Make Your Own Ebertfest
For the last 11 years, venerable film critic Roger Ebert has curated a very special film festival down in his hometown of Champaign, Illinois. It’s notable both for its location – the twin cities of Champaign-Urbana are hardly known for their film scene – and the consistent quality of films Ebert chooses. Originally known as “Ebert’s Overlooked Film Festival,” the festival is designed to highlight films Ebert loves that he feels deserve greater attention. He’s dropped the “overlooked” part, but it’s clear that the love is still there.
But let’s face it: Champaign is a long away, and not all of us may be able to make the commute. (Though let it be said that Ebertfest is always a blast, and is worth the trip if you can make it.) Let the Library come to the rescue! Many of Ebert’s picks for this year are available (or will soon be available) for checkout. For the few that we don’t have, I’ve made a few alternate suggestions.
The 2009 Ebertfest Lineup:
Woodstock is a documentary film of the landmark 1969 concert, featuring performances from the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, and (of course) Sha Na Na. After you’ve seen the film, you may also want to check out the soundtrack.
My Winnipeg is not yet available on DVD, but we have other Guy Maddin films on our shelves. I recommend one of my personal favorite films of last year, the nearly indescribable Brand Upon the Brain!. (And yes, the exclamation point is a required part of the title. Particularly for that film.)
Chop Shop is a coming-of-age story of a young Latino orphan struggling to make his way through life on the outskirts of Queens, New York. Amid mechanics, car thieves, and assorted street hustlers, Alejandro must do what he can to make a life for himself and his sister.
Trouble the Water is not yet available on DVD, but rest assured we’ll be getting this Oscar-nominated documentary about survivors of Hurricane Katrina as soon as it comes out. In the meantime, you might want to try Spike Lee’s devastating When the Levees Broke.
Begging Naked is a documentary about Elise Hill, an artist who has spent the last 20 years floating in and out of homelessness in New York City. It’s a story about the urge to create and the need to survive. The film is not yet available at the Library – it has yet to find a distributor – but you might find similar territory covered in The Devil and Daniel Johnston, Tarnation (which actually played at Ebertfest in 2004), or In the Realms of the Unreal.
Every year at Ebertfest there’s at least one classic silent film, performed with live accompaniment. This year’s title is The Last Command, a 1928 story of a Russian war general deposed in the Boslhevik revolution who escapes to America and becomes an Hollywood extra. Star Emil Jannings won the very first Best Actor Oscar for his performance. This title is not currently available on DVD, but you may want to try one of the other works of director Josef von Sternberg in the meantime.
Frozen River garnered two nominations at the 2009 Oscars – one for screenwriting and the other for lead actress Melissa Leo – and they’re both well deserved. This minor-key drama about illegal immigration on the Canadian border is sustained by strong performances, and doesn’t flinch in its portrayal of people making extremely difficult decisions brought on by extreme poverty.
The Fall is the most recent work by music-video director Tarsem Singh, who also made the Jennifer Lopez vehicle The Cell. Shot in 28 different countries and largely made through the brute-force enthusiasm of the director, the film redefines visual spectacle, as Singh pours every ounce of his extravagant visual imagination on the screen.
Sita Sings the Blues sounds like a winner. An film by cartoonist Nina Paley, it is “an animated version of the epic Indian tale of Ramayana set to the 1920’s jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw.” While it may sound a bit high-concept for some, the vivid design and lively music looks to be quite winning. It sounds like something for fans of The Triplets of Belleville, another frenetic, jazzy animated opus.
Nothing But the Truth will be out on DVD at the end of April. Place your holds now for this political drama strongly inspired by the Valerie Plame case, in which journalist Judith Miller was placed in prison after refusing to name her source. The film stars Kate Beckinsdale, Matt Dillon, and Angela Bassett.
Let the Right One In sticks in my mind as the most Bergmanesque vampire film ever made, and it’s not because it’s set in Sweden. This starkly, shot austere film shoots for chills rather than shocks, and it will stick in your head long after the credits have rolled.
The final film on the slate is Baraka, a unique travelogue/documentary/meditation on humanity’s impact on the earth, and the overall fragility of mankind. This wordless film by Ron Fricke showcases human rituals across six different continents. Fans of Godfrey Reggio’s films (Fricke was a collaborator on Reggio’s first film Koyannisquatsi) should take notice.
I have a confession of sorts. Many months ago I was telling a co-worker how much I enjoyed the movie 
For those who liked the popular movie 
Have you heard of the 
As elegies pour forth for 
Do you have a favorite Irish themed movie? There are so many wonderful titles. But here are a few of my favorites: