CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Festival passes will go on sale Nov. 1 for the 12th annual Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, or “Ebertfest,” to be held April 21-25 at the Virginia Theater in Champaign, Ill., and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The festival, as usual, will feature films selected by Ebert that he believes have been overlooked by audiences, critics or distributors.
The passes, which cover all 12 screenings during the five-day event, are $125. They can be purchased starting Nov. 1 through TicketWeb, by way of the festival Web site, or starting Nov. 2 through the theater box office (217-356-9063).
Tickets for individual movies will be available April 5. Admission is $12 ($10 for students and seniors).
In recent years, the 1,000 festival passes available for each Ebertfest have sold out within weeks after going on sale, according to Mary Susan Britt, the festival’s associate director. The same number of passes will be available again this year.
Ebert, a 1964 Illinois journalism graduate, adjunct professor and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, will again host the event.
The lineup of films, along with additional information on film-associated guests and other festival events, will be announced several weeks before the festival. Updates on the festival, an event of Illinois’ College of Media, will be posted on the festival Web site.
Sponsors and volunteers for the festival are being sought. Those interested should get in touch with Britt at 217-244-0552, or by e-mail.
