Roger Ebert, the TV and Chicago Sun-Times film critic, was a native of the adjoining town of Urbana, Illinois, and is an alumnus of the University.

[9] The film was to be shown as part of Cyberfest, Roger Ebert had agreed to host and actor Gary Lockwood was a special guest.

All concerned were pleasantly surprised to learn the chain had left behind not only what is reputed to be the finest 35/70 mm projector made but also the screen and speakers.

Since its inception in 1999, Ebertfest has been held at the Virginia Theatre, an old-time movie palace in Champaign built in 1921 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

[17] Instrumental in these upgrades has been notable Chicago-based projection expert James Bond who doubles as one of the projectionists during the festival.

This did not necessarily indicate any change in the philosophy or theme[23] but simply eliminated the need to explain when current or even unreleased films were included which had sometimes been the case.

[29] The selection philosophy is expected to continue, but with the name change there will no longer be a need to come up with a pretext for including any film.

After Ebert lost his speaking voice due to cancer, starting with the ninth festival in 2007, his wife Chaz assumed many of the hosting duties.

[37] At the opening of the 15th annual Ebertfest, it was announced by Ebert's wife, Chaz, that his alma mater, the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, will be establishing a new Film Studies program within the College of Media in honor of his legacy.

[38] Since its inception, many film directors, actors, producers, cinematographers and other crew members, as well as studio executives have been invited to participate in Ebertfest.

[40] For the tenth Ebertfest in 2010, many of the international invited guests were unable to attend due to the volcanic eruptions in Iceland that disrupted air travel in Europe.

[42][43] In the aftermath of his death on April 12, 2022, Ebertfest announced it was dedicating the event to the memories of Gottfried and Sidney Poitier.

[41] The first Roger Ebert Humanitarian Award was presented in 2016 to co-directors Andrew Young and Stephen Apkon for their documentary film Disturbing the Peace.

[50] Co-sponsored by the University of Illinois College of Media, every Ebertfest since its inception has included panel discussions with invited festival guests and scholars from academia, covering a variety of film-related topics.

[52] Beginning in 2010, the panel discussions, film introductions, and post-film discussions/question and answer sessions with festival guests have been streamed live, and then archived on Ebertfest's YouTube channel.

The number of passes sold is limited to 1,000 with the remainder of seats allotted for individual tickets or sponsors.

[53] As passholders do not necessarily attend every show, it is often possible to obtain tickets at the last minute after empty seats are counted.