Film critic Roger Ebert says he won't miss his annual film festival, despite the advice from some who said he should sit out this year. The 64-year-old's participation at his annual film festival Wednesday night was expected to be his first public appearance since a cancerous growth was removed from his salivary gland last June. Doctors removed a portion of his jaw in the process and needed to perform a tracheostomy to allow him to breathe. It has left him unable to speak.

Ebert will watch the movies including opening night's "Gattaca" from an adjustable seat. That means he won't take his habitual place on stage introducing films and leading post-showing discussions, festival director Nate Kohn said. Panels made up of Ebert's colleagues will conduct discussions about the movies, Kohn said. Many of the movies will be introduced by actors who were in them or by their directors. Ebert has been a Sun-Times' film critic since 1967.