RogerEbert.com teams up with the Chicago Urban League and Columbia College journalism program to give voice to aspiring film critics

RogerEbert.com teams up with the Chicago Urban League and Columbia College journalism program to give voice to aspiring film critics

Students to review four documentaries during Black History Month Film Festival

CHICAGO, Jan. 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- For the second straight year, Chaz Ebert, president of Ebert Digital and wife of beloved film critic Roger Ebert, has teamed up with the Chicago Urban League and Columbia College to give aspiring film critics a chance to review films by or about African Americans, and to have their reviews posted on RogerEbert.com, the premier movie review site.

A select group of students participating in the Columbia Links journalism program and those taking part in the Chicago Urban League's youth initiatives will be eligible to submit reviews of films being screened during the Urban League's Black History Month Film Festival. This year's lineup includes four feature-length documentaries that deal with racial stereotypes, mental illness, the impact of gun violence on urban communities, and homeless teens. One film per week will be shown in February at Urban League headquarters, 4510 S. Michigan Ave. Each will be followed by a panel discussion with community thought leaders and some of the filmmakers and producers themselves.

Editors at RogerEbert.com will work with Columbia Links Executive Director Brenda Butler to edit reviews written by students, who also will be encouraged to comment on the panel discussions following the films as part of their essay.

Mrs. Ebert carries on the legacy she and her husband, Roger, committed to before he died to diversify the pool of film critics around the world. The Roger and Chaz Ebert Foundation recently funded the second annual Indiewire/Sundance Institute Ebert Fellowship for Film Criticism that enabled four young critics to attend and cover the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Ebert will also conduct a panel that she developed to examine the future of film criticism in the digital age at the SXSW film conference in March in Austin, Texas.

"It's been wonderful to watch the film world open up to embrace diverse filmmakers like Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) and Ava DuVernay (Selma). But film criticism still remains largely a white male bastion," said Chaz Ebert. "There is a generation of talented writers who deserve to have their voices heard. The Chicago Urban League Black History Month Film Festival is offering a great lineup of films that deal with topics of critical importance to African Americans. I look forward to reading reviews written by those who live closest to these issues."

The film festival opens Tuesday, February 3. The complete lineup and schedule is listed below.

Established in 2012, the Chicago Urban League's Black History Month Film Festival is presented annually as a forum to engage the community in honoring the achievements of African Americans, examining current community challenges and exploring strategic solutions that can lead to an empowered future.

"I believe that art has the power to educate and inspire the type of critical thinking and engagement that leads to lasting change," said Andrea Zopp, president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League. "I want to thank Chaz Ebert for supporting our film festival and for opening the doors of opportunity to the next generation of film critics."

Here is the full lineup and schedule for the 2015 Black History Month Film Festival:


Tuesday, February 3, 2015 The "N" Word-Divided We Stand
6:00 PM explores the etymology of the word
"nigger" while looking at African-
American culture from a non-
colorblind lens. Celebrities
including Quincy Jones, Russell
Simmons, George Carlin, Damon Dash
and Bryant Gumbel give their takes
on one of the most inflammatory
words in the English language. In
its long and complex history, the
word "nigger" has gone from a
cutting racial slur to a term of
endearment among African-American
youth. Despite this, the word still
enrages when taken out of this
context. In 86 minutes, filmmaker
Todd Williams breaks the taboo of
language to reveal a society
constantly trying to make sense of
a dark past while attempting to
build a brighter future.

The N Word


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Thursday, February 12, 2015 Afraid of Dark is an insightful and
6:00 PM entertaining, yet remarkably
serious, documentary that aims to
destroy the misconceptions and
stereotypes that have often cost
Black men their lives. "Afraid of
Dark" offers a genuine look at
Black men through the eyes of
Brooklyn, N.Y., filmmaker and
Chicago native Mya B., revealing
the beauty in diversified strength,
leadership and challenges -a
reality that has often been
distorted. Why is the world so
afraid of dark?
Afraid of Dark


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Tuesday, February 17, 2015 Smile is an independently funded
6:00 PM documentary that chronicles the
story of a Chicago family who has
endured unbelievable violence and
turmoil in an inner-city community
where murder has risen to epidemic
levels. The film, by Marquis Daisy,
examines the stark realities of
mental illness and apathy, diseases
that allow for senseless violence
to numb the psyches of those who
live with it. "Smile" centers
largely on the Newtons, a Black
family from the South Side of
Chicago.

Smile


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Tuesday, February 24, 2015 In The Homestretch, three homeless
6:00 PM teens brave Chicago winters, the
pressures of high school and life
alone on the streets to build a
brighter future. These kids defy
stereotypes as they create new,
surprising definitions of home in
the film by Kirsten Kelly and Anne
de Mare. Can they recover from the
traumas of abandonment and
homelessness and build the future
of their dreams?

Homestretch


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Media contact:
Robin Beaman | rbeaman@beamaninc.com
312-208-1212

Shawn Taylor | tshawntaylor@yahoo.com
312-371-6260



SOURCE Ebert Digital

Ebert Digital


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