celebrating 40 years - cleveland film
TRANSCRIPT
CELEBRATING
40 YEARS
CLEVELAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Roxanne T. Mueller Audience Choice Award for Best Film Presented with generous support from the Callahan Foundation
ROMEO IS BLEEDING Directed by Jason Zeldes (USA)
FilmSlam Student Choice Award for Best Feature Film Presented with generous support from OverDrive
ROMEO IS BLEEDING Directed by Jason Zeldes (USA)
American Independents Competition Presented with generous support from Lauren Rich Fine and Gary Giller
COMING THROUGH THE RYE Directed by James Sadwith (USA)
Global Health Competition Presented with generous support from Cleveland Clinic Global Patient Services, Cleveland Clinic Mikati Center for Liver Diseases, and R.J. Fasenmyer Center for Clinical Immunology
THE C WORD Directed by Meghan O’Hara (USA)
Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Competition Presented with generous support from The George Gund Foundation
JIM BROWN’S AMER-I-CAN DREAM Directed by Aurora Ferlin (USA)
Local Heroes Competition Presented with generous support from Mike and Nicki Cancelliere
MADTOWN Directed by Charles Moore (USA)
Music Movies Competition Presented with generous support from Jules and Fran Belkin
WHAT WOULD BEETHOVEN DO? Directed by Jonathan Keijser (USA, Canada)
Nesnadny + Schwartz Documentary Competition Presented with generous support from Nesnadny + Schwartz
MOM AND ME Directed by Ken Wardrop (Ireland, USA)
New Direction Competition Presented with generous support from CoverMyMeds
THE FITS Directed by Anna Rose Holmer (USA)
George Gund III Memorial Central and Eastern European Competition Presented with generous support from The George Gund Foundation
A GOOD WIFE Directed by Mirjana Karanovic (Serbia)
ReelWomenDirect Award for Excellence in Directing by a Woman Presented with generous support from Deborah Bachman Ratner
DAWN PORTER for TRAPPED (USA)
Audience Choice Award for Best ShortTHE GNOMIST Directed by Sharon Liese (USA)
Best Animated Short Award* Sponsored by Reminger Co., L.P.A
ARIA FOR A COW Directed by Dan Lund (USA)
Best Comedy Short Award Sponsored by David K. Ream
THE CHOP Directed by Lewis Rose (UK)
Best Documentary Short Award* Sponsored by Jules and Fran Belkin
LIFE AFTER PI Directed by Scott Leberecht (USA)
Best International Short Award Sponsored by MP Star Financial
GROUNDED Directed by Alexis Michalik (France)
Best LGBT Short Award: Given in Celebration of the Life of Nikki Babbit Sponsored by Jan and Harold Babbit
GOLDEN Directed by Kai Stänicke (Germany)
Best Live Action Short Award* Sponsored by Anne Bloomberg and Alan Gordon Lipson & Judy Harris
PARDON THE INTRUSION Directed by Louise Galizia (UK)
Best Ohio Short Award Sponsored by Ulmer & Berne
DRAW HARD Directed by Jon Nix (USA)
Best Student Short Award Sponsored by MP Star Financial
CARRY ON Directed by Rafael Haider (Austria)
Best Women’s Short Award Sponsored by Jinny and John Johnson
PARDON THE INTRUSION Directed by Louise Galizia (UK)
The Clover and Maggie Award: In Celebration of Life Sponsored by Barbara Hawley and David Goodman
THE GNOMIST Directed by Sharon Liese (USA)
FilmSlam Student Choice Award for Best Short Film Sponsored by OverDrive
AN ENCOUNTER Directed by Miguel Berzal De Miguel (Spain)
Programmers’ Choice Award: In Celebration of the Life of Toni Oliverio Sponsored by The Sloop Family
THE BESPOKE TAILORING OF MISTER BELLAMY Directed by Alexander Jeffery (USA)
The Spalding and Jackson Award: In Celebration of Joy Sponsored by Marcie Goodman and John C. Williams
MADAM BLACK Directed by Ivan Barge (New Zealand)
*These award winners will qualify for consideration in the Short Films categories of the annual Academy Awards®
WINNERSFEATURE FILMS
over $100,000 in cash prizes
SHORT FILMS
$15,000
$2,000
$10,000
$1,000
$7,500
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ATTENDANCE
102,255CHALLENGE MATCH
in partnership with Cuyahoga Arts & Culture
$144,660
CIFF40 STATS
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The Cleveland International Film Festival is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.
