Written by Brandon Rush
For the past five decades, the Cleveland International Film Festival has brought arts, culture and the moving image to the heart of Downtown Cleveland. This past April, the organization celebrated 50 years of storytelling and nurturing of creators.
Cleveland International Film Festival returned to Playhouse Square this year after several years at Tower City Cinemas. The nine-day festival began April 10 and brought large crowds back to downtown Cleveland theaters.
The festival opened with a screening of Dori Berinstein’s documentary, “A Man With Sole: The Impact of Kenneth Cole,” about fashion designer Kenneth Cole. The screening filled the 2,500-seat State Theatre as attendees gathered to celebrate the festival’s 50th anniversary.
Once the film concluded, what followed was a special Q&A session with Kenneth Cole himself and a subsequent lobby party that saw statement outfits, dancing and community engagement.
The festival used multiple venues this year, with screenings held at the State, Ohio and Allen theatres at Playhouse Square, as well as at Cedar Lee Theatre and the Cleveland State University School of Film & Media Arts.
Some films were screened at more than one venue to accommodate audience demand and improve accessibility for attendees.
The festival featured more conversation outside of just the typical film programs and screenings, with events happening throughout the festival’s run.
The festival remains one of Cleveland’s biggest arts attractions, bringing thousands of people from all around the world to downtown. This year, over 300 films were screened, with almost half being feature length films, from horror indies like Buddy, to documentaries – like Northeast Ohio made Slowburn Shoot, the festival captured audience’s attention across the full nine days of the event.
CIFF also has been home to loyal employees, with many working with the annual event for multiple years. This year, the seasonal staff included over 150 people, with another 300 Playhouse Square Red Coat volunteers stepping up to keep the festival operating smoothly from day to night. Kevin Inthavong, longtime CIFF photographer shared on his Instagram his milestone of ten years with the organization.
An independent film festival of this magnitude brings out many big names and throughout the festival filmmakers such as Kenny Riches, Oscar Boyson and Bradley Steven Perry made an appearance on the red carpet in the Ohio Theater lobby. This provides pass holders, students and ticket holders a chance to be around the creators behind such passion-led projects, allowing for conversations to remain open. This is one of the aspects the festival prides itself on, encouraging discussion and networking between everyone at the event.
Another special opportunity that the Cleveland Film Festival offers is their Filmmaker Night Out events. Each night of the festival the organization treated filmmakers, staff and pass holders to exclusive after parties, so that the conversation could continue even once the night at Playhouse Square wound down. These events saw nights at Parnell’s Irish Pub, karaoke at The Clevelander and even a night of golf at Five Iron Indoor Golf. These special after hours events brought the community together further through collaborations with local Cleveland businesses.
On the closing night of April 18th, the largest audience of the entire festival – a five hundred person sold out theater, was treated to a special screening of the upcoming Lionsgate feature “Power Ballad,” starring Nick Jonas and Paul Rudd. After the screening, the staff once again opened up the lobby to a night of partying, celebrating the 50th birthday of the beloved Cleveland festival, hosting a DJ, photographers and a room full of lovers of film and culture.
Cory Conrad 
EveLynne Bruening