37th cleveland international film festival :: April 3 - april 14, 2013
Film Festival Blog
March 27th, 2010 @ 7:35pm

Saturday night's 9pm round is HOT!

Oh wow, I'm sorry I haven't gotten many posts up today... we've been deluged in the Media Hub with all kinds of awesome filmmakers, and I can't stop having the most interesting conversations with them! As a film student, it's so wonderful to actually get to talk to, and compare notes with, people who have actually gone through the whole process and gotten a film into a Festival. But I really do need to tell you about the 9pm round, because the place has emptied out here and I know everybody's watching our 7pm films now.

So, a quick rundown...

We start at 9:05 with Convention, which will take you into the inner workings of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, and after watching the amount of amazing effort and aplomb needed to keep our Festival running so smoothly, I can see why you'd make a film about that incredible effort. Want to see what it takes to manage a crowd that big, and that contentious? This is your film! Director AJ Schnack will take questions from the audience after the conclusion of the film. It's preceded by The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner. This film has a wonderful flyer from the Lights, Camera, Action Steps team, to give you more information about the causes involved and what you can do to help. It's on Stand-By, so come down soon if you're not already here.

Then, at 9:20, we have The Last Days of Emma Blank, which takes you into a house full of dysfunctional relationships. The only thing everyone has in common is that they're waiting for the titular character to hurry up and die. Come see why.

If that's not your style, how about a poetry slam? Join us at 9:25 for Louder Than a Bomb and learn all about this cool art form with enormous social impact. You can learn even more about poetry slams courtesy of our Lights, Camera, Action Steps crew. Both of these films, by the way, are on Stand-By.

Enter the world of high-powered corporate politics at 9:30 with the Headhunter, and find out just how cut-throat all of the competition there can be! This one wasn't on Stand-By, last I checked.

At 9:45, we'll begin Cash & Marry, which takes a hard look at the new meaning "marrying for money" has taken on as marriages of convenience have become an increasingly popular way to subvert immigration laws. This film is on Stand-By, so get in line early.

At 9:50 we're launching our 10% Shorts Program #2 which, surprisingly, wasn't on Stand-By last time I checked either. At least one of our short film directors is in attendance tonight, though, so come on down and fill up our seats, and ask them lots of questions!

Our final two films both begin at 10:00, and both of them are on Stand-By. If you'd like a look into the world of Muslim Punk, we have the wonderful film The Taqwacores, based on a novel that many are calling "the Muslim Catcher in the Rye." If you'd prefer to witness a little Russian rebellion back in the pre-punk Soviet days, join us for an added screening of Hipsters, the film that has inspired "hipster parties" all across Russia.

That takes us through the end of the round, but we still have a midnight screening coming up! I'll be back with more information about that, and what to look forward to tomorrow. Have a wonderful time in your film, whichever one you've chosen!

Posted by Lara Klaber

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