CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Passes for the 19th annual Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, or “Ebertfest,” coming April 19-23, 2017, will go on sale Nov. 1.
The passes cover all 12 or more screenings during the five-day event at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign. Related talks and panel discussions will be held at the Hyatt Place hotel in Champaign and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The festival presents cinematic works overlooked by audiences, critics or distributors. It was founded by Ebert, an Urbana native, U. of I. journalism graduate and Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times who died in 2013.
Chaz Ebert, Roger’s widow, is a co-founder and executive producer of the festival, as well as its host; Nate Kohn is the festival director.
The passes are $150, plus processing, and for the first time festival-goers will receive a discount when they purchase four passes together. The four-pack will be priced at $510 instead of $600, or 15 percent off.
Also available for the first time will be a small number of U. of I. student passes, priced at $100 each.
One thousand passes will be available. They can be purchased through the festival website, the theater website or the theater box office, 203 W. Park Ave., Champaign, 217-356-9063.
The lineup of films, guests and other events will be announced several weeks before the festival, which is sponsored by the U. of I. College of Media. Updates will be posted on the festival website. Tickets for individual movies will be available April 1. Admission is $15, or $13 for students and seniors.
Those interested in being a festival sponsor or volunteer should contact Casey Ludwig, the assistant director of the festival, at 217-300-1375 or ludwig2@illinois.edu.