25th Ebertfest all about 'being in the moment'

Apr. 20—CHAMPAIGN — After 25 years of Ebertfest, co-founder Chaz Ebert is feeling nostalgic.

"This is the greatest town, greatest university and the greatest theater to have a film festival like this, because there is a real sense of community that we've established over the years and it is just wonderful," she said.

As for the next 25 years? Ebert isn't ready to say.

"I'm concentrating on being in the moment," she said.

Even after a quarter-century, there were still some new experiences in 2024.

Ebert was pleased at the audience's engagement with documentary films, which aren't often a popular choice at film festivals.

"Roger always pointed out the Ebertfest audience was open and curious and teachable," she said.

While Ebert was living in the moment, three-time Ebertfest guest Andrew Davis was already thinking about the future.

"I'm very grateful that the festival is going strong," he said. "I hope I get to make some more movies I can show here."

Davis is a University of Illinois journalism alumnus who directed "The Fugitive" and "Holes," but this year's Ebertfest appearance was for "Stony Island."

Ebertfest is important to him because of his connection with Roger Ebert: They were both mentored by Studs Terkel.

"I loved Roger. I think 'Stony Island' was one of his first reviews," Davis said. "And of course Chaz and Roger were a wonderfully unique couple who had values and cared about things beyond money and Hollywood crap, you know, so I wanted to be able to support them."

The Champaign visit was also a chance for Davis to catch up with college friends and swing by places he remembers — even if Kams isn't quite the same as it was in his day.

"Stony Island" is, in some ways, the story of Davis' brother, Richie, who was also a guest at Ebertfest this year.

Andrew Davis describes it as a film about fighting racism and how music can be a common language, but it received backlash after its 1978 release.

"When the film came out, Black kids started going to White theaters. The theater owners didn't want Black kids coming into the neighborhood, so they pulled the picture," he said. "It got hurt by it, and they renamed the picture."

The film was renamed to "My Main Man from Stony Island" and Andrew Davis said marketing tried to frame it as a "blaxplotation movie, which it was not."

"Blaxploitation" refers to films accused of attempting to profit off the Black community; they starred Black characters but often leaned on offensive tropes and stereotypes.

Years after that controversy, Andrew Davis looked forward to sharing "Stony Island" with Ebertfest audiences.

"I don't know whether I was interested in journalism because I wanted to talk about topics that mattered or whether studying journalism allowed me to make films that matter, but there's always been a kind of social conscience or message in my films," he said.