CHAMPAIGN -- An Oscar-winning documentary about a mine strike and two films focused on familial relationships have been added to the schedule for this year's Ebertfest, set for April 23-26 at a newly renovated Virginia Theatre in downtown Champaign.
The new additions are as follows:
"Harlan County U.S.A." (1976): Barbara Kopple's Academy Award-winning documentary examines the 1973 "Brookside Strike," an effort by 180 coal miners and their wives against the Brookside Mine and Prep Plant in rural southeast Kentucky that lasted over a year and at times turned violent, leaving one miner dead."A Little Prayer" (2023): Directed and written by Angus MacLachlan, who was also a producer, and starring David Strathairn, Jane Levy, Celia Weston, Will Pullen, Anna Camp and Dascha Polanco, the film, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, follows a man who tries to protect his daughter-in-law after learning of his son's affair and highlights "a variety of issues in a changing modern South, including a woman's volition over her own body, war veterans grappling with PTSD and the limits of patriarchal interference.""Color Book" (2024): Directed by David Fortune and starring William Catlett, Brandee Evans, Terri J. Vaughn and Jeremiah Daniels, the film, which focuses on a single father and his son with Down syndrome on a trip plagued by mishaps, premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Festival, and its debut at Ebertfest is sponsored by the Alliance for Inclusion and Respect.
Kopple, MacLachlan, Fortune, Strathairn, Catlett and Daniels will make appearances at the festival and each receive a "Golden Thumb Award" after their films are screened. Creators will also take part in post-screening discussions.
"Our festival line-up has been carefully curated to give our loyal Ebertfest audiences films that will make them laugh and may make them cry, but even more important, these films and our guests will serve to confirm that we are all in this together," said Ebertfest co-founder Chaz Ebert. "We gather to understand each other better, but also to just have fun!"
Ebertfest passes can be purchased at thevirginia.org or by calling the box office at 217-356-9063.
More information about this year's lineup is available at ebertfest.com.