother of five children, is forced to reinvent herself after her family suffers a violent and arbitrary act by the government. The film is based on Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s biographical book and tells the true story that helped reconstruct an important part of Brazil’s hidden history.
The film had its world premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival in 2024 where it was critically acclaimed and received the Best Screenplay Award. I’M STILL HERE, which is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a score of 97%, has continued winning over audiences globally and earned 69 nominations and 49 awards including a Golden Globe Award and the Best International Feature Film Academy Award, the first-ever Brazilian produced film to win an Academy Award.
“Through Fernanda Torres’ formidable presence, the deliberate I’M STILL HERE, a film that locates further meaning in the face of Brazil’s present Far-Right wave, remains in the heart long after the picture fades,” said Robert Daniels in his 4-star review for RogerEbert.com.
THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMED is a fantasy animated film from 1926 that tells the story of a handsome prince with a flying horse who befriends a witch, meets Aladdin, and battles demons to win a princess’ heart. The screening will feature a performance from Ebertfest’s audience favorite group The Anvil Orchestra.
Newly announced guests include actresses Carrie Coon (HIS THREE DAUGHTERS) and Jane Levy (A LITTLE PRAYER), and critics Michael Phillips, Richard Roeper, Matt Zoller Seitz, Nell Minow, Brian Tallerico, Eric Pierson, Dion Metzger, and Brenda Butler.
The 2025 Roger Ebert’s Film Festival will open with a new 70mm print of the Western classic THE SEARCHERS (1956), starring John Wayne and Natalie Wood on Wednesday, April 23. Additionally, Guy Maddin’s RUMOURS will screen, and Todd Phillips’ THE HANGOVER will close out the festival on Saturday, April 26. The festival recently announced a 40th anniversary screening of Susan Seidelman’s DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN, 35MM screenings of both Azazel Jacobs’ HIS THREE DAUGHTERS and Barbara Kopple’s HARLAN COUNTY U.S.A., and screenings of Baltasar Kormákur’s TOUCH, Angus MacLachlan’s A LITTLE PRAYER, and David Fortune’s COLOR BOOK.
Ebertfest tickets and passes are currently available to purchase online or by calling the Virginia Theatre box office at 217-356-9063. Individual tickets to each film cost $20, while festival passes to see all films cost $200, with both including reserved seating.
Roger Ebert was a Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, a University of Illinois journalism alumnus, and an Urbana native.
Chaz Ebert is also the author of the indie bestseller It’s Time to Give A FECK: Elevating Humanity through Forgiveness, Empathy, Compassion, and Kindness.
Ebertfest is hosted by Chaz Ebert and Nate Kohn, the festival director since the very beginning, in collaboration with the College of Media at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
For additional information, including the full festival schedule, please visit ebertfest.com/, and follow us on social media:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Ebertfest/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/ebertfest/
To become a supporting Festival Sponsor please contact Molly Cornyn, the Festival Coordinator, at [email protected].
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