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Cleveland International Film Festival

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Cleveland International Film Festival
Cleveland International Film Festival logo
a man stands at a podium, with the film festival logo projected on a screen behind him
Director Flavio Alves at the 2019 film festival
Statusactive
Genrefilm festival
FrequencyAnnually
VenuePlayhouse Square
Location(s)Cleveland
Years active48
InauguratedApril 13, 1977 (1977-04-13)
FounderJonathan Forman
Most recentApril 3–21, 2024 (2024-04-03 – 2024-04-21)
LeaderMarcie Goodman
Websitewww.clevelandfilm.org

The Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) is an annual film festival based in Cleveland, Ohio. CIFF is the largest film festival in Ohio and among the longest-running in the United States.[1] The festival is held at Playhouse Square, the largest performing arts center in the United States outside of New York City.[2]

Throughout its history, CIFF has experienced tremendous growth. Its 48th festival in 2024 included an in-person and virtual component with 363 films from 60 countries.[3] CIFF is also an Academy Award qualifying festival.[4]

History

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Not to be confused with the Cleveland Film Festival which ran from 1948 to 1956 and honored sponsored films with "Oscars,"[5][6], the CIFF had its inaugural festival in 1977 with seven feature films over eight weeks at the Cedar Lee Theatre in Cleveland Heights.[7] In 1991, the festival relocated to Tower City Cinemas in Downtown Cleveland. [7][8] At points during its nearly five-decade run, the festival has also put on additional programming and events at other local venues, including the Akron Art Museum, the Akron-Summit County Public Library, the Apollo Theatre in Oberlin, the Capitol Theatre on Cleveland's west side, and Shaker Cinemas on Shaker Square.[7][8]

After 30 years at Tower City Cinemas, CIFF announced that it would move to Playhouse Square ahead of the 2021 festival.[7] Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the 44th festival, its last at Tower City Cinemas, was canceled. The festival moved to a digital streaming platform for the first time in its history over two weeks at the end of April 2020.[9] For the 45th festival, with the pandemic continuing through 2020 into 2021, the festival opted to continue with a digital festival dubbed CIFF45 Streams.[10] 2022 was the festival's first time at Playhouse Square during CIFF46.

Recently, the festival has focused on films that dwell on social issues, including feminism, environmentalism, Jewish and Israeli issues, and LGBT issues.[11] The festival also has a focus on family-friendly films and films from Central and Eastern Europe.[11][12]

The Cleveland International Film Festival is sometimes confused with an earlier film festival in Cleveland with a similar name—the 1948 to 1956 Cleveland Film Festival—the first film festival in the country to honor sponsored films in all categories.[13]

Awards

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The festival offers multiple awards and honors to its films and filmmakers, including for Best Documentary and for Best Central and Eastern European film.[12] In 2006, the festival introduced The Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Film Competition, which honors films focused on social justice and activism and is sponsored by The George Gund Foundation in honor of Greg Gund, who died in a plane crash in 2005.[14] Another major award is the Roxanne T. Mueller Audience Choice Award for Best Film, which has been awarded annually since 1988 and is named in honor of the late Roxanne Mueller, who was a film advocate and film critic for The Plain Dealer.[15]

Roxanne T. Mueller Audience Choice Award for Best Film

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References

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  1. ^ www.clevelandfilm.org https://www.clevelandfilm.org/about. Retrieved 2024-04-14. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ^ "Playhouse Square". Cleveland Historical. Cleveland State University. Retrieved July 1, 2023. By the turn of the twenty-first century, all of the original theaters were again hosting performances, constituting the nation's second-largest performing arts complex after New York's Lincoln Center.
  3. ^ www.clevelandfilm.org https://www.clevelandfilm.org/news/CIFF48-public-tickets-on-sale. Retrieved 2024-04-14. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ "93rd ACADEMY AWARDS - SHORT FILMS QUALIFYING FESTIVAL LIST" (PDF).
  5. ^ "Cleveland's Film Festival Surprise Hit, Business Screen, 1948, vol 9 no 8 (December 1948), pg 26-27". Hagley Digital Archive. Business Screen Magazine. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  6. ^ "Cleveland Sponsored Film Festival". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d "CIFF to Move to Playhouse Square in 2021 - Cleveland International Film Festival :: April 7 - 18, 2021". www.clevelandfilm.org. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  8. ^ a b Suttell, Scott. "Cleveland International Film Festival to add satellite venues". Crain's Cleveland Business. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  9. ^ "CIFF44 Reinvented - Cleveland International Film Festival :: April 7 - 18, 2021". www.clevelandfilm.org. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  10. ^ "CIFF45 Announces Plans for 2021 Festival; Announces Artistic Leadership Changes - Cleveland International Film Festival :: March 30 - April 10, 2022". www.clevelandfilm.org. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  11. ^ a b Higl, Alexandra (21 March 2013). "Cleveland International Film Festival set to launch". The Carroll News. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  12. ^ a b "Cleveland International Film Festival". Indie Wire. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  13. ^ Culley, Jim (2 August 2021). "Cleveland Sponsored Film Festival". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University.
  14. ^ "Festival Features Greg Gund Memorial Competition". The George Gund Foundation. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  15. ^ Fertal, Caitlin (5 March 2009). "Cleveland festival creates film fever". The Cleveland Stater. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
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