Approximately 2,000 Festival attendees gathered at The Grand Staircase for Closing Night Ceremonies.p. 4
FULL-T IME S TAFF 8 BOARD MEMBERS 39
MEDIA & NEIGHBORHOOD
OUTRE ACH PARTNERS71 COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN 72
NON-PROFIT COMMUNITY PARTNERS 164 SPONSORS & FUNDERS 187
FE ATURE FILMS 195 SHORT FILMS 213
SEASONAL STAFF 312 VISITING FILMMAKERS 300+
SCREENINGS 500+ MEMBERS 1,621
VOLUNTEERS 1,001 FILMSL A M S TUDENT S 8,461
BIGGEST SINGLE SCREENING IN OUR HISTORY: Thursday, March 31st at Connor Palace at Playhouse Square when
we welcomed 2,049 people to the world premiere of BELIEVELAND.
CIFF40 PHOTOS
A
B C
D
CAPTIONS FOR THE PHOTOS ON THE RIGHT
A Donté Clark, featured subject in ROMEO IS BLEEDING, doing a surprise performance following a FilmSlam screening.
B Following the BELIEVELAND World Premiere, Jim Donovan interviews Bob DiBiasio, Andy Billman, Scott Raab, Earnest Byner, Tony Rizzo, and Craig Ehlo.
CDirector and co-producer Aurora Ferlin, featured subject Jim Brown, and co-producer Monique Brown pose after their screening of JIM BROWN’S AMER-I-CAN DREAM.
D Patrons watch PLAYLIST, our first ever music video program, at the Beachland Ballroom & Tavern.
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FILM TOPICS A SAMPLING
Abortion Debate
Activists
Addiction
Afghanistan War
AIDS
Anarchists
Anthropology
Arab Spring
Art and Artifacts
Artistic Freedom
Bipolar Disorder
Burning Man
Cancer
Childhood Trauma and Health Risks*
Classic Rock
Classical Music
Climate Change
Coming of Age
Country Music
Disabilities
Discrimination in the Justice System
Dream Interpretation
Fathers Struggling with Legal and Administrative Systems*
Friendship
Gang Violence
Gender Identity and Equality*
Geology
Grief
Gun Violence in America*
Healthy Living
Human Trafficking*
Immigration and the Debate Over Walls*
Internet
Japanese Internment Camps
Jazz
LGBT Rights
Media History
Mental Health
Mothers and Sons
Nuclear Energy*
Oil Dependency
Polar Expeditions
Pollution
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Power of the Spoken Word*
Race Relations
Recycling
Refugees
Sound and Silence
Tango Dancers
Terrorism
Underground Culture
Urban Gardening*
White Supremacy Groups
Women’s Rights in Third World Countries
World Leaders
World War II
*Part of FilmForums (moderated panel discussions)
the art of organization
Louise H. and David S.Ingalls Foundation
PRESENTING SPONSOR
DIAMOND SPONSOR
PLATINUM SPONSORS
FOUNDATION SUPPORT
SAPPHIRE SPONSOR
“ Thank you for selecting Engage! Cleveland as a community partner for the 40th Cleveland International Film Festival. We are grateful for the opportunity to educate more people about Engage! Cleveland, and work with the filmmakers on advancing our common goals and promoting their films in our community. The film was excellent and we had a terrific turnout for all three showings!”
MELANIE RYLANDENGAGE! Cleveland
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BRONZE SPONSORS
James Anderson and David Wit tkowsky
Jules and Fran Belkin
Nancy and Tim Callahan
Mike and Nicki Cancelliere
John and Allyn Davies
Lauren Rich Fine and Gary Giller
Char and Chuck Fowler
Alistair and Joyce Fyfe
Nance Hikes and Michael Melampy
Jinny and John Johnson
Donna and Stewart Kohl
Toby Devan Lewis
Tom Piraino and Barbara McWilliams
Deborah Bachman Ratner
David K. Ream
Kim Sherwin
Mark Smith and Janet Rosel Smith
Ted and Susan
SILVER SPONSORS
MAJOR INDIVIDUAL DONORS GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
GOLD SPONSORS
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KELLY GAJEWSKIParma City Schools
“ This was such an incredible experience for my students!They were completely engaged the entire time and talked excitedly about the fi lm for the rest of the day. This kind of cultural activity is so amazingly benefi cial for our kids. Thank you for making FilmSlam happen for the kids inour community!”
