37th cleveland international film festival :: April 3 - april 14, 2013
Film Festival Blog

April 2011

April 4th, 2011 @ 1:30am

Standing Up Meets Stand-Up

What a magical night. Okay, it didn't go off without a few hitches... but you were all so wonderful about those hitches! You may not have been able to see Soul Surfer, but we did get everybody a seat in a great film and virtually all of you were so gracious and understanding. This is why I've been calling you the best Festival crowd in ... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

April 3rd, 2011 @ 6:30pm

The final round comes around again...

Every year, as the final round prepares to go in and the Closing Night Ceremony closes in, I'm a little bewildered as to how quickly the time has passed and how much has happened in it. Things are a bit of a blur at times, but I've had the most wonderful time this year, meeting incredible people and making new friends. There are so many people I'... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

April 3rd, 2011 @ 4:25pm

Missed the film your heart was set on?

Don't give up hope! Our friends at Cleveland Cinemas have been paying close attention to which films have had huge crowds, especially if some of you had to be turned away because we ran out of seats! They're working on arranging to have the films come back to Cleveland, as soon as they... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

April 3rd, 2011 @ 1:52pm

Dressed for success no matter what

Sorry I vanished! We're preparing for the Closing Night ceremony, which has me distracted in about ten directions at once. But here's that wild story I've been promising you, now that I've finally had enough of a quiet moment to write it up. We've had some wild and crazy times at the Cleveland International Film Festival over the years. Some o... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

April 3rd, 2011 @ 11:30am

Wow, were other things going on yesterday?

When 11,189 people -- yes, that's right, 11,189 -- are pouring through the walkway on their way to films, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that there's still this much bigger town around you and that other things were going on. I have to give a shout-out to our amazing crew, especially Jay in parking and Jessica's Stand-By team, for maki... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

April 3rd, 2011 @ 12:45am

My best Festival Day ever

Some days are just impossible to top, and I think this was one of them. Not only did I find myself face-to-face with Dan O'Shannon, a screenwriter I admire greatly, I also got to watch my editing mentor (the brilliant Laura Paglin) enjoy an encore performance of her film with a huge walk-up crowd, found myself in the midst of an incredible music... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

April 2nd, 2011 @ 8:04pm

Is our trailer song stuck in your head?

It's definitely stuck in a lot of our heads! Short film director Doron Kipper tweeted the other day: "@CIFF trailer is great, but Ive literally lost sleep cause of the theme song. Its too catchy 2b played before all films. It haunts me." The best way to g... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

April 2nd, 2011 @ 5:51pm

Spontaneous Magic!

Oh, how I wish I could instantly put things on YouTube! I wish I could just upload things straight from my eyes! Because we just had the most amazing experience in the Hospitality HQ. It started innocently enough... Walt Mahlovlich, one of our stellar staff members, had mentioned to me the other night that his musical group, ... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

April 2nd, 2011 @ 3:05pm

Keep an eye out for Dan O'Shannon!

My favorite guest-lecturer, from when I was a film student at CSU, is in the house! And every bit as awesome as I remember! If you've ever seen Cheers, or ... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

April 2nd, 2011 @ 1:50pm

It's T-Shirt Day at the festival!

No, put the water down, it's not that kind of T-Shirt Day! It's the day to wear your Film Festival t-shirt! If you've got a collection of our T-shirts (and I do!) it's time to don your favorite and come down to join us! We have prize drawings and a photo booth, so that snazzy shirt could score you some swag! Fill out your drawing card at... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

April 2nd, 2011 @ 1:10pm

Did we steal the Indians' mojo yesterday?

I doubt any of you are surprised when I tell you that we broke our Friday attendance record again! 7,179 of you were here yesterday, making it the best Friday we've ever had! You bought almost $2,500 in merchandise, too! And the Challenge Match now stands at $37,200!!! We're going to keep going with the Challenge Match all through the weekend... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

April 2nd, 2011 @ 12:05pm

Time for a parking update!

Well, yesterday was pretty spectacular, parking-wise, in spite of all of our nervousness. The amazing people at Tower City managed to find room for everybody who needed a parking space yesterday, and became the heroes of our story for the day! We think they're going to do the same phenomenal job today. The next Indians game is at 1:05 pm today... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

April 2nd, 2011 @ 11:10am

Talk film with filmmakers!

I'm running so late with this! But if you have a break in your schedule today or tomorrow, and want to catch some cool panel discussions, CSU is holding a series of them this weekend and many of our guests are speaking there. The first panel in the series -- "The Real... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

April 2nd, 2011 @ 10:45am

Need a little rush to get your day going?

Who doesn't? I know after this intense week, I definitely could use one to start things off! So join our own Meaghan as she takes you through yesterday's invigorating fitness demonstration and several other events around Tower City, and then gives you Bill's Best Bets for the day! ... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

April 1st, 2011 @ 9:25pm

Putting the week to bed

We're coming to the close of our Friday festivities, although it's also the return of our midnight round. I have to head home, unfortunately -- my transportation stops running during that round so I can't actually stick around, myself. Watch it for me, please! Joke and Biagio shared a really cool video with me, and I want to share it with you.... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

April 1st, 2011 @ 8:45pm

Have you heard of Roots and Shoots?

If not, you really need to know about this organization! They came to the CIFF in conjunction with the film Jane's Journey, and we got to learn a little about their mission and their relationship with Jane Goodall. ... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

April 1st, 2011 @ 7:45pm

No parking crunch tonight!

I just got word from our amazing parking guru, Jay Bravo, that there are lots of spaces in the Tower City parking lots now. He's been working hard all afternoon to keep the lots open for you, and while there have been a few glitches things have gone brilliantly. We thought the Riverview lot -- which is where overflow from the parkin... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

April 1st, 2011 @ 5:05pm

AWOL but so worth it!

Oh wow. I went downstairs to ferret out a few people for that story I'm working on -- I still have to catch up with them -- and to snag myself one of the sweatshirts while we still have them in stock. And then I got swept up in a tide. This huge stream of people started coming in, and flowing into the theater for ... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

April 1st, 2011 @ 1:23pm

Some Festival numbers for Thursday...

Well, actually, I don't have the exact numbers for Thursday's attendance, because this day is keeping us hopping so much that I haven't been able to corner Bill and get them! I will, though. I do know that we broke yet another record and had our best Thursday ever. Meanwhile, I know that our Merchandising counter has been flying through... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

April 1st, 2011 @ 12:30pm

Important parking update!

The lots at Tower City are filling up fast. Patrick Shepherd put out a tweet an hour ago -- I need to remember to check Twitter more often -- saying that the primary self-parking lot is full and the Riverview lot -- where overflow would go -- was almost full at that time. If you haven't come down yet, you might want to seriously consider using ... more

Posted by Lara Klaber

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