Wow! The last week has been intense, and really exciting! We're still more than a week away from the actual opening of the Festival, but the excitement has been building like you wouldn't believe.

Monday was the CFS Members Preview Party at the House of Blues, and that was an incredible night! I got there before the event was officially supposed to open, thinking I'd beat the crowd, but a whole bunch of you had gotten there ahead of me! All of the chairs in the Cambridge Room were already taken, and that room does not lack for chairs! Half an hour later, when the preview reel started, the place was packed and there was incredible energy running through it. The preview reel was spectacular, and I found myself flipping through my program guide to circle every single film in it. And I really loved hearing everybody laugh the way I did, when the Festival teasers played.

I'd like to thank Keith for commenting on my last post to tell us all just how cool the Akron Preview Party was. It's wonderful to know that the event went off so well and was enjoyed so much. And thank you too, Scott, for your comment! I'm really sorry to hear you missed the Pittsburgh preview party, because I'd have loved to hear what you thought of it.

For those of you in the Columbus area, WCBE is co-sponsoring another Preview Party, which will be on Tuesday, March 6^th at Havana! From 5:30 to 7:30 you can join Clay Lowe of the award-winning "Movie Time" and other great guests, and join all of the fun. Email our office with "RSVP Columbus" in your subject line, and we'll be expecting you!

One more really cool thing -- we've been getting Confessions in from everybody, and they're great!

It's been another wild week, and then some! We've finally reached Opening Night, which is when things will really start to get exciting!

Since I last reported in, I've had an incredible time learning about the Festival and attending its events. First, on the fifth, I attended the Sponsors party at Bice. (The Cleveland restaurant is so new that they don't even have a page for it on their site yet!) I didn't tell anybody, but it was my birthday that night, and that was the best birthday party ever. Wonderful people, fantastic entertainment (I could watch the clip reel a thousand times!), and the most amazing food ever. Plus I got to hang out with my favorite professor! It was a wonderful night.

Then I attended another organizational meeting in between studying for midterms. I couldn't get to the Columbus party because of the midterms, but it was a huge success! Obviously these events will need to become a yearly tradition!

Tuesday morning was the final pre-Festival staff meeting, and we celebrated Marcie Goodman's birthday. Which meant even more wonderful food and a hilarious video by FilmSlam coordinator Beth Radisek. Then it was time for things to really get moving! We've had our first group of filmmakers coming into town and everybody's been going nonstop to get everything in place at the Tower City Cinemas.

Right now I'm surrounded by the most high-spirited chaos I've ever had the pleasure of participating in. Things look wonderful, camera flashes are starting to go off...

The only thing we still need is you! Are you joining us for opening night?

I am still buzzing from last night! The premiere was extraordinary! We had four theaters packed full of enthusiastic film fans here to see Swedish Auto, and we had Derek Sieg, Tyler Davidson, and Lee Weaver with us! After the screening, we all trooped over to the MK Ferguson Plaza for the reception, which was amazing. We had spectacular food and hilarious entertainment! There's no way I can post this entry without mentioning Lounge Kitty, the riotous act that performed for us. I think I've found the reincarnation of Lucille Ball (either that or she's Lucy's love child with Carol Burnett)! Trust me, a lady with a huge beehive hairdo and a sparkly pink dress, singing "It's Not Easy Being Green..." is an unforgettable experience.

The Festival is the cover story of this week's Friday Magazine in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and they've given us some fantastic coverage! I'm saving my copy as a souvenir of the event! If you didn't manage to get a copy of the paper, yourself, the articles are also on Cleveland.com.

Showings kick off at 11:30 today with Congorama and Taking Father Home, then Thicker Than Water and What Means Motley? starting at 11:45 and Pingpong starting at noon. Inside Tip: This is the festival's slowest time and these very first showings tend to be a little undersold, so if you're feeling impulsive and want to see a film, this is your best chance to get in without waiting in a Standby line. And all five of these films are stellar, so they're worth zipping in for.

