George Gund III Memorial

Wednesday, April 03, 2013 @ 7:00 PM

In Memoriam

George Gund III

1937-2013

At the Cleveland International Film Festival, we lovingly talked about “our George” all the time. But, of course, he was not just our George; he belonged to the world. George Gund III was a beloved son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, uncle, colleague, and friend.

George lived life to the fullest. His interests and adventures spanned the globe. He travelled to 132 countries. And he cared deeply about art, Native American history, cowboy poetry, Japanese calligraphy, and music—as well as fishing, water, and the outdoors. But his greatest passions were hockey and film.

A native of Cleveland and long-time resident of San Francisco, George had more than 30 years of National Hockey League ownership experience and a lifetime of enthusiasm for amateur and professional sports.

In the 1970s he began importing and distributing Eastern European films and encouraging independent film production in the U.S. In addition to being the long-time chair of the San Francisco Film Society, he was a founder of the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque and a founding trustee of the Cleveland International Film Festival. Other film and festival affiliations included the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, the Sundance Institute, the Film Committee of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Anthology Film Archives. George started film festivals and he supported them. He was a constant fixture at film festivals around the world and his generosity in the world of film is legendary.

We are deeply honored by The George Gund Foundation and family’s desire to celebrate George’s life by supporting this year’s Opening Night and, as an enduring memorial to George, by endowing our George Gund III Memorial Central and Eastern European Film Competition.

We presented George, known as GG3, with our Legacy Award last year at the 36th CIFF. At the time we said: “George Gund III means the world to the Cleveland International Film Festival and we want the world to know that.” George Gund III will always mean the world to the Cleveland International Film Festival, and we will always want the world to know that. George created love in the hearts of those of us who were fortunate enough to know him. How lucky are we!