36th cleveland international film festival :: march 22 - april 1, 2012
Film Festival Blog

March 2008

March 16th, 2008 @ 7:15pm

Packing up

All of the last-round shows have begun screening, and now it's time for us to pack up and get ready for the Closing Night party. It's like last Thursday night, only in a strange sort of reverse, with things being dismantled instead of assembled. And instead of that exciting sense of "I haven't seen that person in ages!" there's a sense of ... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

March 16th, 2008 @ 4:50pm

One more round to go!

There's something both really beautiful and really sad about watching everybody here prepare for the end of the Festival. I had a lot of fun watching Amy and Laura prepare the closing night slide show and a special video... but watching Mark and Sarah and the rest of the Ticket Sales staff begin packing things away got me choked up. My only conso... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

March 16th, 2008 @ 2:30pm

The penultimate round is coming up!

What amazing crowds! I can't get over how big this Festival has gotten, even just compared to last year! If this kind of growth keeps up, the huge festivals had better look out! It's just so wonderful to know how many of you are genuinely interested in alternatives to the bland mass-marketed fare the studios churn out... and you sure sh... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

March 16th, 2008 @ 12:00pm

A wild early afternoon commences!

Oh, I love the crowds we have today. Everybody is so bouncy and spirited, in the best possible ways! The 2:00 round is going to be very intense, so I'm glad everyone is in such a great mood! We're beginning the round with 2:00 showings of Mongol... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

March 16th, 2008 @ 11:00am

Welcome to Day 11!

I knew it! We broke records in a big way yesterday! We had three enormous rounds in a row, all of which broke our previous per-round record. The ultimate winner was the 7:00 pm round, with 2,287 (yes, two more than I reported last night) attendees! And the attendee number for the entire day: 8,701 people!!!... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

March 15th, 2008 @ 10:00pm

Saturday Midnight and Sunday Morning!

I can't believe how intense all of this is, this weekend! Every time I turned around, another film was going on Stand-By, which had all of our jaws dropping. You guys are totally amazing. And a special thank-you to Philip Fragassi for the wonderful pizza! You kept our blood sugar up at at critical time! Now it's time for the Midn... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

March 15th, 2008 @ 8:00pm

A mind-blowing statistic

I just got the number of attendees for the 7:00 round. For that one round alone, we have 2,285 people in the theaters! That's something that's never happened before! Once upon a time, that number would have reflected an entire day's attendance! ...Have I mentioned lately how incredible all of you are?... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

March 15th, 2008 @ 7:30pm

The wildest night of our lives!

I keep saying that I can't believe how many people can fit in the hallway and the lobby. And then I keep being surprised as, with each ensuing round, even more pile in! The Stand-By lines were swarmed with people! I had to run something out to the Duke Desk, and afterwards, I felt like I'd learned what it felt like to be a salmon i... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

March 15th, 2008 @ 4:45pm

A whirlwind day gives way to a wild evening!

This is definitely going to be another record-breaking day! I think that everybody's bent on making up for last weekend's storm-attenuated crowds! With the 4:00 round now in, it's time to look ahead to the 7:00 round, which is going to be even wilder than the last two rounds were! It's important to note that five of the six films i... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

March 15th, 2008 @ 3:20pm

The Wild World of Stand-By

Because so many of our films today are turning out to be a lot more popular than we expected, I thought I'd make a few suggestions of how to sidestep the Stand-By line. First: remember that every film in the round is a gem. If the one you're interested in most of all is already on Stand-By, take another look at the others in ... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

March 15th, 2008 @ 2:20pm

It's like a whole weekend distilled into one afternoon!

Oh my. That was a mind-blowing round! And the wild part is that things are only going to get more intense as the day goes on! I sneaked out to grab some lunch between rounds, and had a wonderful time listening to everyone at the table tease each other mercilessly. These are the best people to work with, and now I know how t... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

March 15th, 2008 @ 1:10pm

Back on Stand-By

This is just a quick heads-up: Roming, which came off of Stand-By last night for the 7:15 showing tonight, is now back on Stand-By. Remember, come early to make sure you have the best chance of getting in. Stand-By tickets will begin selli... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

March 15th, 2008 @ 12:00pm

Roaring into the afternoon!

I can't believe how fast these days keep going. I ought to be used to it by now, but it never ceases to amaze me. We've finished seating our noon round attendees, and it's time to look forward to the 2:00 round, and that is going to be intense! Four of our films are on Stand-By, so if you're interested in seeing one of them, make s... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

March 15th, 2008 @ 11:05am

You guys AMAZE me!

I'm in constant awe of all of you. Thanks to your enthusiasm, we've shattered our Friday attendance records, setting the new bar at 6,267 attendees! You've also been cleaning out our merchandise with astounding speed! And thanks to your incredible generosity, our Challenge Match has now reached the $43,000... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

March 14th, 2008 @ 10:00pm

Friday Night Midnight Madness, and Saturday Morning Fun

Oh my! I don't think I've ever seen the theater lobby quite as packed as it was before the 9:00 round! Everything got so noisy and active, but the energy was totally amazing. You guys all remain the best possible filmgoing audience. And the weekend's only just begun! Now that the 9:00 round is underway, it's ... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

March 14th, 2008 @ 9:30pm

Challenging our audiences and ourselves

... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

March 14th, 2008 @ 8:00pm

Another showing of The Substitute!

I have wonderful news! For all of you who were turned away from The Substitute tonight, and everyone else who's wondering what all of the buzz is about, another showing has been added. Mark your calendars and reserve your tickets: it'll be showing at 7:15 PM on Sunday night! You might even see me in the theater, if th... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

March 14th, 2008 @ 7:30pm

One wild round dealt with!

Whew! That was the most intense round I've ever seen! I hope a whole lot of you will be taking up the Staff Challenge that was put out at the start of the films! Now that everything is screening, I can talk about the 9:00 round, which is shaping up to be much calmer. If you were feeling intimidated by the early evening crowds, thi... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

March 14th, 2008 @ 6:20pm

Three Saturday films come off Stand-By!

Bill Guentzler is a miracle-worker. He's been rearranging the theaters a little, to accommodate the growing crowds, with wonderful results; three films have come off of Stand-By, and tickets are once more available via pre-sale! If you were hoping to see the 7:15 showing of ... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

March 14th, 2008 @ 5:50pm

What a reversal!

As we gear up for the 7:00 round, a funny little thought just struck me. At this time, one week ago, there was a state of total pandemonium outside of Tower City, and a fair degree of calm in here. Now, exactly a week later, the situation is reversing itself. Now the pandemonium is in here, and the calm is outside. Things are defi... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

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