Ebertfest Will Return for One Final Year

After announcing earlier this year that the beloved event was, at best, on hiatus, it will now officially see at least one more year in its long-time home.

Now here is something rare: good news. It was announced earlier this year that, after 26 years, the beloved film festival Ebertfest, founded by iconic film critic Roger Ebert and currently run by his widow Chaz Ebert and festival director Nate Kohn, was coming to a likely end at its longstanding home at the Virginia Theater in Champaign-Urbana at the University of Illinois.

At the time, Ebert told IndieWire not to count the event out just yet. At the time, she said it was better to say it’s “to be continued” and to consider the potential pause “a hiatus.” The festival was put on each year in partnership with the university’s College of Media. Ebert had previously shared that financial considerations facing both the festival and universities generally “have led us to the conclusion that there is not a clearly sustainable path for the festival in its present form.”

She wasn’t wrong. In an email sent to various members of the “Ebertfest family” on Thursday afternoon, Chaz Ebert happily shared that Ebertfest is officially returning for one final year. The beloved festival will take place April 17–19, 2026, in Champaign, Illinois, at, yes, the Virginia Theatre.

Ebert also noted that she and Kohn had “recently surveyed past Ebertfest attendees to see if there was interest in One Last Dance — and the response was clear,” as 97 percent of responders said yes.

Per Ebert’s email, “This special edition will be a two-day festival, featuring eight films, special guests, and the lively, thoughtful Q&As that make Ebertfest unlike any other. Expect everything you love about the festival — plus a few surprises we can’t wait to share. This is our chance to come together one last time: to celebrate great movies, trade stories, reconnect with old friends, and close this chapter the right way.”