New Roger Ebert Documentary The Last Movie Critic Premieres at Final Ebertfest

Shatterglass Films announces its unconventional new documentary featuring Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Tilda Swinton, Ava DuVernay, and others.

CHAMPAIGN, IL, UNITED STATES, April 8, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Shatterglass Films announces The Last Movie Critic, a new feature documentary about Roger Ebert, set to premiere at the final Ebertfest on April 17, 2026 at the historic Virginia Theatre in Champaign, Illinois. Produced by Chaz Ebert, Brett Hays, Nate Kohn, and Luke Boyce, the film arrives at a bittersweet moment: the closing of the festival Ebert built and loved, now in its final edition.

This is not another Roger Ebert biography. Written and directed by Luke Boyce and Michael Moreci, and based on the writings of Roger Ebert, The Last Movie Critic follows a young film student who arrives at Ebertfest with a question: what was Roger Ebert's secret? Guided by Roger himself, whose writing becomes the voice of the film, her search illuminates his philosophies, his passions, and his conviction that movies have the power to make us more empathetic, more curious, and more human.

Filmed across the history of Ebertfest, with never-before-seen archival footage, the film includes a remarkable group of filmmakers Roger championed over decades, among them Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Werner Herzog, Tilda Swinton, Ava DuVernay, Joachim Trier, and Ramin Bahrani, paying tribute to his writing, his mission, and his enduring philosophy of cinema.

"I grew up learning how to watch movies from Roger Ebert. Not just what to think about them, but why they matter, why they demand something from us, why sitting in the dark together and letting a story in is one of the most human things we can do. We live in a moment that has reduced cinema to content, something to consume and move on from. This film is an argument against that. Roger spent his life insisting that movies are a moral and spiritual act, that they make us more empathetic, more curious, more alive. That mission has never felt more urgent. And his words have never felt more necessary," said Luke Boyce, Co-Writer and Co-Director.

"Roger Ebert was one of the most important thinkers of the past century. The way Thoreau went to Walden Pond to commune with nature, Roger went to the movies to commune with humanity. That's how Roger viewed movies, as a spiritual connection between you, me, and all the people we'll never meet or know. That's the power of cinema, and no one conveyed its necessity with more passion, wit, and heart than Roger. That was his unique and enduring magic, and it's what we aimed to capture in The Last Movie Critic," said Michael Moreci, Co-Writer and Co-Director.

Jennifer Shelby and Stephanie Slife serve as Executive Producers. The film is presented by Shatterglass Films in association with The Ebert Company and Nate Kohn.

The Last Movie Critic premieres April 17, 2026 at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, Illinois during the final Ebertfest, entitled "The Last Dance." Tickets available at thevirginia.org.

About Shatterglass Films: Shatterglass Films is an award-winning independent production company based in Illinois. More information at shatterglassfilms.com.

Luke Boyce
Shatterglass Films
press@shatterglassfilms.com
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