We have some exciting things happening this afternoon, but I have to finish finding out all about it. I'll be posting again very soon!

It's going to be an exciting afternoon!

Our first round of afternoon showings kicks off at 1:45 with Falkenberg Farewell and Still Alive, and then Bamako and Going Private starting at 2:00, and Frozen City at 2:15. Members of the Polish-American Cultural Center will be holding a Q&A after Still Alive screens, and a discussion about Bamako will be held in the Legends of Rock Room at the Hard Rock Cafe after its screening concludes. If you want to expand your cultural and political awareness, these are some great things to attend!

Then it's time for our "4:00 Round," which is actually beginning at 4:15 with Fresh Air and Indy Shorts #1. Then Stolen Holidays and Transylvania start at 4:30, and Boy Culture kicks off at 4:45.

The showing of Boy Culture will be followed by a Filmmaker Q&A, and actor Derek Magyar will be in attendance. Afterwards (or instead, if you couldn't make it) go to the MATURE Gallery Opening Reception at M% Studios and attend one of the most provocative art gallery openings around. You'll also have a chance to mingle with other Festival attendees, and Derek Magyar will be there, too! The Opening Reception runs from 5pm to 9pm, and M% Studios is the sponsor of the Festival's 10% Cinema, devoted to films of a gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender nature.

Inside Tip: Word is that parking at Tower City is filling up fast, so you might get sent to an outlying lot or garage. If you'd rather not walk, I'd recommend driving over to one of the RTA parking lots for the trains. All of the RTA trains come in to Tower City, and that's a great way to avoid the crowding. (And it'll be even more important tomorrow when the St. Patrick's Day Parade is going off!) As another inside tip, the Producer Pass comes with Free Valet Parking, which will let you sidestep all of that kind of hassle for the entire festival.

Our Challenge Match is off to a fantastic start. As of this morning, we're well on our way to our $31,000 goal; donations stand at $3,425 between pre-Festival donations and Opening Night contributions. There are a whole lot of fantastic prizes and premiums for Challenge Match contributions, so stop by the table and check them out. I'm going to try to post a list of them later.

I have the best job in the world!

We're coming up on our first full evening for the festival, and things are definitely hopping!

We'll be starting at 6:45 with Reprise, followed at 7:00 with First Snow and The Old Man Who Read Love Stories. At 7:15, screenings will start for A Map For Saturday and Salty Air.

A few heads-ups about those screenings! This is a very popular time of the evening, and two of the screenings -- First Snow and The Old Man Who Read Love Stories -- are on Standby now. So get here early! Once they know how many seats are still available for people in the Standby line for one of those films, the people in the front of the line will get to go in first. So the earlier you get here, the better your chances are. Also, we still have plenty of tickets for Reprise, Salty Air, and A Map For Saturday, all of which are fantastic films themselves.

There will be Filmmaker Q&As after The Old Man Who Read Love Stories and A Map For Saturday. If you're a Rolf de Heer fan (and I know a whole lot of you are), this is a great chance to get his insights on his film. (All the more reason to get in line as early as you can!) And if you're a fan of exotic locales, you definitely want to get in line early for A Map For Saturday. While tickets for that movie probably won't run out, that's because it's playing in two theaters. Once the first theater is filled, the second theater will be opened for the overflow. But the Q&A will only happen in the first theater, and given how fascinating Brook Silva-Braga's journey was, you'll need to make sure you're in line early if you want to participate!

So far nothing's gone on Standby in the 9:00 Round, but I'll keep an eye on that and let you know if anything changes.

Looking for a fun time tonight? Hit the Hero Tomorrow Pre-Party!

From 9 pm to midnight, you can hang out with the cast and crew of Hero Tomorrow at the View Ultra Lounge Nightclub at 618 Prospect Avenue, and then head for the midnight screening! There will even be free salsa-dancing lessons from 9 to 10. I may try to head over there, myself! Make sure to take your Film Festival pass or ticket stub to get free admission.

