Tickets to CIFF47's 121 feature films and 199 short films are now on sale!

CIFF47 Tickets Are Now on Sale

CIFF47 Announces its program lineup. 121 feature films and 199 shorts films from 67 countries.

CIFF47 ANNOUNCES PROGRAM LINEUP

Thirty-two feature films are included in three esteemed competitions, with $30,000 in cash prizes available.  In addition, dozens of short films will be included in CIFF’s three Oscar® qualifying categories, with $3,000 in cash prizes available.

Ciff47 has announced its juried competitions with a combined total of $33,000 in cash prizes. 

CIFF47 Juried Competitions and additional program details announced

CIFF47 Announces Juried Competitions and Additional Program Details

For Filmmakers

For questions not answered below, please email 

Now! CIFF48 Call for Entries opened on July 3, 2023 and will close January 5, 2024. Please check the 

The 48th Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) will take place as an in-person event April 3-13, 2024 at Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland, OH.

At this time, details about CIFF48 Streams (the virtual/online component of CIFF) are yet to be determined. We will update this page and notify all selected films in the festival as we have news.

CIFF is excited to return to its new forever home, the beautiful and iconic Playhouse Square - also the largest performing arts district in the U.S., outside of New York City. CIFF will continue to follow guidance and protocols based on science and community circumstances, in relation to COVID-19. All Festival details (including dates, format, and venues) are subject to change.

CIFF48 is scheduled to take place April 3-13, 2024 at Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland, OH.

Productions completed after June 1, 2022 are eligible to submit for CIFF48.

CIFF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Fees collected through the Call for Entries process assist in our operations, so please do not request a waiver, unless you meet the following requirement.

If you are an Applicant who is also a CIFF alum, meaning that CIFF has screened one of your feature or short films in a previous festival, then CIFF will waive your submission fee for any film meeting the CIFF48 requirements outlined herein.

Once your film has been submitted via the CIFF48 FilmFreeway portal, it is your responsibility to check your FilmFreeway account to ensure that your submission meets CIFF’s requirements; that you have provided all necessary information to CIFF; and that your film has been accepted by CIFF for consideration. Within one week after your submission date, CIFF will send you an email confirming that it has received your submission and, if applicable, requesting any further information needed from you.

We do! It's actually the only way you can now submit to CIFF.

Please review how to submit your online screener through FilmFreeway on their FAQ page 

Through FilmFreeway, we accept HD uploads and Vimeo links. If links are password-protected, passwords must be valid through April 14, 2024 or your submission will be considered 

Sorry! CIFF no longer accepts submissions on DVD or Blu-ray - we will only consider films submitted through Vimeo links or online screeners on FilmFreeway.

All linear films with a total runtime of 45 minutes or over are considered feature films. All linear films less than 45 minutes are considered short films.

All genres! The CIFF exhibits short and feature length films of all genres - including Midnight, Sci-Fi, LGBT, and Family - and categories - including Narrative, Documentary, Animation, and especially International – we screened films from over 60 countries last year!

We do! All Music Video submissions must be 15 minutes or under and are subject to the same pricing and rules as short films.

If you would like to submit your work in the music video category, your work must be created for a specific piece of original music that you or an associate have the legal rights to.

We do! All Web Series submissions must meet the requirements listed below and are subject to the same pricing and rules as short films.

All work submitted to our Web Series category must be a series of multiple videos in episodic form that pertain to the same theme and may not be longer than 45 minutes per episode. Only one episode needs to be submitted, though supplemental episodes may be requested after the original work is pre-screened. Therefore please submit what you feel is your strongest piece in the series. All episodes within the series must have been made after June 1, 2022. We unfortunately are not considering news programs, talk show, or reality show formats at this time.

At this time, CIFF regrets that it has no plans to include New Media presentations in CIFF48, due to CIFF’s concerns that it will be unable to implement reasonable measures to protect participants’ health and safety in interactive environments. CIFF therefore will not consider any New Media submissions for CIFF48, including Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Video Games, or Interactive Media. Should this policy change, CIFF will update its FilmFreeway page and permit New Media submissions to remain free of charge in accordance with CIFF’s past practice. CIFF encourages any New Media creators who are interested in submitting work for CIFF48 to check CIFF’s FilmFreeway page regularly for any updates.

