I was having dinner with a group of friends who are experts in various fields when one of them observed that, whether it was psychology, photography, astrology or cryptology, 2025 turned out to be a very strange year indeed. However, he continued with more hope, believing that 2026 already suggests vast improvements to come. From his mouth to the ear of God!
On this first day of January 2026, I invite you to sit down with a cup of hot chocolate and enjoy the writings of our contributors here at RogerEbert.com because they offer a happier and more complete view of things on the big and small screen. This of course starts with our great editorial team: editor-in-chief, Brian Tallerico; General Editor, Matt Zoller Seitz; Contributing editor, Nell Minow; Associate Editor, Robert Daniels; and associate editor Clint Worthington. I thank them all as well as our great Corporate Team: Sonia Evans and Daniel Jackson.
Before my late husband Roger Ebert passed away on April 4, 2013, we had many conversations about continuing the website. I knew how much he loved her. I could see both the calming influence it had on him and the joy it brought him. Although he said he didn’t care about his legacy, there was no doubt that he enjoyed sharing his many years of production. There were times, I must admit, when I thought that continuing the site without Roger would be sacrilege. But as I built the team to RogerEbert.comit became clear to me that this was the perfect way to offer my respect and admiration, not only to Roger as a wife, but also to Roger whose partnership with Gene Siskel created a cottage industry of publicly accessible film criticism. To that end, I also thank the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and the Chicago History Museum for jointly organizing the citywide Siskel & Ebert Fifty Year Celebrations.
And now I am happy to share the work of our team since 2025. Throughout the year, we have been fortunate to have movie reviews and opinion pieces from so many people whose names are too numerous to mention, but they include our editorial team mentioned above, as well as Sheila O’Malley, Glenn Kenny, Christine Lemire, Tomris Laffly, Monica Castillo, Peyton Robinson, Simon Abrams, Richard Roeper, Marya E. Gates, Isaac Feldberg, Godfrey Cheshire, Carlos Aguilar, Katie Rife, Peter Sobczynski, Craig LindseyJourdain Searles, Zachary Lee, Michael Phillips and many others.
Brian Tallerico was joined by a phenomenal team of television critics including Richard Roeper, Kaiya Shunyata, Cristina Escobar, Randy Jones, Nandini Balialand Clint Worthington, who brought us the 25 Best TV Series of 2025.
Read their full work here.
We’ve had incredible conversations with A-list artists this year, including Rian Johnson, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Wagner Moura, Hikari, Payal Kapadia, Elle Fanning, Stellan Skarsgård, Lynne Ramsay, Jennifer Lawrence, Sepideh Farsi, Nia DaCosta, Jafar Panahi, Kelly Reichardt, Mary Bronstein, Constance Tsang, Euzhan Palcy, Carson Lund, Pamela Anderson and many more. Read them all here.
We must also thank our Far Flung correspondents, a name given by Roger to film critics representing many countries, from Egypt to Mexico, from Canada to England, from Pakistan to Japan and France. Some of these writers lived abroad, while others were Americans familiar with films from those countries. Gerard Valero, Seongyongcho, Scott Jordan Harris, Omer Mozaffar, Wael Khairy, Lisa Nesselson, Olivia ColletteAnd Jana Monji.
In January 2025, we returned to the Sundance Film Festivalfeaturing dispatches from our editors Brian Tallerico and Robert Daniels and our regular contributors Marya E. Gates, Zachary Lee and Monica Castillo. And of course, our movie reviews.
In February, Tim Grierson praised the neglected films during the Oscar seasonwhile Sarah Knight Adamson reported from Critics’ Choice Awards.
Our annual women writers week performed in March and featured incisive pieces covering topics ranging from Nini Scott write about films from South Africa to Marya E Gates sharing an excerpt from her book Cinema Her Way: visionary female directors in their own words. Alongside these topics, many other incredible female writers have contributed: Sherin Nicole, Jordan SearlesAbby Olcese, Cristina EscobarMiriam Balanescu, Danielle Mathias, Jen John, Carla Renataand Laura Emerick.
