A tribute for the late film critic Roger Ebert will be held Feb. 6-9 at the Tate Student Center Theatre.
The tribute is sponsored by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, the theatre and film studies department in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and the University Union.
Roger Ebert Weekend will feature Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, the only film Ebert ever wrote himself, as well as La Dolce Vita and Citizen Kane, two of Ebert’s all-time favorite films.
The highlight of the weekend is a screening of Life Itself, a new documentary based on Ebert’s 2011 autobiography. Directed by Steve James and produced by Martin Scorsese, the Feb. 7 event will be the first screening of the film after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
Ebert’s widow, Chaz Ebert, will be present before the documentary screening for a pre-reception from 6-7:30 p.m. in the Peabody Suite of the Grady College. She will be available for a post-screening question-and-answer session.
“To have Chaz Ebert talk about Roger after the screening of Life Itself and answer audience questions affords a rare opportunity for film and journalism students to learn about the legendary film critic’s life and work,” said Nate Kohn, Grady College professor and director of the annual Roger Ebert Film Festival in Champaign, Ill. “The program is an excellent mix that reflects the wide scope of Roger’s taste in movies-from Fellini to Welles to Russ Meyer.”
Events, which are open to the public, include the screening of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls on Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. in the Tate Theatre. Admission is $2 for the public and $1 for UGA students. Life Itself will be shown on Feb. 7 at 8 p.m. in the Tate Theatre. Admission to the documentary is free. On Feb. 8, Citizen Kane will be shown at 6 and 9 p.m. in the Tate Theatre. Admission is $2 for the public and $1 for UGA students. La Dolce Vita will be shown Feb. 9 at 3, 6 and 9 p.m. in the Tate Theatre. Admission is $2 for the public and $1 for UGA students.
Ebert was a film critic, journalist and screenwriter. He worked for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. Ebert and Chicago Tribune critic Gene Siskel, who died in 1999, hosted a series of popular shows in which they created and trademarked the phrase “two thumbs up,” used when they both gave the same film a positive review.
In 1975, Ebert was the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. As of 2010, his reviews were syndicated to more than 200 newspapers in the U.S. and abroad. Ebert also published more than 20 books and dozens of collections of reviews.
