Hi, everybody! I'm Lara, a film school student at Cleveland State University and one of the newest members of the CIFF staff. Although I'm a huge film buff, like you, this is my first time ever actually working in the industry and I'm feeling more than a little starstruck here!

I've been to a few film festivals before, but nothing as big as this. The Festival is going to be enormous, with one hundred twenty feature films and over one hundred short subjects, from nearly sixty countries around the globe!

I just attended my first staff meeting for the Festival, and the excitement is already building. Today we watched the Festival trailers, which are absolutely hilarious. If you're flying in to Cleveland on Continental, you might actually see one of them, because they're playing on many flights. They're also running at three of the Cleveland Cinema theaters. They're easily as good as anything you might have seen on Superbowl Sunday, and feature some spectacular local theatrical talent. I was very impressed, and couldn't stop laughing!

The first big piece of news, of course, is the Sneak Preview Party in Akron, coming up on Thursday, February 22nd. It'll kick off at 5:30 pm at the Big City Chophouse. We've partnered up with WKSU for the event, which is open to film buffs in the Akron-Canton area. If you'd like to attend, stop by WKSU's website to RSVP! You'll get to try out some of the Chophouse's great appetizers while meeting Daniel Hockensmith, Renita Jablonski, and other film buffs. There are going to be drawings for some fantastic prizes, too, and a preview of several of the Festival's best films. This is not something to miss, so I might see if I can get down there myself!

The next great piece of news is that tickets go on sale, for CIFF members, on Friday! Members can start purchasing tickets to all of the amazing movies we'll be showing throughout the festival a week before the general public can, so it's the best way to make sure you'll get to see everything. There's a lot to choose from, too, but you'll have the best choices of all. If you haven't become a CIFF member yet, now's a great time to join! The program has many different levels (including one for impoverished film students like me!) and they all come with great discounts and cool perks.

See why I'm feeling starstruck? This is the best job I've ever had!

Things are starting to really take off! The Akron party was a huge success, although I didn't manage to get down there myself. I'm hoping to get some more information from someone who did, though, to share, because everybody had a blast at it. I am going to make it to the CFS Members-Only Event at the House of Blues on Monday, so I hope I'll be seeing a bunch of you in the Cambridge Room.

I've also gotten a list of exactly which theaters the festival Teaser is playing in, because everybody should see it! It's playing in four cities, including Cleveland:

• Akron: at the Montrose Cinema
   
• Cleveland: Cleveland Cinemas
  • Cedar Lee
  • Chagrin Cinemas
  • Shaker Square
   
• Columbus: Drexel Cinemas
  • Drexel East
  • Drexel Grandview
  • Drexel OSU Gateway
   
• Pittsburgh:
  • Harris Theater
  • Melwood Screening Room
  • Oaks Theater
  • Regent Square Theatre
  • South Side Works Cinema

This brings me to the next cool piece of news! If you're a film buff in Pittsburgh, we're going to be having a Sneak Preview Party there on March 1st! Area filmmaker Kruti Majmudar's film, The Memsahib, is playing in the Festival, and this is a great opportunity to get involved. We're co-presenting the event with the Pittsburgh Filmmakers. It's kicking off at the Hard Rock Cafe at 5:00 PM, and you'll get a chance to try out some of the Cafe's appetizers while checking out previews of our film roster, mingling with local celebrities and film buffs, and maybe even winning a prize! There will be drawings for t-shirts, posters, ticket vouchers, and more! Want to come? Email the Festival office with "RSVP Pittsburgh" in your subject line, and we'll be expecting you! Well, they will; I have an exam the day before so I can't actually get out that way myself.

I should have more great news really soon!