I'd recommend buying your tickets for the film before you go, though, because the midnight screenings proved so hugely popular last year that they've been made a regular part of the Festival, and word is they can fill up fast. If it does fill up, there's also the Midnight Shorts Program 1, which is enormously fun and very popular, too.

Midnight a little too late for you? Me too; I've been going since six this morning! But the 9:00 round is full of spectacular films, and none of them have gone on Standby yet. The round will kick off at 9:30 with Looking For Leonard, followed by screenings of Dingo and Liquid Vinyl at 9:45. Then at 10:00, Angosto and Glue start up. That's five incredible films and three great Filmmaker Q&A opportunities!

Taylor Neary and George Reasner will be available to answer questions about Liquid Vinyl once the film finishes. Matthew Bissonnette, our Someone To Watch Director, will answer questions after the conclusion of Looking For Leonard. This is your big chance to meet someone who's going to go far. And if you didn't get a chance to converse with Rolf de Heer earlier today, he'll be answering questions again after Dingo.

One way or another, the good time you're looking for can be found here tonight!

Insider Tip: If you're coming downtown tomorrow for the screenings, I can't stress this enough: either come early or park at one of the RTA parking lots and ride the train in. Downtown is going to be crazy tomorrow with the St. Patrick's Day parade, and the parking lots and garages are going to fill up fast. We have fantastic movies for you to see, though, so you won't be disappointed unless you stay away. And as I said earlier, Producer's Pass holders are entitled to free valet parking no matter what, so maybe it's time to upgrade your membership, or even get one for the first time.

Have a wonderful night, everybody! I'll have lots more to tell you about tomorrow!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Wow, you guys are amazing! Yesterday was the Festival's biggest First Friday ever, with more than 3,800 attendees! And today is looking to be huge, too!

I don't know about you, but I woke up to solid white in front of my house! Cleveland's getting between 1 and 3 inches of snow over the course of the day, so if you're driving down here, please make sure to give yourself extra time, especially because parking is going to be tight and tricky with all of the St. Patrick's Day revelers coming down. If you want to save yourself a headache, RTA is the way to go. I took the red line in, myself.

We're getting ready for the noon round of films now, and are they ever a fantastic group! We kicked off this morning with American Visa and What Means Motley at 9:30, which are some really wonderful films. Next up at 11:30, we have Angosto and The Art of Crying. Then, at 11:45, we have The Bet Collector and The World's Best Commercials, and at noon we have the 10% Shorts Program.

A few words to the wise: The World's Best Commercials is already on Standby, and it looks like the 10% Shorts Program will go on Standby, too. This doesn't mean that you can't see the films, but it does mean that your best bet is to arrive early. Also, if your schedule mentioned a Filmmaker Q&A for The Bet Collector, there won't actually be one for this screening. But it's still a really impressive film that you should go see.

I'm gathering information about the 2:00 round and will get that up really soon. Have a wonderful time and wear lots of green!

I have to say, I love all the people I'm working with.

This is the best group of people ever. As crazy as things get -- and they get pretty crazy! -- there's so much wonderful energy and cooperation and such a strong sense of fun. You should know that, when you come down here and see us, all of the smiles on people's faces are genuine. I've never seen such grace under pressure.

And you guys are totally amazing too! I'd like to put up a special shout-out to last night's audience for A Map For Saturday, who responded so generously to Toby Devan Lewis's challenge! You guys raised $1,400 for our Challenge Match, putting us over $7,500! And you were all so sweet to Brook Silva-Braga's mother! That warmed all of our hearts. You made the premiere of Brook's film a huge success!

We're coming up on the 2:00 PM round, and we have even more spectacular films for you. We'll be kicking off at 1:45 with First Snow and Looking For Leonard. Then, at 2:00, Thicker Than Water will start, followed by the Family Shorts Program and A Map For Saturday at 2:15. Stellar choices, all!

