RogerEbert.com publisher Chaz Ebert was recently interviewed by Judy Carmack Bross in the September 2022 issue of Classic Chicago Magazine. In their conversation, which can be read in full here, Ebert discusses her upcoming honor at the 2022 Screen Gems Benefit, which will be held this Wednesday, September 28th, at the Arts Club of Chicago. All proceeds from the evening will be directed to the Bross Scholarship Fund supporting under-resourced youth, which provides free access to the Annual Chicago International Children’s Film Festival and to Summer Film Camp.

“I am an eternal optimist who wakes up each day with a sense of hope,” Ebert says in the article. “It has been hard with the pandemic and the polarized political nature of our country, but I remain optimistic and am constantly looking for ways to help my community and my family. What I try to do is to concentrate daily on one or two things. Right now, it is on thinking about who would most benefit from being a part of the FACETS Screen Gems Gala.”

The article also reveals that Ebert is in the midst of filming a documentary entitled “The Wellness Warrior,” which centers on Deborah Szekely, the 100-year-old founder of Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico, known as the Godmother of Fitness. The film is set to be released in 2023, and Ebert will return to San Diego to continue filming following the FACETS gala.

“This is the first film where I both direct and produce, and it is a great pleasure to present this vibrant woman who still lectures and walks a mile a day. She says she may use a stick for part of this journey, but she does the mile daily,” Ebert says. “She and her husband first opened Rancho La Puerta in 1940 and then the Golden Door in San Diego in 1958.”

Other articles in this month’s issue of Classic Chicago Magazine include Lee Shoquist’s article spotlighting great female actors in recent cinema, a profile of Yves Saint Laurent’s jewelry designer Loulou de la Falaise, a look at the dream destination of Chicago journalist Kevin Tibbles and much more. 

To read Chaz Ebert’s full interview in Classic Chicago Magazine, visit the publication’s official site.

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