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.

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! ;-)

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...