Be aware: First Snow and A Map For Saturday are currently on Standby, and we think that the Family Shorts Program will probably go on Standby soon, too. Remember, Standby does not mean we're sold out, but it does mean that you'll want to get in line early so that you'll have the best chance of getting in. So finish up that green beer and get over here! ;-)

This is one of the two sets of buttons you can buy at the Challenge Match table. A $10 donation will get you both sets of buttons, along with a $10 raffle prize ticket and a Daily Drawing ticket. The raffle prizes are amazing, including a Cleveland Cinemas Season Pass, a night at the Ritz-Carlton, a wine collection, and many more! There's a complete list at the Challenge Match table, and some even more spectacular prizes you can get with higher-level donations. But you really don't want to leave without your button set! (I plan to collect them all!)

We're coming up on the 4:00 round, which is looking wonderful.

At 4:15 we'll be starting off with Bamako and The Old Garden, which will be followed at 4:30 with the Indy Shorts #2 Program and Salty Air. Then the final film in the round, Liquid Vinyl, will start at 4:45. You'll have another wonderful chance to talk to Taylor Neary and George Reasner after Liquid Vinyl concludes, so this is a don't-miss! Indy Shorts has gone on Standby, but we're not anticipating ticket shortages for the other shows. All of the screenings are top-rate.

Things are getting busy for the evening, and we're going to have a number of films on Standby, so once again, come down here early and buy your tickets ahead of time, because we definitely want you to get to see these movies!

One of the Film and Digital Media students at Cleveland State University has put us on Facebook! If you have a Facebook account, you should definitely go check it out and bookmark it.

And everybody at the Festival, my friend Tod in Colorado sends you all a big "Hello!" He wishes he could be here with us, and he's having a great time reading about what's going on here. Now if only he could find a way to come see the films! Next year, hopefully! (Tod just asked me "are there fancy snacks?" And yes, we have many very fancy snacks here!)

"He who hesitates... is in Stand-By."

-- Neal Weingart, festival patron

It's going on evening here in Tower City, and we're gearing up for the 7:00 PM round of films! The round will kick off at 6:45 with Red Road. Then, at 7:00, Congorama and The Rape of Europa will start. Those will be followed at 7:15 by Brotherly Jazz and Itty Bitty Titty Committee, both of which will have Filmmaker Q&A sessions afterwards.

So far, Itty Bitty Titty Committee, The Rape of Europa, and Red Road are in Stand-By status, so be sure to get in line early for them if you want your best shot at entry. Especially if you want a chance to talk to IBTC's director afterwards.

A lot of people have been fans of Jamie Babbitt since her 1999 film, But I'm a Cheerleader, so this is a great chance to talk to one of Cleveland's most fascinating voices. (Yes, she's a Clevelander!) Or if Jazz is your passion, you can join the filmmakers for a discussion about Brotherly Jazz and then adjourn with them to the English Oak Room in Tower City Center for the Tri-C JazzFest CD Release Party.

Tonight definitely has a spicy kick to it!

It's getting on towards time for the 9:00 Round of films! Things are going to get wild and busy tonight, especially with St. Patrick's Day revelers still thronging downtown, so you definitely want to get here early. Especially because three of our five films in the round are already on Stand-By!

We're starting at 9:30 with Fay Grim and Who Loves the Sun. Then at 9:45, Alexandra's Project and A Grave-Keeper's Tale will begin. Finishing out the round is the provocative Boy Culture at 10:00.

At this time, Alexandra's Project, Boy Culture, and Fay Grim are all on Stand-By, so the earlier you arrive, the better your chances are of getting seated. We have four Filmmaker Q&A sessions this round. Alexandra's Project attendees will have another wonderful opportunity to talk to Rolf de Heer, while Boy Culture attendees can talk to actor Derek Magyar. Derek is on the cover of The Advocate this month! Director Chitra Palekar will field questions once A Grave-Keeper's Tale finishes screening, and Who Loves the Sun attendees can talk to director Matt Bissonnette and producer Corey Marr. That's a lot of very stimulating conversation!