CELEBRATING 25 YEARS
Celebrating 65 years
MEDIA PARTNERS
PREMIUM FILM SPONSORS
FILM SPONSORS
Ted and Susan
James Anderson &
David Wit tkowskyAlistair and Joyce Fyfe
R
museum
Lynn Got tlob
Chris S. W. andLaura Watilo Blake
Debby Gold
Alice Eastwood
Art & Carol Anton
Hugh J. Williams
OFFICIAL SPONSORS
HOSPITALITY SPONSORS
NEIGHBORHOOD OUTREACH SPONSORS
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2016 Donate Life Transplant Games
AARP Ohio
Achievement Centers for Children
ACLU of Ohio
After-School All-Stars
AJC Cleveland
America SCORES Cleveland
Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards
Anti-Defamation League
Artists Archives of the Western Reserve
Association of Asian Indian Women of NE Ohio (AAIWO)
Beck Center for the Arts
Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging
Brite Winter
BVU: The Center for Nonprofit Excellence
CANAPI
Canton Arts District
Canton Palace Theatre
Carmella Rose Health Foundation
Catholic Charities Fatima Family Center
Center for Arts- Inspired Learning
Chagrin Documentary Film Festival
Cleveland Arts Education Consortium
Cleveland Asian Festival
Cleveland Comedy Festival
Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation
Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center
Cleveland Hiking Club
Cleveland Hungarian Development Panel
Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque
Cleveland Kids’ Book Bank
Cleveland Leadership Center
Cleveland Mediation Center
Cleveland Metroparks
Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Cleveland Orchestra
Cleveland Play House
Cleveland Print Room
Cleveland Public Library
Cleveland Public Theatre
Cleveland Sight Center
Cleveland Transformation Alliance
Cleveland Vegan Society
Cleveland-Bratislava Sister Cities
College Now Greater Cleveland
Community Assessment & Treatment Services
Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Consolato d’Itaila Detroit
Consolato On. d’Italia Cleveland
Consulate General of Canada—Detroit
Consulate of Sweden Cleveland Ohio
Countryside Conservancy
Crafty Mart
DANCECleveland
Dartmouth Club of Northeast Ohio
Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio
Dobama Theatre
Earth Day Coalition
Engage! Cleveland
Equality Ohio
Equality Toledo
Facing History and Ourselves
Fashion Week Cleveland
FireFish Festival
Foundation Center Midwest
Friends of the Heights Libraries
G2H2
The Gathering Place
Global Cleveland
Global Ties Akron
God Before Guns
Great Lakes Science Center
Greater Cleveland Sports Commission
Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival
HandsOn Northeast Ohio
Heights Arts
Heights Community Congress
Heights Youth Theatre
HER Ideas in Motion
Hispanic Roundtable
Honorary Consulate General of Romania in Ohio
Human Rights Campaign
Hungarian Cultural Garden of Cleveland
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM
JONATHAN JACKSON NESNADNY + SCHWARTZ DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
JUROR; ARTISTIC & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE MILWAUKEE FILM FESTIVAL
“ Wanted to send a note to let you know how wonderful a time I had at your amazing festival. It was inspiring, personally gratifying and a very good learning experience. You have built an incredible event and a vital cultural institution in a great city. I/we have so much to learn from you!”
Sponsored byThis program builds and strengthens partnerships with other nonprofits by connecting them to films in the Festival that line up with the organizations’ missions.
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ICA—Art Conservation
Ingenuity Cleveland
International Institute of Akron
International Partners in Mission (IPM)
International Services Center
International Women’s Air & Space Museum
InterReligious Task Force on Central America & Colombia
Junior League of Cleveland
Lake Erie Ink
LATINA, Inc.
