AMERICAN SPLENDOR

Filmed entirely in Cleveland, AMERICAN SPLENDOR is an astounding mix of film, video and animation that creates a structure in which images of Cleveland's own Harvey Pekar are intercut with that of his onscreen persona, played by Paul Giamatti. The film, which won the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, begins in 1950 but freely jumps back and forth in time, allowing particular events to trigger memories. Using both narrative and documentary genres, Pekar himself narrates the film, culled from his “American Splendor” comics and “Our Cancer Year,” co-written by Pekar and his wife, Joyce Brabner. AMERICAN SPLENDOR takes us on a journey through Pekar's life his dead-end job as a file clerk in a VA hospital, his failed marriages, his years of loneliness and depression, and his first efforts at comic writing. Ultimately, this is a bittersweet love story about the family Harvey has built with his wife, Joyce (played by Hope Davis), and their foster daughter, Danielle (Madilyn Sweeten), and how his comics inadvertently bring him to this newfound acclaim. Long a hometown, Everyman kind of hero, Pekar receives the kind of media attention he has long deserved. AMERICAN SPLENDOR is truly a celebration of finding the art in one's own life.The Cleveland International Film Festival's Opening Night Gala is a special “Harvey Pekar Party,” replete with Harvey's favorites: jelly beans, orange soda, and locally made Papa Nick's pizza.HBO Films' AMERICAN SPLENDOR will be released theatrically in mid-August in association with Fine Line Features.Special guests may include Harvey Pekar, Joyce Brabner, Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis, Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini and representatives from Fine Line, HBO and Good Machine.SPONSORED BY DOLLAR BANK