There is an incredible festival adventure story attached to Who Loves the Sun, that I hope I'll be able to share with you tomorrow. More soon!

Check it out! Tim Safranek sent me a whole bunch of wonderful pictures. Once I finish getting them sorted, I'll have more of them to show you. But this one popped right out at me... because that's me in it! I'm on the left, and I'm with Beth Radisek, the incredible FilmSlam! coordinator and volunteer co-coordinator. It was opening night and we were being very industrious. You can tell, can't you?

We're gearing up for our final shows of the night! Tonight our Midnight Screenings are Bad Boy Bubby and Cold Prey. Bad Boy Bubby is, of course, the film that garnered Rolf de Heer his enormous local cult following, and he'll be taking questions from the audience after it screens. Cold Prey, meanwhile, is an intense Norwegian slasher film guaranteed to chill you. A perfect way to finish out St. Patrick's Day without a headache in the morning!

And for those of you who aren't hung over in the morning, join us at 9:30 am for showings of Angosto and Reprise.

Inside Tip: The noon showing of Cold Prey is already on Stand-By, so if you were hoping to catch it then, get here early. And for everybody who had to be turned away from Itty Bitty Titty Committee today, we are so sorry that happened. Demand for the film, and for Hero Tomorrow, has been so tremendous that we're opening up extra theaters. Both of those will show in two theaters during the noon round, so we'd love it if you came back and joined us. The best way to avoid standby lines is to buy your tickets right now through the site and then pick them up at our desk in the morning... or get a Director-level membership and you'll be able to walk into any of our shows without any hassles.

You guys are incredible! We figured that there would be a big drop in attendance because of St. Patrick's Day, but so many of you still came that it was our second-biggest First Saturday ever, with 5,375 attendees, and you put our Challenge Match up to $9,500!

I need to give a big shout-out to the Tower City bouncers who kept the wild St. Patrick's Day revelry from spilling into the theater. You gents were amazing, and such fun to talk to when I was going to and from the food court.

There are a lot of Sunday Brunches going on today! Stop by either the House of Blues for its Gospel Brunch, or Pickwick & Frolic for their Sunday Brunch with a live broadcast from 107.3 The Wave. Then come over for our noon showings!

At 11:30, we're kicking the noon round off with A Grave-Keeper's Tale and Red Road. Then at 11:45, Hero Tomorrow and Itty Bitty Titty Committee will open in two theaters each to accommodate the enormous crowds they're generating. And we'll round out the noon showings with Cold Prey. At the moment, Cold Prey is the only one from this round on Stand-By, but make sure you arrive early for Hero Tomorrow and Itty Bitty Titty Committee, because the filmmakers will be in attendance, but only talking in the first theaters of each showing. If you want a chance to talk to them, that's where you'll want to be!

We're gearing up for our 2:00 round, and it's going to be a great one!

We'll be starting off at 1:45 with Tail of a Tiger. Then, at 2:00, we'll begin screening the Indy Shorts #3 Program and The Rape of Europa, which will be playing in two theaters since so many of you have been raving about it and coming in to see it. At 2:15, we'll get going with Taking Father Home and Who Loves the Sun.

At this point, Indy Shorts #3 and Taking Father Home are both on Stand-By, so please come early to ensure that you have the best chances of getting in. We'll have the filmmakers in attendance for Tail of a Tiger and Who Loves the Sun, so those are great chances to ask questions of some incredibly gifted directors. Haven't had a chance to catch up with Rolf de Heer yet? Sit in on Tail of a Tiger and you can. And we'll be presenting our Someone To Watch award to Matt Bissonnette at the screening of Who Loves the Sun, so that'll be a very special moment, too.

