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CLEVELAND, Ohio – The curtain came down on the 43rd Cleveland International Film Festival Sunday night at Tower City.
Twelve days featuring more than 500 feature and short films from 71 countries came to a close amidst the sound of cheers and champagne bottles popping with a gala celebration in the downtown mall. It followed a screening of “The Public,” a powerful narrative film about a Cincinnati librarian trying to balance the needs of his patrons and the homeless.
Attendance for this year’s 12-day festival was 105,839, about 200 more attendees than last year. This is the fifth consecutive year attendance has topped 100,000.
“We’ve been at 105,000 for five years now,” said CIFF Executive Director Marcie Goodman in an interview before the ceremony. “I think we’ve found our number.” The 2019 Cuyahoga Arts and Culture Challenge Match raised $156,249, beating the goal of $150,000. The 2019 theme was “Welcome.” “Everyone is welcome at the Cleveland International Film Festival,” said Goodman last week at the opening of the festival at Playhouse Square. “We’re about the inclusivity of film … the power of film to move us all forward.”
The 2019 trailer reinforced the theme: a collage of Clevelanders from different cultures saying “Welcome” in their native languages.
The last 12 days welcomed documentaries and thrillers and dramas and shorts and family films and more to Cleveland. Movies screened at Tower City Cinemas, as well as the Gordon Square Arts District and University Circle.
One of the biggest questions about CIFF this year has been whether it will return to Tower City Cinemas in 2020, or were the satellite locations a sign of changes to come.
That question was answered to great cheers on Sunday night: Yes. The 44th annual Cleveland International Film Festival will be held at Tower City Cinemas from March 25 – April 5, 2020, announced Ken Till, Vice President of Development at building owning Bedrock.
“We are relieved,” said Goodman, who learned the news just a few days ago. “But our staff is unflappable and no matter what had happened, there will always be a festival.”
Goodman does not yet have numbers on how the satellite locations fared, but said anecdotally the response was very positive. “Attendees were happy and said they had a positive experience … they loved experiencing the different festival locations.”
Most of the films at CIFF were in competition for more than $100,000 in prize money. Winners were selected by panels of juries and audiences votes, depending on the category. Two new categories were added to the list of competitions this year: The DReam Catcher Award honoring a LGBTQ filmmaker, in honor of late CIFF trustee David K. Ream; and the Tribeca Film Festivals If/Then shorts program pitch competition.
This year’s Dream Catcher honoree was Shaker Heights native Jamie Babbit. Babbit, whose first short film screened at CIFF 31, has gone on to become one of Hollywood’s top TV directors, as well as a feature filmmaker.
The If/Then winner was the “The Session,” a local production by Chris Webb and Conrad Miles about krump dancing. They will receive $25,000 in production support. “We won’t let you down,” yelled the winners as they accepted their honor.
Other recipients announced Sunday night:
FilmSlam Best Short: “Find Harbour For a Day,” directed by Paul Marques Duarte ($1,000)
FilmSlam Best Feature: “Long Time Coming: A 1955 Baseball Story,” directed by Jon Strong. ($2,000)
George Gund III Memorial Central and Eastern European Competition: “One Day” (Hungary) directed by Zsofia Szilagyi ($10,000)
Nesnadny + Schwartz Portrait Documentary Competition: “Hesburgh,” directed by Patrick Creadon ($10,000)
Ad Hoc Docs: “Loopers: The Caddie’s Long Walk,” directed by Jason Baffe ($7,500)
Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Film Competition: “This Changes Everything,” directed by Tom Donahue ($7,500)
Global Health Competition: “Quiet Storm: The Ron Artest Story,” directed by Johnny Sweet($7,500)
New Direction Competition: “Good Girl Gone Bad,” Petra Luschow ($10,000)
American Independents: “Brian Banks,” directed by Tom Shadyac ($7,500)
Local Heroes: “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am,” directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders ($7,500)
International Narrative Competition: “Yomeddine” (Egypt), directed by A.B. Shawky ($7,500)
Music Movies Competition: “Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool,” directed by Stanley Nelson ($7,500)
Reelwomen Direct: “Simple Wedding,” directed by Sara Zandieh ($10,000)
Roxanne T. Mueller Audience Choice Award: “Princess of the Row,” directed by Van Maximilian Carlson ($15,000)
More than 400 guest filmmakers were among the attendees this year – as were 11,087 area high school and middle school students attending the Film Slam. Both were record figures.
“Everyone really was welcome,” said Goodman.
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