2024-25 Ebert Fellows announced

Each fall, the Roger Ebert Fellows program selects three College of Media undergraduate students to complete a yearlong fellowship that immerses students into the film industry and provides them with opportunities to sharpen their critical writing skills and engage with the film community. 

The Roger Ebert Fellows for the 2024-25 academic year are Aaron Anastos, Kennedy Caldwell, and Diamond Steward-Hutton. 

The program, named after the late Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic and University of Illinois journalism alumnus Roger Ebert, allows fellows to work with Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips to hone their skills in writing, critical analysis, and media studies, as well as meeting with various film and media workers in “immersion excursion” days in Chicago.

Phillips, who has been an advisor and mentor for the program since it began in 2015, hopes to teach the Ebert Fellows the principles of becoming effective critics. 

“My job, as I see it, is to kind of take the entire school year to figure out different ways to show them what might help them become more persuasive, more interesting writers,” Phillips said. 

The Ebert Fellows will also attend the True/False Film Festival in Columbia, Missouri, and produce written work for RogerEbert.com. They will also help host and curate screenings for the Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies.

"With all the people we meet over the course of the Ebert Fellowship, I hope each of the fellows finds at least one person, somewhere in the world outside U of I, who speaks directly to their own interests and passions,” Phillips said. “I'm here to help them make connections because we all need them."

Meet the 2024-25 Ebert Fellows

Aaron Anastos is a junior in journalism. Anastos is excited to sharpen his writing skills, work with the other fellows, and give more to the film community on campus. 

“To be able to have this opportunity to meet people with the same passions and get involved, and be able to improve our skills in writing, public discourse, criticism, all that interesting stuff, it meant a lot,” Anastos said. 

He believes that the fellowship will help him marry his passions for journalism, film, and writing. 

On campus, Anastos is involved in the UI7 Newsroom as a host and reporter for Good Morning Illini, an opinion columnist for The Daily Illini, and a residential advisor at Newman Hall. 

Anastos is a fan of the Lord of the Rings trilogy because of the film’s powerful themes.

“I think it’s a story that truly has something for everybody,” Anastos said. “It has themes that everyone can relate to that are powerful, no matter what phase you are in life.”

Kennedy Caldwell is a junior in journalism. Caldwell became interested in media and production at a young age after being featured in several advertisements as a model. As an Ebert Fellow, she wants to improve her writing skills and learn how to create good stories. 

“I’m really excited to get to know my other fellows. I’m really excited to get to know Michael [Phillips]. And I’m really excited to get to know more about what it means to be a film critic and how to tell people about movies in a vivid, detailed way that makes them want to watch it or makes them not want to watch it,” Caldwell said. 

Caldwell is looking forward to traveling to different film festivals to watch movies and meet new people. 

One of Caldwell’s favorite films is It’s About Time because of the way it mixes drama, comedy, and romance.

Diamond Steward-Hutton is a senior in journalism and developed a passion for news while growing up watching ABC7 Chicago and learning the importance of staying informed on certain topics. 

“I always wanted to be able to know how to improve my storytelling as an anchor, as an artist, and just a person who writes on the daily…. [This opportunity] means the world to me,” Steward-Hutton said. 

She is interested in becoming a news anchor and is involved with UI7 Newsroom and the National Association of Black Journalists. 

“[It’s important] to learn how to write, to learn how to connect with people, and also to build that credibility and that trust with people, so that could be carried on throughout my career,” Steward-Hutton said. 

Hutton’s favorite film is Love Jones because of the realistic storyline and the performances from actors Nia Long and Larenz Tate. 

—Faith Lee, Communications Intern