If you can't make those movies, but want to meet some of our amazing filmmakers, we're having a Meet the Filmmakers reception at the Hard Rock Cafe from 2:00 to 4:00. You can mingle with the filmmakers and other film buffs, and enjoy complimentary hors d'oeuvres and the cash bar.

I am going to have an incredible story to tell you guys about Who Loves the Sun later. I'm almost exploding with it because it's absolutely amazing, and illustrates just how much everyone here loves film and how much people will do for the festival. I have to talk to a few more people and get some more information, but keep an eye on the blog for it, because you'll really love it.

We're getting ready for the 4:00 round, which is very special.

We'll be starting off at 4:15 with The Tracker, followed at Fay Grim and the extraordinary and controversial Forgiving Dr. Mengele. Then, at 4:45, Glue and the Indy Shorts #4 Program will begin. We also have a very special showing of The World's Best Commercials for Dollar Bank employees starting at 5:00.

There's a lot to tell you about these showings!

First, Fay Grim, Forgiving Dr. Mengele, and Independent Shorts #4 are on Stand-By. If you didn't buy tickets in advance, please make sure you get here early if you want the best chance of getting in.

Next, Dollar Bank Employees! I wanted to remind you that this showing of The World's Best Commercials is only open to Dollar Bank employees and their families, so you need to bring your Dollar Bank ID with you to the theater. You won't need tickets as long as you have your ID. Also, once you come in, go to the far-left side of the concession stand and show your ID to pick up your included drink and popcorn. We're delighted to have all of you with us today!

Also, Rolf de Heer will be in attendance at the screening of his film, The Tracker, so all of you big fans of his work will have another fantastic chance to catch up with Cleveland's adopted son from Down Under. There will also be the first of our Film Forums Series in conjunction with Forgiving Dr. Mengele.

When I was a teenager, Eva Kor came to Cleveland Heights High School and spoke to us about her experiences as a prisoner in Auschwitz during the Holocaust, and as a subject of Dr. Mengele's horrific "twin experiments." She's an extraordinary woman and her speech riveted me, and has stayed with me in the two decades since then. In truth, she defined the Holocaust for me. So it's an especially moving thing to be able to see the culmination of her personal journey to peace and transcendence. The Forum topic, appropriately enough, is "Can the powerful force of forgiveness be the key to healing?" Her son, Alex, will be one of the panelists, along with film co-director Bob Hercules, Editor Cynthia Dettelbach of the Cleveland Jewish News, and the extraordinary Holocaust survivor Max Edelman. Mr. Edelman, who was blinded while in a concentration camp, is an educator and presenter for the "Face to Face" program at Congregation Shaarey Tikvah. This is going to be an amazing program, and the message of this film might just change your life.

It's been a fantastic day here at the festival! The crowds have been amazing, and we're gearing up for a marvelous night. We're preparing for our 7:00 Round of films, and these are more that you will not want to miss!

The round kicks off at 6:45 with Ten Canoes, which will include the presentation of the Cleveland Film Society Director Spotlight Award to director Rolf de Heer. If you're a Rolf fan (and there are so many Rolf fans in this town!) this is a moment you need to be part of. The movie's already on Stand-By, so make sure you arrive as early as you can!

This will be followed at 7:15 by Beauty in Trouble (also on Stand-By, so get here early!) and What Means Motley? which will be showing in two theaters. When What Means Motley? concludes, you're invited to join us for a Cultural Journeys discussion at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Then at 7:30, Thicker Than Water will begin screening. The World's Best Commercials will also start, showing in two theaters to accommodate its popularity. There should be enough seats for everybody, so if you haven't seen this before, this is a great time to come!

We'll have one more round after this one, with several really entrancing films. I'll post more about them very soon. Thank you for making this such an amazing and exciting day!

I've been promising all of you an amazing story since last night, and I've finally put everything together well enough to share it. If this story doesn't convince you that the staff of the Cleveland International Film Festival is devoted to the festival to a point that's well beyond both the sane and the superhuman, nothing will.

