Join Chaz Ebert at the Critic’s Cut 2025 event at FACETS | Chaz’s diary

RogerEbert.com Editor Chaz Ebert will appear on FACETS this Thursday, December 4, alongside host Lee Shoquist, filmmaker Bing Liu (“Minding the Gap”) and critic Michael Phillips, to discuss the best films of 2025. You can even vote for your favorite films and participate in an auction to support the FACETS mission. Buy tickets here and view auction items here. Highlights include a special screening of the masterful “Ghostlight,” restaurant gift cards, membership to the Siskel Film Center and much more. Please see the official FACETS information below and buy your tickets while you can!

What made the selection of the best films of 2025? Ask the experts.

Join leading film critics, independent filmmakers and Chicago’s vibrant community of film buffs at FACETS to Critique’s Cut 2025 — a one-night-only celebration highlighting the year’s most unforgettable films and honoring 50 years of FACETS.

Hosted by Lee Shoquist (Film Critic, Chicago Film Critics Association), with special guests Chaz Ebert (RogerEbert.com), Bing Liu (Oscar nominee Closing the gap) and Michael Phillips (writer, conversationalist), this panel of experts will reveal their top film picks of 2025 – then stay for the reveal of the FACETS audience’s best films and to celebrate 50 years of FACETS.

Enter the Critique’s Cut 2025 online auctions and bid on experiences, restaurants, theaters, museums and more! Auction closes on Thursday December 4, 2025 – 9 p.m. Proceeds support all FACETS programs for adults and youth. VIEW AUCTIONS

STRENGTHS

• “Meet the Critics” VIP Pre-Reception including Appetizers and Cocktails
• Live experts reveal the best film picks of 2025
• Prosecco toast honoring FACETS’ 50th anniversary
• Places reserved for sponsors and VIPs
• FACETS People’s Top Picks Revealed
• After-Party with Dessert Bar, raffle, live DJ set by Chelliah and Film Trivia hosted by Raphael Jose Martinez
• Opportunities to support the mission and legacy of FACETS for 50 years

Lee Shoquist – Film Critic

Lee Shoquist is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and editor-in-chief of ChicagoFilm.com. He leads a network of film discussion groups in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, and is a frequent speaker at cultural and arts organizations, including Facets, the Women’s Athletic Club, Chicago Fortnight, Michigan Shores Club, Lake Shore Country Club, The Cliff Dwellers, Casino Club, Google Headquarters, and Cinema Chicago. His work examines artistic intention, social resonance and the place of cinema in contemporary culture.

Chaz Ebert – RogerEbert.com

Chaz Ebert is an active producer of television shows and films and the CEO of Ebert Digital LLC, publisher of the leading film review site Rogerebert.com. For twenty-four years, she shared life with Pulitzer Prize winner Roger Ebert. In their work to foster empathy through cinema and around the world, they created the Ebertfest Film Festival and the Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies at the University of Illinois. She is the author of the bestselling book It’s time to give a helping hand: uplifting humanity through forgiveness, empathy, compassion and kindness.

Bing Liu – Director

Bing Liu is the director of Preparation for the Next Life and Minding the Gap, which was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2019 Academy Awards, an Independent Spirit Award, an Emmy and won a Sundance Special Jury Prize and a Peabody Award. He was a segment director on Starz’s AMERICA TO ME and co-directed his second feature documentary All These Sons, which won Best Cinematography at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival and the Maysles Award at the Denver International Film Festival.

Michael Phillips – Writer, conversationalist

Before joining the Chicago Tribune in 2002 as a drama critic, Michael Phillips worked as a theater critic for the Los Angeles Times, the San Diego Union-Tribune, the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Dallas Times-Herald. His work in other media includes co-hosting the long-running syndicated series “At the Movies”; on-air host of Turner Classic Movies; and appearances on the Chicago podcast “Filmspotting.” Michael has taught arts journalism at DePaul University, Columbia College, the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois.