37th cleveland international film festival :: April 3 - april 14, 2013
Film Festival Blog
March 28th, 2010 @ 2:25pm

Now it's time for the Final 4pm round!

Time keeps flying so quickly around here! We're rocketing toward our Closing Night ceremony and I want things to slow down a little so I can savor them. I hope everyone has been getting to enjoy their films, and savor this last day, too. Unbelievably, it's already time for me to talk about the 4pm round! (I can tell because things are so quiet again outside the Media Hub; you've all gone downstairs!)

This is going to be a very busy and full round, and I believe everything is on Stand-By (or very close to Stand-By), so make sure you've given yourself extra time if you didn't buy your tickets in advance. I'm sure you're tired of me linking you to "Stand-By 101" and the parking page, so that's all I'm going to say about that. ;)

The round begins at 4:15 with Splinters, a fractured story featuring a runaway bride, a motorcycle enthusiast, and so much more, that will piece itself together to reveal its depths by the final reel. It's a wonderful Polish film, so join us for it.

If you want something with a social conscience -- and a lot of relevance to us Ohioans -- then join us at 4:20 for The Last Truck: The Closing of a GM Plant, and get to know the Dayton factory workers whose lives and sense of family are shaken up when the plant they've worked in for years closes down. If you're interested in how you can help people in their situation, our Lights, Camera, Action Steps crew has put together a great brochure about things you can do, and there will also be a Q&A with directors Julia Reichert and Steve Bognar after the film. It's preceded by the short film Palace of Light, which will take you into the heart of the factory that's been making Post Shredded Wheat for more than a century.

In the mood for a trip back in time? Maybe a little cloak-and-dagger derring-do, and a bit of glamour? Take a trip back to World War II Czechoslovakia in our 4:25 screening of Protektor, as a husband-and-wife couple of entertainers find their lives on the line, and the power differentials between them shifting, when the Nazis come to town.

At 4:30 we have Bananas! Every time I type that I expect it to be a screwball comedy with a bright yellow Volkswagen that races around saving the day (and if you know what I'm talking about, you're as strange as I am). No, it's a very important film about a serious issue -- a devastating ecological disaster in Nicaragua and the ongoing efforts to get the corporation behind it to take responsibility for clean-up and reparations. It's a film that's generated a lot of controversy both in the States and Internationally, so check it out. And yes, we have a flyer with things you can do in our Lights, Camera, Action Steps page!

Venture into the world of Muslim Punk, as much a philosophical movement as a musical movement, with The Taqwacores at 4:40. This is a brilliant film that will take you into a world that you may never have known existed, but which is absolutely fascinating. You'll even be able to ask questions of director Eyad Zahra after the screening!

You can experience Good Fortune at 4:45, with an astonishing film about how not all foreign aid actually helps. This is a documentary that will show you the downside of special aid projects, and the people who, instead of benefiting from aid, are harmed by it. We have a special flyer with ideas and suggestions from our Lights, Camera, Action Steps crew!

Our final film in the round is the wildly popular My Year Without Sex at 4:50. It takes you into the life of an overloaded mother who is forced to take it easy for a while after an aneurysm almost takes her life. It's a great film for reminding us about what's really important in our high-paced, media-saturated world. Don't let the Aussie accents fool you -- this is our life too!

There's just one more round to report on after this, so I'll be back soon, if I don't get swept up in the tide of departing filmmakers I need to hug goodbye. (It's a shame more of them can't stay for the Closing ceremonies!) Have a wonderful time in your film!

Posted by Lara Klaber

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