Who Loves the Sun is the newest film of director Matt Bissonnette, our Someone To Watch award recipient this year. We were showcasing both this film and his first one, Looking For Leonard this weekend, culminating with the presentation of his award at Who Loves the Sun's second showing this afternoon. Matt is a sweet, witty man, and it's been a genuine pleasure having him at the festival. We absolutely wanted everything to be perfect. And it was.

But what happened behind-the-scenes to make it perfect will amaze you, because things almost ended in disaster...

You are the best audience ever! I just found out that yesterday was a record-breaker. Sunday had 5,742 attendees, over a thousand more than the old record for the day! You also thronged our Meet the Filmmaker's Reception and made it a huge success. And then you pushed our Challenge Match up to the $12,700 mark! Make sure you stop by the Challenge Match table today and check out the cool premiums and prizes, and get your button sets.

Stuck in the office today? Stop by Pickwick & Frolic's Monday Sucks! So Lunch is Five Bucks event on your lunch break, and maybe call in "well" and take in a film afterwards! Our early afternoon weekday showings are usually very calm affairs, so if you can get a bit of time off and come in, it's the perfect time to avoid a mob scene and still see a spectacular film or two!

We had another little first this morning: it's the first time I've ever seen the arrival of a FedEx courier make several dozen people dissolve into laughter. John Wolf tells us that the second reel of Who Loves the Sun has arrived safe and sound at last.

Also, check out our new discount page, with lots of really cool deals that your pass or ticket stub entitles you to!

It's going to be a wonderful day today. See you at the screenings!

I just met a really lovely couple! Bob and Shari Gottdenker have been coming to our festival for the last six or seven years (they say they only missed it once in all that time when they had to move and couldn't get their move date changed), driving all of the way down from Jackson, NJ! They are devotees of independent cinema, and this is one of the three festivals they make a point of hitting every year.

Usually they get into town for the Festival Premiere, but this year they made a special detour on the way for the 90th birthday party of Shari's father, in Maryland. They got into Cleveland on Saturday, fortunately missing most of that awful storm that snarled traffic throughout New York and Pennsylvania. To make up for lost time, they saw a marathon of six movies yesterday, one from each screening round. Shari says her favorite was The Rape of Europa. Their all-time CIFF favorite? 2002 Festival winner Autumn Spring.

Thank you for talking with me, Bob and Shari! I had a lovely time and I'm looking forward to seeing you at the festival this year and for many years to come!

We're going to be having an extraordinary show this evening.

You may have heard of Darius Goes West: The Roll of His Life, because it got a lot of news coverage while it was filming. It's an amazing account of teenager Darius Weem's journey across the country to the L.A. set of MTV's TV show, "Pimp My Ride." But Darius didn't want the show to detail his car; he wanted it to make over his motorized wheelchair. Darius was born with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a frequently-fatal genetic disorder that has kept him wheelchair-bound his whole life.

15-year-old Darius's journey across the U.S. isn't just about his destination, though. Along the way, he and his collegiate friends, including director Logan Smalley, explore the country and check out how wheelchair-accessible various tourist attractions are. It's a journey of discovery and growth, both for them and for all of the people they encounter, and it's a film that you cannot see without being touched by.

And if that hasn't convinced you to get in line, there's more: there will be a Film Forum in conjunction with the movie, featuring Logan Smalley, along with Dancing Wheels artistic director Mary Verdi-Fletcher and Wright State student Steven Kyman. The topic: Lessons from the MTV generation on life, friendship and the need for accessibility; why we all need to listen.

People are so often critical of how socially-unaware and uninvolved our country's youth is, or at least is portrayed as being by the media. This film is wonderful proof that those stereotypes aren't true -- The "MTV generation" is working hard to raise both its own consciousness and that of the people around it, and our future is in far better hands than many people fear. After you meet Darius and his friends, you'll know it's true, and you'll know why.

