During her early teen years, Chaz began to not only love movies, but to understand them more completely. She and her siblings would take the bus or the EL to one of the many movie houses along State Street. “We were so lucky! We felt like grown ups going to the movies as kids together.” It was a community program offered in her neighborhood that pushed Chaz to the next level. She said, “...they told us the next time we saw a movie...to wait for the credits.” The instruction to write down the director, writer, and producer, flipped a switch for her. “From that time on, I would start paying more attention to who was responsible for making a movie happen; not just an actor on a screen, but behind the camera.”
Chaz became a litigator in her adult life, obtaining her law degree from DePaul University, and practicing as a trial attorney for environmental, sexual harassment, and discrimination cases. Then, in the early ’90’s, she became the Vice President of the Ebert Company, focusing on endeavors related to film. Chaz has a special love of documentaries. “I like seeing how a filmmaker can document some aspect of life that we may not be that familiar with … something kind of off-beat about some type of work that I never knew about.” “Crumb” fascinated her and Jennifer Arnold’s “A Small Act” touched her heart, as she found the film to be inspiring. “I think seeing something good inspires us to do good, [but] it doesn’t necessarily cause us to do it.”
What is Chaz’ inspiration? “I continue to do [Ebertfest] not just as an homage to him (Roger), that’s part of it, but also because I think that my mission in life is to encourage more empathy, kindness, compassion, and forgiveness and that the film festival is one of the ways that I think I can do that.” Chaz is awestruck that 20 years has already passed. “It all seems to flow together for me … it doesn’t feel like a whole lot of things have changed, except the fact that Roger is not here ... [but] I almost feel like I’m doing it in partnership with him … like he has a hand in it, he’s lending some assistance.”
This spiritual assistance is a driving force to create a powerful line-up at this year’s festival, dedicated to both Roger and the film festival’s “Guardian Angel,” Mary Frances Fagan who passed away in February. Special events, panel discussions, and 12 films shown at the state-of-the-art Virginia Theatre, including the opening night film, Andrew Davis’ “The Fugitive,” a classic Chicago film which, as Chaz explained, “... is not an overlooked film, it’s a cherished film … it’s going to be seen like some people have never seen it before.” And on Friday, April 19, participants will be part of a “big, glorious cinema party” complete with cake, ice cream, and music.
Chaz excitedly shared that 6 of the 12 films at the fest are created by women and “Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World” by Catherine Bainbridge will set the stage for a unique musical performance on Sunday, April 22nd. “The Queens of Cinema,” Ava DuVernay (“13th”), Julie Dash (“Daughters of the Dust”), and Amma Asante (“Belle”), among many more filmmakers will also be in attendance to answer questions following their films. (For a complete listing of films, tickets, and events, go to www.ebertfest.com.
Chaz regards this festival as a family, crediting Roger for helping create such a fun and connected community. She said, “Roger used to tell people, ‘Don’t just stand in line. Talk to each other … look at your neighbor.” This connection sets Ebertfest apart from all the rest. In her final thoughts during this conversation, Chaz said, “I want people to know how grateful I am to [those] who come every year.” She continued with a strength and resilience to her voice, “I would like people to know that I’m hoping [Ebertfest] makes a difference in the world.”