Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

‘Tree of Life’ demo, film workshop, discussions all part of ‘Ebertfest’ at U. of I.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Dramatic visuals for the Oscar-nominated film “The Tree of Life” were created at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, and a demonstration of how they were produced is part of this year’s Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, coming April 25-29 to Champaign-Urbana.

The presentation is one of seven events on the University of Illinois campus that are part of, or connected with, “Ebertfest.”

The schedule of film screenings was previously announced and can be found at www.ebertfest.com, along with Ebert’s commentary and reviews of the films, festival updates, and information about panelists and guests.

The schedule of U. of I. festival events, all free and open to the public:

Thursday, April 26

9-10:15 a.m. – Panel discussion “The Personal and Political in Film,” with festival guests, in the Pine Lounge (first floor) of the Illini Union, 1401 W. Green St., Urbana.

10:30-11:45 a.m. – Panel discussion “Far Flung Correspondents: What’s New Around the World,” with international film critics, in the Pine Lounge.

Friday, April 27

9-10:15 a.m. – Panel discussion “Underrepresented Cinematic Voices,” with festival guests, in the Pine Lounge.

10:30-11:45 a.m. – Panel discussion “ON DEMAND: Movies Without Theaters,” with festival guests, in the Pine Lounge.

Saturday, April 28

9-10:30 a.m. – “Shooting Your Short Film,” presented by Don Tingle, workshop director for the Alabama Filmmakers Co-op, in the General Lounge (second floor) of the Illini Union.

9:30-11 a.m. – “The Tree of Life: Making Movies Using Scientific Data,” about techniques used in producing visuals for an extended segment in the movie evoking the evolution of the universe, presented by Donna Cox and Robert Patterson, both with NCSA’s Advanced Visualization Lab and eDream Institute, in the Pine Lounge.

Also on the U. of I. campus, and announced previously, will be a screening of “Kind Hearts and Coronets” (1949), starring Alec Guinness, at 10:30 p.m. on April 26 in Foellinger Auditorium, 709 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana, hosted by comedian and actor Patton Oswalt. (The date and time are changes from the original release.)

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