Do we ever! The CIFF currently has 14 competitions for feature films and 20 competitions for short films, and we're always expanding our awards program. At CIFF47 we gave away over $130,000 in cash awards!

Yes! The CIFF is actually one of few festivals in the world that qualifies for all three Academy Short Film categories! CIFF's Best Animated Short Film Award winner, Best Live Action Short Film Award winner, and Best Documentary Short Film Award winner will all qualify for consideration in the Short Films categories of the annual Academy Awards®. Please check the Academy® website for rules and eligibility.

All work previously submitted to any prior CIFF will not be considered.

No, please do not submit works in progress or industrial/instructional works.

The only premiere requirement is that the film can't be on VOD or have played theatrically in the Greater Cleveland area, prior to our CIFF48 dates (April 3-13, 2024).

Any film that is available for public viewing on the web (i.e. YouTube, Vimeo) prior to our festival dates will not be considered, with the exception of Web Series content.

Definitely! Especially if it’s a short film to be eligible for our Best Student Short Film award of $1,000!

You will be notified by email whether your film has been selected for exhibition at the 48th CIFF. Our notification deadline is March 1, 2024, but is subject to change. We will try to let you know as soon as possible whether your film made it or not, but please be patient as our selection process does take time.

Yes! Written feedback from our screening team will be provided post-festival for all films that pay to submit in full. If you would like to see your comments, you must 

 between May 1 - June 1, 2024. No comments will be provided for requests that come in after June 1, 2024 or for any films that submit with a waiver or discount.

Participants’ films - both short and feature - must be available for theatrical screenings as a DCP. For all films that will be participating in the potential online component of the festival, films must also be available as as a .mp4 or another CIFF-approved digital file. 35MM, BLU-RAY, AND DVD ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE FORMATS FOR CIFF48 EXHIBITION.

Selected participants must upload all exhibition files electronically to CIFF’s secure-storage platforms, powered by CineSend and Eventive. CIFF will not accept any exhibition files for CIFF48 that are submitted on a hard drive.

Answers to the most frequently asked questions from filmmakers about the Cleveland International Film Festival.

Filmmaker FAQs | CIFF 47

Filmmaker FAQs

47TH CLEVELAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
AWARD WINNERS



CLEVELAND (Sunday, April 2, 2023) – CIFF47 at Playhouse Square, which took place March 22nd – April 1st, held its Closing Awards Ceremony on Saturday, April 1st in the KeyBank State Theatre, where the winners of the Festival’s esteemed awards were announced. Closing Night was sponsored by 


Roxanne T. Mueller Audience Choice Award for Best Film
Sponsored by the 


1946: THE MISTRANSLATION THAT SHIFTED CULTURE, directed by Sharon "Rocky" Roggio (USA)
$15,000 cash prize

Reel Women Direct Award for Excellence in Directing by a Woman
Presented with generous support from Deborah Bachman Ratner
Christine Yoo (for 26.2 TO LIFE; USA)
$10,000 cash prize

George Gund III Memorial Central and Eastern European Competition
Endowed by 


PAMFIR, directed by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk (Ukraine, France, Poland, Chile)
$10,000 cash prize

Nesnadny + Schwartz Portrait Documentary Competition
MAY THE SCHWARTZ BE WITH YOU Director’s Award
Presented with generous support from 


JOONAM, directed by Sierra Urich (USA)
$10,000 cash prize

New Direction Competition
JOYLAND, directed by Saim Sadiq (Pakistan, USA)
$10,000 cash prize

Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Competition
Endowed by 


20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL, directed by Mstyslav Chernov (Ukraine)
$10,000 cash prize

Global Health Competition
Presented with generous support from Mark Smith and Janet Rosel Smith
NURSE UNSEEN, directed by Michele Josue (USA)
$7,500 cash prize

American Independents Competition
Presented with generous support from Mike and Nicki Cancelliere
PLAYING THROUGH, directed by Balbinka Korzeniowska (USA)
$7,500 cash prize

Local Heroes Competition
Presented with generous support from Lauren Rich Fine and 


