Chaz Ebert with 99 Homes actor and filmmaker

This was my first year attending Ebertfest, and I really regret not going last year. As a freshman last year, I wasn’t familiar with the film festival, but I do remember a friend mentioning it to me a week before it began. I had looked into it very briefly and saw that Spike Lee’s ‘Do the Right Thing’ was going to play. I had seen the movie before and loved it. I looked into going but saw it was sold out so I ended my efforts there. I was also a little skeptical that Spike Lee was actually going to be there, because I knew absolutely nothing about the festival and its legacy. If I hadn’t been so ignorant about Ebertfest, I would’ve known that even if a film sells out, you can show up half an hour early to get tickets, and that Spike Lee wasn’t only going to be there, he would be participating in a Q&A about the film. Although I do I wish I hadn’t missed out on this once in a lifetime opportunity, I’m glad that I got involved this year and I hope to continue attending Ebertfest even after I graduate.

In the other MACs class I’m taking we had the opportunity to volunteer at Ebertfest for extra credit. When I registered for the class it said we would have the chance to intern at Ebertfest, and that was one of the major reasons I signed up for it. Unfortunately they changed it this year so we couldn’t intern, but we still had the option to get involved. I signed up to volunteer for the festival, and was assigned to work the green room. I was pretty excited for that because as it was explained to me the green room was where all the actors and filmmakers ate, so we would have a chance to meet them. However when I showed up that wasn’t exactly the case. Most of the people that came through to eat were people who lived around Champaign and had donated to the festival. Our only job was to check and make sure everyone had green festival passes. But after almost turning away a few filmmakers and a man who turned out to be the festival director for not having green passes, we realized that the only people showing up were supposed to be there, and many of them didn’t have green passes. After that we kind of gave up on the whole green pass thing, so my job was pretty much just to greet people, which was a little awkward and not really necessary. The next time I volunteer at Ebertfest I definitely would prefer to work the theater.

I only made it to one film, which ended up being 99 Homes. I had been hoping to go to The End of the Tour mostly because Jason Segel was going to be at the Q&A. I had read on the website that if you didn’t have a ticket, you could show up a half hour early to try to get in. It also said that they hadn’t turned anyone away in 13 years, so I was fairly confident we’d get in. However I had completely underestimated how popular Jason Segel is, especially among college kids. When we got there, the line was all the way down the block, and it was 95% students. We were a little nervous when we saw how many people were in front of us, but we stayed hopeful. As the line started moving, we got closer and closer to the theater until we were standing under the Virginia Theater lights, just a few people left in front of us. This was the point when they told us the theater was 100% full and there was no way they could fit anyone else. That was definitely one of the more disappointing moments of my life. But in the end everything worked out okay because I got to see 99 Homes and I really enjoyed it. I knew absolutely nothing about it going into it, and I personally think that’s the best way to see a film. I also really liked the Q&A, because the director Ramin Bahrani was able to be there. In the time before Roger’s death, Ramin had grown very close to him and actually dedicated 99 Homes to Roger. It was clear how much he cares about and believes in Ebertfest, and how appreciative he is to the community and of course Roger.

As much as I enjoyed the screening of 99 Homes, my favorite part of Ebertfest happened on Thursday morning. I was walking through downtown Champaign on my way to volunteer for the green room, when I turned the corner onto a street and saw a man sitting on a park bench. He was alone, smoking a cigarette and drinking a coffee, and there was no one else on the street. As I got closer, I realized that this man was none other than Jason Segel. I was too shocked to do anything other than smile and say hi as I walked by, but I was pleased when he did the same and said hi back. Even though that probably was the perfect opportunity to talk to him, he seemed to be pretty peaceful just sitting there and I didn’t want to bother him. Plus I still got to tell everyone that Jason Segel said hi to me.