Image of Rachael Harris, Roger & Chaz Ebert and Robbie Pickering at Ebertfest 2011. Image courtesy Roger Ebert

Along with the rest of the international film community, SXSW is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of film critic, blogger and the filmmaker's film lover, Roger Ebert.

We were honored to host Ebert as a juror for our 2011 Film Festival, where his jury selected Natural Selection as the Narrative Feature Competition winner (star Rachael Harris & filmmaker Robbie Pickering pictured above with the Eberts). In his long and storied career, Ebert has regularly championed the work of new and emerging filmmakers, and in the 2011 edition of his beloved Ebertfest, SXSW alumni Tiny Furniture, 45365 and Natural Selection were all invited as part of his personally curated program.