CHICAGO, Feb. 5, 2021 Creators of the No Malice Film Contest for young filmmakers in Illinois between the ages of 11 and 21 this Saturday will launch a free series of talks with professional filmmakers and storytellers to share advice and inspire their creativity.
Students will compete in the contest as individuals or in groups in three age brackets: 11–14, 15–18, and 19–21. Entries are due by Friday, April 30. Three prizes between $500 and $2,000 will be awarded in each category at a red carpet debut to be held at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield on July 31. Winning films will also be shown at the Ebertfest Film Festival at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Illinois schools will use the films, and supplemental curriculum created by educators, to talk about race and the harmful impact of bias and injustice.
The Roger and Chaz Ebert Foundation is hosting the contest and lecture series in partnership with the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, which received a grant from Healing Illinois, a racial healing initiative of the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), in partnership with The Chicago Community Trust. Watch video of Chaz Ebert talking about racial healing, the contest and the lecture series.
The contest was named for a famous quote by President Abraham Lincoln during his second inaugural address at the end of the Civil War. He urged Americans to act “with malice toward none, with charity for all.”
During the free lecture series, emerging filmmakers across the country are invited to participate and get advice from professional filmmakers and storytellers in Zoom workshops held on Saturdays, Central Standard Time, in February and March.
February 6, 10 a.m.: “Creating Your Own Content” with Troy Osborne Pryor, an American producer, host and actor whose stage, on-camera and voice-over work has led to award-winning content on multiple platforms including collaborations with ABC, Warner Brothers, HGTV, DIY Network, TV One and Aspire TV.
February 11, 6 p.m.: A screening of the film “Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise.”
February 13, 10 a.m.: “Directing the Storyteller” with Rita Coburn Whack, the co-director and co-producer of “Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise,” is a Peabody and Emmy Award–winning director, writer and producer with nearly four decades in radio, television and film.
February 20, 10 a.m.: “The People in My Films: Portrayal and Relationships” with Steve James, whose previous work includes Academy Award–nominated films “Hoop Dreams” and “Abacus: Small Enough to Jail.” Other award-winning work includes “Stevie,” “The Interrupters,” “No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson” and “Life Itself.” His Starz docuseries, “America to Me,” was one of the most acclaimed TV shows of 2018. His most recent docuseries, “City So Real,” premiered to rave reviews on National Geographic and Hulu.
February 27, 10 a.m.: “Seeds for Story” with Pamela Sherrod, the founder of Graceworks Theater and Film Productions LLC and an award-winning writer, filmmaker, playwright, educator and journalist, is currently board chair of Kartemquin Films.
March 6, 9:45 a.m.: “Trust Your Gut: The Stories You Were Born to Tell” with T. Shawn Taylor. The former newspaper writer and editor is a book author and the owner of a boutique communications firm, Treetop Consulting.
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