Jesse Spiegel got into a lot of trouble as a young man, but his wealthy parents were always able to assist with legal counsel when he landed in court. However, Spiegel couldn’t forget the many Black faces in the courtroom, present without legal representation of any kind. Now an adult, Spiegel has abandoned his hedonistic ways and, through his passion for mountain climbing, is offering underprivileged teens the chance to experience the great outdoors.

NEW YORK - John Leguizamo has not forgotten his roots in Queens and his upbringing in his Puerto Rican family has provided the basis for his one-man shows, including “Ghetto Klown,” which ran on Broadway in the late aughts. Now the actor is bringing his show to Rikers Island, the notorious prison, to not only perform it for incarcerated men, but also to speak candidly with prisoners who have dreams and hopes for going legitimate

In this harrowing and timely film from France, Mouna Soualem is Hasma, a Muslim Parisian woman from a broken home trying to make her way in the world. She tries to bury her pain in drugs, nightclubs and disconnected sex, but then her eyes are drawn in by online videos calling on French Muslims to eschew Western values entirely—and to rise up violently. Loosely based on the story of a real person who became entangled with the terror plot that

In this unsparing drama set during the early days of covid, Jodie Comer is Sarah, a young do-gooder who takes a job at an assisted care home in Liverpool. Before long, the novel virus is raining havoc upon the residents, many of whom are elderly. Sarah and her staff do what they can, but when they make external phone calls for help they are faced with the terrifying reality that the system is overwhelmed, and no one is coming to help.

Actor Owen Teague spent the early months of the pandemic not only getting rather too familiar with his four walls but reading a script by Scott McGehee, David Siegel and Mike Spreter about two estranged siblings who return to their Montana home as their father convalesces. If nothing else, the gig would provide Teague a way to see something outside his own home.

Soon enough, he was on his way

CHAMPAIGN-URBANA, Ill.—The final two days of Ebertfest which ended on Sunday featured some great films in addition to stellar guests who spoke about their craft. Mostly, the invited guests discussed what motivated them to create their art, and the organizers also testified to what drives some of them to program the films they do.

Chaz Ebert kicked off Friday’s

Wednesday evening kicked off the 2022 festival with “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” which recently won the Oscar for best documentary. On Thursday morning, Ebert’s widow Chaz opened the proceedings by introducing the first full day of programming now that the festival has returned to in-person screenings for the first time since 2019. “During the ‘great pause’