217 Today: Ebertfest and beyond, how the C-U film sphere moves forward after the loss of a giant

Monday, December 1, 2025

Today’s headlines: 

• Any new snow we receive today will fall on top of what the National Weather Service is calling one of the most prolific late November snowfalls on record.
• If you look out over Lake Decatur, you’ll see two platforms that look like floating gardens. These structures are man-made wetlands, a project of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 
• For 26 years EbertFest brought in world-renowned filmmakers, directors, actors and musicians for a weekend of live music and film at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign.
• The Fighting Illini football team ended their regular season with a snow fight in Champaign winning 20-to-13 Northwestern.

In today’s deep dive, EbertFest organizers announced this fall they won’t be coming back but there’s some discussion of a possible encore. 

217 Today is produced by Stephanie Orellana. Reporting today contributed by A. Oishii Basu, Reginald Hardwick, Elissa Eaton and Jonathan Mathew.