In March, Brian Tallerico, Zachary Lee and Matt Zoller Seitz traveled to Austin, Texas to SXSWthe South by Southwest Film Festival, dropping dispatches on eclectic independent films, crowd-pleasing studio films and rare discoveries.
In April we organized our final installment of Ebert Fest at the Virginia Theater in Champaign, Illinois where we hosted Rosanna Arquette, Susan Seidelman, Michael Barker, Francis Ford Coppola, Barbara Kopple, Azazel Jacobs, Guy Maddin, David Fortune and many others. Roger really loved Ebertfest. Not only did it take place in his hometown, but it also took place in conjunction with his alma mater, the University of Illinois College of Media. He said the University was the best partner he could have asked for. I agree with him. And even after his death in 2013, the University continued to proudly host this very special film festival.
However, for financial reasons, in September 2025, I regretted joining the University in announcing the end of the Ebertfest after 26 years. It was simply an unfortunate situation that affected many institutions across the country. The University had served the community well over the years, but it had no choice. So Dr. Nathaniel Kohn, the festival director, and I began working behind the scenes to see if there was a way to resurrect Ebertfest for another year. By a stroke of luck, he it looks like we may be able to host the Festival for a final edition in 2026 which will take place from April 17 to 19, in its former home, the magnificent Virginia Theater. Not all the details have been ironed out, so expect another press release before the end of January. And please, keep your fingers crossed (and your donations are coming).
In May, I returned to Cannes Film Festival with Scott Dummler of Mint Media Works, where we produced a series of video dispatches featuring our contributors Brian Tallerico, Ben Kenigsberg, Jason GorberIsaac Feldberg and Robert Daniels.
We also celebrated Black Writers Week in June, publishing the exciting work of contributors like Odie HendersonBrenda Butler, Kaiya Shunyata, Danielle Scruggs, Sherin Nicole, Sonia Evans, Soraya Nadia McDonald, Brandon David Wilson, Mack Bates, Craig D. Lindsay and others.
The month of July was rich in major cinematographic events: Katherine Tulich written by Bentonville; Isaac Feldberg covered Karlovy Vary International Film Festival; Clint Worthington has since arrived Fantasy; Cortlyn Kelly pointed out Women’s Cinema Short Film Festivalwho first introduced Lauren to Melinda Chaz Ebert Award for Phenomenal Person in Cinema; Nell Minow And Jana Monji shared their personal experiences at Comic Con.
In August, Robert Daniels ventured to Locarno Film Festivalwhile Cortlyn Kelly returned to Telluride.
At the Toronto International Film Festival in September, Cameron Bailey presented Guillermo del Toro with the award Ebert Director’s Award. Brian Tallerico led a team including Marya E. Gates, Zachary Lee, Jason Bailey and Monica Castillo – covering an impressive 71 films across a stacked lineup.
In October, not only did the site report on the 61st Chicago International Film Festival, but Chaz Ebert also rode in the Criterion Van during his limited-time visit to the city.
To follow up on my book It’s time to give a helping hand: uplifting humanity through forgiveness, empathy, compassion and kindnessI announcement the FECK Awards to be held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Chicago on Saturday, April 4, 2026. The book, among other things, celebrates Roger’s declaration that cinema is a machine that generates empathy, which allows us to understand others.
Meanwhile, November brought 50th anniversary of Siskel & Ebert. To celebrate, a screening series at the Claudia Cassidy Theater featured screenings of “Bayou d’Ève” “Break away” “Pharmacy Cowboy” “Siskel & Ebert at 50: a live performance,” And “Lone Star“, while our writers considered the series’ lasting legacy.
IN MEMORY: We have lost many extraordinary people this year, including Rob Reiner, Gene Hackman, Dianne LaddAnd David Lynch. We have also honored many other luminaries in our Tributes section.
These are just a small percentage of the movie reviews and articles you’ll find when visiting our site. I know Roger would be proud.
