Brandon Ferry participated in the 26th annual Ebertfest, April 23-26 at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, IL. Also known as Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, Ebertfest focuses on underseen and underappreciated cinema gems from years past and great films that are still awaiting distribution deals. Since Roger’s passing in 2013, his multi-talented wife Chaz (co-founder of Ebertfest) has carried on the torch as the festival’s producer and host, alongside the festival’s director, Nate Kohn.
As the booking producer for WIFV’s MediaMaker Spotlight, Brandon booked Chaz Ebert on the podcast last month and host Sandra Abrams interviewed her (episode to drop later this summer!) Chaz then invited him to this year’s festival to both interview attending filmmakers for the podcast and participate as a panelist on the films’ post-screening discussion panels (composed of filmmakers, critics, and film scholars). Be on the lookout this summer for Brandon’s Live from Ebertfest interviews on MediaMaker Spotlight with Susan Seidelman (director of DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN and episodes of SEX AND THE CITY), Angus MacLachlan (writer-director of A LITTLE PRAYER starring David Strathairn & Jane Levy and the writer of Amy Adams’ breakout film, JUNEBUG), and David Fortune (writer-director of the upcoming father-son drama, COLOR BOOK). Be sure to check out Rogerebert.com and highlights of the festival’s livestream for more details about this year’s Ebertfest!
Photo below from The Adventures of Prince Achmed post-film screening panel (L-R) Nate Kohn, Director of Ebertfest; Chaz Ebert, Founder and Co-Director of Ebertfest; Terry Donahue, Musician from The Anvil Orchestra, Omer Mozzafar, Lecturer in Islamic Studies at Loyola University Chicago; Brandon Ferry, Film/TV & Podcast Producer
*Note: Prince Achmed, directed by Lotte Reiniger, is the oldest surviving feature-length animated film inspired by the Arabian Nights tales.
