28-03-2025
Cleveland International Film Festival begins rolling on 49th year
The Cleveland International Film Festival rolled out the red carpet Thursday night to kick off its 49th annual event.
Why it matters: The fest is one of Northeast Ohio's marquee cultural events, drawing over 70,000 attendees between Playhouse Square screenings and online streams.
CIFF is so highly regarded that it was the reason local tourism leaders opted not to bid on hosting the Sundance Film Festival.
State of play: The festival's opening night film, "For Worse," screened at Connor Palace.
In-person screenings of more than 100 feature films and nearly 200 shorts will take place through April 5. See the full list
The big picture: This year's "Centerpiece" film is "Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore," a documentary about the Oscar-winning actress who starred in 1986's "Children of a Lesser God."
The film screens at 7:30pm Tuesday at KeyBank State Theatre.
Zoom in: A few of this year's movies have Northeast Ohio ties, including "The Beldham," starring Bay Village native Patricia Heaton of "Everybody Loves Raymond" fame.
There's also "The Debutantes," a doc that follows three young Black women participating in a debutante ball revival in Canton.
If you go: Tickets for individual screenings start at $18 ($16 for CIFF members).
What's next: A curated selection of films will be viewable online through the CIFF Streams program from April 6-13.
Streaming tickets start at $14 ($12 for members).
Here's a look at five more films worth checking out:
"Following Harry"
When: 2:25pm, March 30 at Mimi Ohio Theatre.
The documentary follows 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Harry Belafonte during the final decade of his life as he reflects on his work in film, music and civil rights.
"The Stamp Thief"
When: 12:05pm March 28 and 7:30pm March 30 at Mimi Ohio Theatre.
Under the guise of filming a movie, "Seinfeld" producer Gary Gilbert brings a film crew to Poland to recover valuable stamps stolen by a Nazi officer during the Holocaust.
"Taste the Revolution"
When: 2:35pm April 2 and 7:30pm April 3 at Mimi Ohio Theatre.
Oscar winner Mahershala Ali stars in a mockumentary about an activist planning a world summit in the early 2000s that goes wrong.
"Slice of Life: The American Dream. In Former Pizza Huts."
The documentary visits businesses that have found success in buildings that once housed Pizza Hut restaurants.
"Didn't Die"
