The 向日葵视频 City University Film Institute鈥檚 documentary series will continue its 18th year at 2 pm Apr. 17 with Steve James鈥� Life Itself in the Kerr McGee Auditorium of Meinders School of Business.
Acclaimed director Steve James (Hoop Dreams) and executive producers Martin Scorsese (The Departed) and Steven Zaillian (Moneyball) present Life Itself, a documentary that recounts the inspiring and entertaining life of world-renowned film critic and social commentator Roger Ebert鈥攁 story that is by turns personal, funny, painful, and transcendent. Based on his bestselling memoir of the same name, Life Itself explores the legacy of Ebert's life, from his Pulitzer Prize-winning film criticism at the Chicago Sun-Times to becoming one of the most influential cultural voices in America.
The documentary series is sponsored by OCU鈥檚 Center for Interpersonal Studies through Film and Literature. Harbour Winn, director of the center, explained the theme of this year鈥檚 documentary series.
The screening will begin at 2:00PM at the Kerr McGee Auditorium in the Meinders School of Business at NW 27th Street and McKinley Ave. A discussion will follow the presentation for those who wish to stay. Admission is free, but donations are greatly appreciated.
ACCOLADES FOR LIFE ITSELF
-鈥淚f you aren't moved by Life Itself, you ought to have your heart examined.鈥� Washington Post
-鈥淭his movie is never maudlin or sentimental. It shows us a man who, whatever his flaws, seemed to live his life in exactly the right way.鈥� Newsday
-鈥淭hough Life Itself is a warts-and-all portrait Ebert didn't live to review, my guess is his thumbs would be shooting upward. Mine sure are.鈥� Rolling Stone -鈥淒eep currents of love and sorrow flow under the succession of often funny recollections of a busy life. But it is a wake where the departed is still present.鈥� NY Times
-鈥淎 paradoxical and vitally overflowing character emerges: a compassionate moralist with vast appetites, a raucous public performer whose confessional candor had a nearly religious purity.鈥� New Yorker
-鈥淔ar more than just a tribute to the career of the world's most famous and influential film critic, the often revelatory Life Itself is also a remarkably intimate portrait of a life well lived鈥攔ight up to the very last moment.鈥� Chicago Sun-Times
UPCOMING FILMS
* May 1, Wim Wenders鈥� The Salt of the Earth