WE ARE THE TROOPERS, directed by Jonathon Kimble (USA)
$7,500 cash prize

Ad Hoc Docs Competition
Presented with generous support from Tom and Anita Cook
CHOP & STEELE, directed by Ben Steinbauer and Berndt Mader (USA)
$7,500 cash prize

International Narrative Competition
Presented with generous support from Tom Piraino and Barbara McWilliams
MY SAILOR, MY LOVE, directed by Klaus Härö (Finland, Ireland)
$7,500 cash prize

FilmSlam Student Choice Award for Best Feature Film
Presented with generous support from 


JUNETEENTH: FAITH & FREEDOM, directed by Ya'Ke Smith (USA)
$2,000 Cash Prize

SHORT FILM AWARD WINNERS
Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film Overall
Sponsored by Char and Chuck Fowler
One Small Visit, directed by Jo Chim (Canada)
$1,000 Cash Prize

Best Animated Short Award*
Sponsored by 


It's a Gray, Gray, World, directed by Seyed Mohsen Pourmohseni Shakib (Iran)
$1,000 cash prize

Best Documentary Short Award*
Sponsored by Jules and Fran Belkin
A Chocolate Lens, directed by Gabriel Veras (USA)
$1,000 cash prize

Best Live Action Short Award*
Sponsored by Jules and Fran Belkin
Girl No. 60427, directed by Shulamit Lifshitz (Israel)
$1,000 cash prize

FilmSlam Student Choice Award for Best Short Film
Sponsored by 


Foreign Uncle Directed by Sining Xiang (China, USA)
$1,000 Cash Prize

In addition, CIFF47 presented its fifth 

 to award-winning filmmaker, director, and co-producer of the CIFF47 film 1946: THE MISTRANSLATION THAT SHIFTED CULTURE: Sharon “Rocky” Roggio.

The Festival also celebrated the third year of its 

. CIFF47 was thrilled to recognize two pioneering filmmakers whose work has proven to lift up marginalized voices. This recognition comes with a $5,000 cash award to support the filmmakers’ future work. The Festival was honored to present its Groundbreaker Award to Vivek Bald and Alaudin Ullah, co-directors of the CIFF47 film IN SEARCH OF BENGALI HARLEM.
*These award winners will qualify for consideration in the Short Films category of the annual Academy Awards.®

For a full list of short subject film award winners, please visit 

, takes place April 2 – 9, 2023 online. Hundreds of films will be available on demand. Tickets and passes are now on sale at 

.

CIFF48 will take place April 3 – 13, 2024 at 

.

The Cleveland International Film Festival is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from 

. Also, the Cleveland International Film Festival is made possible in part by state tax dollars allocated by the Ohio Legislature to the 

 (OAC). The OAC is a state agepncy that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically.

###

CIFF47 ASSETS


https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wceICSd9Wz7pOqmJqJQPrkGVfFX47koX?usp=share_link



MEDIA CONTACT
Debby Samples, Marketing & Media Director, 

CIFF47 Announces the winners of its prestigious awards.

CIFF47 Award Winners

CIFF47 announces Opening Night, Centerpiece, and Closing Night films, as well as DReam Maker and Groundbreaker Award recipients. 

CIFF47 Announces Special Events and Programs

CIFF47 unveils membership program, offering filmgoers four levels to choose from.

Filmmakers

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the CIFF48 (2024) Call for Entries open?

Will CIFF48 be in person, online, or both?

When and where will CIFF48 take place?

What's the production deadline?

Can I get the submission fee waived?

How do I know that you received my submission?

Do you accept online screeners?

Can I submit my film on a DVD or Blu-ray?

What are your definitions of feature and short films?

What genres do you accept?

Do you accept MUSIC VIDEOS?

Do you accept WEB SERIES?

Do you accept NEW MEDIA/VIRTUAL REALITY content?

Do you have competitions?

Is the CIFF an Academy®-qualifying festival?

Can I resubmit a film I submitted to a previous CIFF?

Can I submit works in progress or instructional works?

Does my film have to be a premiere to submit?

Can I submit if my film was, is, or will be available before the 48th CIFF for online viewing?

Should I note if I am currently a student?

How and when will I be notified if my film was accepted?

Can I get feedback about my film?

If my film is selected for exhibition, what formats must my film be available in?