FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 16, 2024
MEDIA CONTACTS
Paul Gonter, paul@facets.org
FACETS HONORS JACQUELINE STEWART’S GROUNDBREAKING WORK IN CINEMA AT SCREEN GEMS BENEFIT ON MAY 1, 2024
Press Release
CHICAGO — FACETS is pleased to announce that their 2024 Screen Gems Benefit will honor Jacqueline Stewart, Director and President of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, on May 1, 2024, at the Arts Club of Chicago (201 E. Ontario St.). The event runs from 6:00–9:00 pm and includes an open bar, light dinner, online auction, and special conversation between Jacqueline Stewart and 2022 Screen Gems honoree Chaz Ebert. All proceeds will be directed to the Bross Scholarship Fund supporting under-resourced youth in Chicago. Tickets will go on sale Thursday, January 18, 2024, at 12:00 pm CST.
The 2024 Screen Gems Benefit Committee is co-chaired by Judy Bross and Penny Brown, and includes FACETS Board members Randy Adamsick, Suzette Bross, Rebecca Halpern, Mitch Cobey, Karen Cardarelli, and Biba Roesch. The event’s esteemed Honorary Host Committee consists of Julie Dash, Allyson Nadia Field, Tom Gunning, Werner Herzog, Marcus Hu, Steve James, Barbara Martinez Jitner, Ben Mankiewicz, Dan Morgan, Eddie Muller, Gregory Nava, Gigi Pritzker, Gordon Quinn, Brenda Robinson, Ellen Sandor, Liz Stiffel.
CELEBRATING JACQUELINE STEWART
FACETS is inspired by Jacqueline Stewart’s work in celebrating film, teaching its important history, and shining a light on the work of people of color. The FACETS Board of Directors are honored to acknowledge her with its Brilliance Award.
“FACETS is proud to honor Chicago native Jacqueline Stewart at our annual Screen Gems Benefit in 2024. Scholar, film programmer, museum director, television host, historian, Ms. Stewart has achieved groundbreaking work in so many areas of cinema,” according to Randy Adamsick, co-chair of the FACETS Board of Directors.
For more than 20 years, Screen Gems has honored leaders of Chicago’s cultural scene. In addition to serving as FACETS principal fundraiser, the event is a forum to create discussion on critical issues. Screen Gems 2024 will feature two of our nation’s experts on Black cinema: Chaz Ebert in conversation with Jacqueline Stewart.
About JACQUELINE STEWART
Jacqueline Stewart is the Director and President of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Stewart is a scholar, educator, programmer, author, film archivist, and host of Silent Sunday Nights on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Stewart previously served as Chief Artistic and Programming Officer at the Academy Museum and is a Professor in the Department of Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Chicago, where she has also served as Director of the Arts + Public Life initiative and the Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry. She is chair of the National Film Preservation Board (NFPB), where she has led the drafting of reports on diversity, equity, and inclusion on the National Film Registry and in the film archival profession. Stewart was named a 2021 MacArthur Fellow and she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2018. She has served on the Boards of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) and the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA). In 2015, she co-curated the five-disc set Pioneers of African American Cinema for Kino Lorber. She earned her PhD in English from the University of Chicago and her BA in English from Stanford University.
About CHAZ EBERT
Entrepreneur, publisher, author, producer, and philanthropist Chaz Ebert has spent her career championing overlooked films and filmmakers, providing invaluable opportunities for new and diverse voices. Her work as a film producer, most recently in Rebecca Hall’s Passing, has bolstered diversity and change in the film industry. As president of the Roger and Chaz Ebert Foundation, Ms. Ebert is passionate about programs that help break the glass ceiling for women and people of color and provide education and arts for women, children, and families. She has provided grants to support films with strong social justice themes, and she supports emerging writers, filmmakers, and technologists with her endowment of scholarships, internships, or awards at the Sundance Film Festival, Film Independent Spirit Awards, the University of Illinois Ebert Fellowships, the Hawaii International Film Festival-Young Critics Program, the Telluride Ebert/TFF University Seminars, the Chicago International Film Festival Ebert Director Awards, and the Columbia College Links Journalism Awards in conjunction with the Chicago Urban League.
BENEFITING
FACETS has been a centerpiece of the Chicago and national film scene for 48 years. Proceeds will be directed to FACETS programs including the Bross Scholarship Fund supporting under-resourced youth with free access to Summer Film Camp and the annual Chicago International Children’s Film Festival.
PURCHASING TICKETS
Tickets will be available starting on Thursday, January 18, 2024, at 12:00 pm CST. Ticket includes a seat at the dinner reception and in the theater.
$10,000 – Producer Sponsor: 10 VIP Tickets + Lead Sponsor acknowledgement
$5,000 – Director Sponsor: 8 VIP Tickets + Sponsor acknowledgement
$2,500 – Silver Screen Sponsor: 8 Tickets + Supporting Sponsor acknowledgement
$1,000 – Cinephile: 4 Tickets ($1,200 after 4/1/24)
$500 – Film Fan: 2 Tickets ($550 after 4/1/24)
$300 – Film Critic: 1 Ticket ($325 after 4/1/24)
Tickets can be purchased online at www.facets.org/screen-gems, by emailing john@facets.org, or by calling (312) 560-3879.
DONATE
Unable to attend the 2024 Screen Gems Benefit? Gifts can be made in support of FACETS and its Bross Scholarship Fund at www.facets.org/donate.
About FACETS
Established in 1975, FACETS is a leading art house cinema and education center. One of the largest non-profit film organizations in Chicago, it also manages the operations of the newly formed Chicago Alliance of Film Festivals. FACETS expands perspectives and affirms a shared humanity through inclusive engagement with film. Recently selected for Newcity’s “Best of Chicago 2023,” FACETS‘ mission is to create cinematic experiences for youth and adults that foster vital conversations and community action through film exhibitions, media education, and film resources. Whether it’s a retrospective film series, a recent indie hit, or its annual Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, FACETS brings film lovers and filmmakers together. Film critic Roger Ebert famously referred to FACETS as a “temple of great cinema.” Learn more at facets.org.