The screening begins at 6:45 PM, and tickets are on Stand-By, so get here early to make sure you can get a seat. This one's a life-changer.

We're gearing up for our evening rounds here at Tower City. It's been a nice, relaxed afternoon, but now the pace is already beginning to pick up. After all, what better way to unwind after a day of work than to come see one of our amazing films?

Our 7:00 PM round starts off with the inspiring Darius Goes West at 6:45, which will have a stimulating forum discussion afterwards. Then at 7:00, Slumming will start up. Then Forgiving Dr. Mengele and Kontakt will begin. The round is capped with The TV Set, starting at 7:30.

Darius Goes West (as already mentioned) and The TV Set are both on Stand-By, so make sure you get in line early for them if you didn't buy your tickets in advance. And be sure to stop by the Challenge Match booth on the way out, and check out the gorgeous buttons you can buy, along with the lavish prizes you can win!

Our final round of the night is kicking off to a ferocious start at 9:15, with the riveting and disturbing The Trials of Darryl Hunt. This is the true story of a young man whose life was destroyed when he was accused and convicted of a rape and murder that DNA evidence later cleared him of, but which the courts refused to admit. It documents the struggle to get him a new trial, and the effects of racism and political expedience on the justice system. This film has a sobering and important message about the true state of human rights and equality in our society today.

If that's just too heavy for you at this time of the night, Tomorrow Morning, a tale of old friends reuniting in Serbia after years apart, starts at 9:30. Psychological drama Going Private begins at 9:45, along with our poetic double-feature, Rant/Rave. Then we'll close out the round with Pingpong, a story about a family whose fragile balance begins to fall apart with the arrival of an unwelcome guest.

Okay, wow. It's absolutely guaranteed that every single one of these films will have you deep in thought when you leave the theater. This is an edgy and provocative group of films, and every one of them is a masterpiece. You don't want to miss them.

Every time I think I've had the ultimate Festival experience, you guys amaze me all over again.

Last night, you made our showing of Darius Goes West an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experience. The standing ovation that you gave Team Darius was extraordinary and so touching! That's a film that's going to become huge, which is especially wonderful since the message is so important.

You are also such an amazingly generous crowd! As of this morning, our Challenge Match has crossed the $14,000 threshold, to our absolute delight. Make sure you stop by the Challenge Match booth if you haven't already, because the raffle prizes are some extremely cool things and the buttons are gorgeous.

We're gearing up for the noon round of films! This is a fairly quiet time of the day for us, so take a long lunch hour and join us for one of these fantastic movies. You won't regret it.

We're starting at 11:30 with Love For Share, followed at 11:45 by Mr. Pilipenko and His Submarine and Two Players From the Bench. At noon, we'll cap the round with Frozen City and Slumming.

I don't think people really understand what Slumming and Two Players From the Bench are about, because if they did, I think ticket sales would be much higher. So I thought I'd tell you about them. These are both extremely witty comedies, poking fun at the absurdities of life in Eastern Europe after the fall of the Iron Curtain.

In Slumming, the impulsive prank of the perpetually-adolescent Sebastian results in a down-and-out poet named Kallman being stranded in the Czech republic with no ID. Sebastian's girlfriend embarks on a rescue mission to bring him back, with Sebastian in hot pursuit of her, and things just get wilder and wilder.

Meanwhile, in Two Players from the Bench, two young men from the former Yugoslavia are hired -- at gunpoint -- to impersonate a pair of missing witnesses who have to testify at the International War Crimes Tribunal. You'd think that the subject matter would be way too heavy for comedy, but director Dejan Sorak handles it so deftly that the result is hilarious and a testament to how the human spirit and sense of the absurd cannot be killed by even the most brutal of conflicts.

Seriously, these films are not ones to miss!

Also, attendance has been so phenomenal that Bill Guentzler is planning on adding some extra showings this weekend. We'd love to hear which films you'd like to see again, so please comment and tell us what you loved! Bill says he's going to use those comments to help him work out the schedule.