This year’s opening night of the annual Ebertfest kicked off successfully, with a packed theater and large amount of ticket sales.

“Last night went incredibly smooth,” said Jody Groff, facility coordinator at Virginia Theater. “It was probably the best opening night we could hope for. There weren’t any major glitches at all.”

She said all those who were waiting in line for rush tickets last night were accommodated.

Last night, the movie Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music was shown, and the director of the film, Michael Wadleigh, was also part of the audience.

Groff added that this year’s opening night had many more people than last year’s opening night, with ticket sales from the past two days picking up some. Groff speculated that it was probably due to Roger Ebert’s presence this year. Last year was the first year Ebert didn’t make it to his festival, because of an operation.

Although unable to speak, Ebert has been able to communicate with the audience, as the University helped set up a system to aide him. Ebert types words on his laptop, which are then made audible to the audience.

Groff said she is expecting the rest of the festival to continue successfully.

“I have a feeling ticket sales are going to go really well this year, because he was here,” she said.