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

Guest Bloggers

March 27th, 2011 @ 2:30pm

Excited? (You are not alone)

The lights and sights are back again in Cleveland. By lights and sights I mean, of course, the cinematic revelry that is the Cleveland International Film Festival. I'm not even at the festival yet, and I can already feel the excitement. I've been anticipating this weekend since the final reel ended in last year's festival, and I'm sure I'm not a... more

Posted by Chad W. Lutz

March 28th, 2010 @ 3:05pm

Film is so Punk

I spent most of my teen years at the Grogshop, Beachland Ballroom and my friend's basements slamdancing to a plethora of punk bands, most of whom knew at least two chords. Since going to Oberlin, a college and town whose population has an affinity more for a critique of pathos rather than a passion for punk rock, I've really missed the sheer mass o... more

Posted by Josh Davidson

March 28th, 2010 @ 1:30pm

Early Birds Get The Seats

I arrived this morning lugging sleepiness like an albatross. The car ride was silent; all of us were still trying to shake off our late nights and were in the daunting process of wrestling with the idea of waking up at seven to catch a nine-fifteen showing of a movie on a Sunday. My seven year-old self would have hung his head in shame. But my... more

Posted by Chad W. Lutz

March 27th, 2010 @ 1:35pm

Girlfriend

I'm currently in the midst of a long courting process, in hopes of painting a fine portrait of Cleveland for my girlfriend, Becca, who is moving here from Boston come June. Considering that this town has its fair (enormous) share of bad publicity, her new choice of residence always receives a questioning glance from her east coast, small campus pee... more

Posted by Josh Davidson

March 26th, 2010 @ 9:00pm

Make Time and GO!

As I was getting my haircut today, the usual banter got on the subject of movies. As a blogger for one of the biggest film events of the year, I obviously felt inclined to mention the Cleveland International Film Festival, as she was trying to figure out a nice little vacation from the kids. At first she gave me the line, "I'd love to, I just d... more

Posted by Chad W. Lutz

March 26th, 2010 @ 8:30pm

Israel and Film

I find there to be a tendency in films that get "big" -- make it in to festivals – from war torn countries to, most of the time, focus on the war(s) that is tearing their country apart. There is no better example of this than the cinema coming out of Israel. Rationally, this makes sense for a country that averages a major military conflict per dec... more

Posted by Josh Davidson

March 24th, 2010 @ 3:25pm

Family Ties

Family Ties By Chad W. Lutz When I awoke this morning, I was excited. Not just because I was going to be covering the film festival for the third time in five days. I was excited because my brother, Colin, was going to be attending the festival with me. Why did this have me excited? My brother, now 22, lives i... more

Posted by Chad Lutz

March 24th, 2010 @ 1:40pm

To Struggle With Art

To Struggle with Art By Josh Davidson After exiting my first film of this year's festival (which was sadly this late in the schedule), a number of attendees where nonplussed in figuring out the film's "point." "What does it all mean?" "I understand the relationship, by why make her do that?" etc, etc. I too held si... more

Posted by Josh Davidson

March 21st, 2010 @ 1:15pm

Festival Views: Saturday, March 20 (Day 2)

When I arrived at the Cleveland cinemas last night, the crowds were still teeming. Even though it was almost 9:00 pm, hundreds of moviegoers were standing in the stand by line to buy tickets as one of the personnel popped their dreamy bubbles by announcing that two of the five remaining features were already sold out. Moans and groans could be ... more

Posted by Chad Lutz

March 20th, 2010 @ 12:07pm

Festival Views: Friday, March 19 (Day 2)

The posters were hung and dangling when I arrived. I could almost smell the popcorn from the street as I made my way through the Ontario Street entrance. Even before I got to the Cleveland Cinemas, there were sights and sounds abound all around. Vendors selling odds and ends trinkets near the dancing fountains with shoppers and moviegoers alike ... more

Posted by Chad Lutz

April 3rd, 2009 @ 11:00am

Film Forums

Film Forums I attended three interactive discussions last Saturday held at Cleveland State University. All were hosted by a professor from the school and all three panels were CIFF filmmakers except for one very special guest, Dan O'Shannon, who is the executive producer of the new TV show, Better Off Ted. ... more

Posted by Andrew Fousek

April 2nd, 2009 @ 2:30pm

Guest Blogger Film Review: Kassim the Dream

Film Review: Kassim the Dream Kassim the Dream is an interesting documentary about junior middleweight champion boxer Kassim Ouma. A native from Uganda, Kassim was kidnapped from school at the age of six by the National Resistanc... more

Posted by Andrew Browarek

March 29th, 2009 @ 7:35pm

Go Local

Go Local! While this is the Cleveland International Film Festival, I am truly in awe of Clevelanders. After seeing both An Alternative to Slitting Your Wrists and ... more

Posted by Bridget Kriner

March 29th, 2009 @ 1:30pm

Thanks!

Thanks Saturday, March 28, 2009 So I go back to college tomorrow. I feel like I just came back home, and saw my first film. Vacations always go by quickly, but the Film Festival seems to go by even faster. This being my final entry I really want to just say thank you to everyone involved in this incredible event... more

Posted by Josh Davidson

March 28th, 2009 @ 9:00pm

Film Review: The Disappeared

Film Review: The Disappeared The Disappeared is a horror/suspense flick with a well-written plot that will keep you guessing to the very end. Matthew (Harry Treadaway) is the adolescent older brother of Tom, a child who g... more

Posted by Andrew Fousek

March 28th, 2009 @ 2:00pm

Festival Diary: Friday, March 27, 2009

Festival Diary: Friday, March 27, 2009 6:00 pm: Today I did something out of the norm for a Friday (although I'm still hanging out with Patrick, so it's not THAT out of the norm) and went to the CIFF (for those of you not in the know, that stands for Cleveland International Film Festival). I'm taking ... more

Posted by Margaret Gertz

March 28th, 2009 @ 11:55am

10% Cinema Reaches a New Level

10% Cinema Reaches a New Level When we attend 10% Cinema, we're expecting a lot! There are so many social issues at work in these films, and given the beauty and artistry of this year's entries, they will surely win many awards. The pressure to "come out" is on in ... more

Posted by Nick Malusky

March 27th, 2009 @ 1:00pm

The Audience as Art

The Audience as Art In Herb and Dorothy, a wonderful documentary about two incredible art collectors in New York, I found a new understanding of my place in the artistic process. I am not an individual who is an artist himself. I... more

Posted by Josh Davidson

March 27th, 2009 @ 12:30pm

Movies, Monsters, and Mayhem

Movies, Monsters and Mayhem Artist and Director from California Brings his Creations Home to Cleveland By A.H. Klein For director Frank Ippolito, the Cleveland International Film Festival represents a homecoming. Ippolito and his associate directors bring to... more

Posted by A.H. Klein

March 25th, 2009 @ 9:30pm

Much More Than a Movie

Much More Than a Movie As much as I love movies, I rarely go out to see them in theatres anymore. I still watch movies all the time, at home on DVD or even sitting in front of my computer. I suppose I had forgotten how powerful the experience of the big screen could be. My experience at the film festival thus fa... more

Posted by Bridget Kriner