League of Women Voters of the Akron Area
Legal Aid Society of Cleveland
LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland
The Links, Incorporated
Malachi House of Hope
Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage
Mandel JCC Cleveland Jewish FilmFest
Margie’s Hope
Metro Catholic School
MOCA Cleveland
MotivAsians for Cleveland
The Music Settlement
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Greater Cleveland
National Multiple Sclerosis Society Ohio Buckeye Chapter
Nature Center at Shaker Lakes
Niagara Foundation
North Coast Men’s Chorus
North Union Farmers Market
Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee
Northeast Ohio Consortium for Middle East Studies
Northeast Ohio Sierra Club
OCA Greater Cleveland— Asian Pacific American Advocates
Ohio & Erie Canalway National Heritage Area
Ohio Beyond Coal
Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence
Ohio Regional Music, Arts, and Cultural Outreach
Ohio Theater and Event Center
Orange Art Center
Our Lady of the Wayside
PFLAG Cleveland
Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio
Plexus LGBT and Allied Chamber of Commerce
Polish-American Cultural Center
Preterm
Rainey Institute
Refugee Services Collaborative of Greater Cleveland
River’s Edge
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame + Museum
Rocky River Public Library
Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland
Roots of American Music
Sandusky State Theatre
Seeds of Literacy
Shore Cultural Center
Society of Professional Journalists, Cleveland Chapter
Sokol Greater Cleveland
SPACES
A Special Wish Foundation Cleveland Chapter
St. John’s Institute
St. Malachi Center
Stocker Arts Center
Susan G. Komen Northeast Ohio
SVU Czech and Slovak Society of Arts and Sciences
Swedish American Chamber of Commerce Greater Ohio Region
Swedish Cultural Society
Ten Thousand Villages
Toledo-Lucas County Public Library
Towards Employment
Transformer Station
Urban Sketchers Cleveland
VASA Order of America: Nobel Monitor Lodge 130
Visiting Nurse Association of Ohio
West Side Catholic Center
Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society
WH2
Windsong, Cleveland’s Feminist Chorus
Wright State University Alumni Association
Young Latino Network
Youth Challenge
Zonta Club of Cleveland
Zygote Press
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JASON ZELDES Director, ROMEO IS BLEEDING
“ Thank you so much for having our team out to Cleveland last week. It was an invigorating and inspiring week even prior to hearing about the awards—now it’s just plain old special! Everyone we encountered at the fest–volunteers, employees, audience members, and filmmakers—was so enthusiastic about film and the event of the festival itself, it was a wonderful environment to be a part of.”
CIFF40 PHOTOS
CA
B
C
D E
F G
STEPH IRWIN Sandy Valley High School
CAPTIONS FOR THE PHOTOS ON THE RIGHT
A Patrons line up prior to their screenings.
B This year’s FilmForums program highlighted ten films with post-screening, moderated panel discussions.
C Thanks to the generosity of our patrons, the Festival raised $144,660 in Challenge Match donations.
DOpening Night film GOOD OL’ BOY guests included (from left to right) co-producer, screenwriter, and actor Anjul Nigam, actor Roni Akurati, and director and co-producer Frank Lotito.
E 1,001 volunteers contributed more than 11,000 hours of their time to help make CIFF40 a success.
F Patrons were able to use the new digital schedule to make film selections.
G Honeybucket, who provided the song for the trailer, kicked-off the Closing Night Ceremonies with a surprise performance.
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FilmSlam is one of the most positive events of the school year. It is educational and culturally enriching for our kids, and a chance to learn outside of the classroom. Field trips are a rarity so it is an exciting experience for all of us to travel to Cleveland and see a show.
CIFF40 PHOTOS
BA
C
D
E
CAPTIONS FOR THE PHOTOS ON THE RIGHT
A/B/E Nearly 8,500 middle, junior, and high school students attended CIFF40 FilmSlam.
C/D PERSPECTIVES offered patrons an opportunity to explore immersive storytelling through interactive media, virtual reality, and more.
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“ Thank you for the opportunity to once again be a Community Partner for the Cleveland International Film Festival, it’s always one of the highlights of my year and tremendous exposure for NAMI Greater Cleveland. Congratulations to the CIFF sta� for putting on an outstanding event, it truly is one of Cleveland’s crown jewels.”
ELLEN RIEHM NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS
GREATER CLEVELAND
Debby Samples Dzioba Marketing Director
Debbie “Sheepie” Marshall Office Manager and
Membership Director
Allie Freeman Development Assistant
Mallory Mar tin Director of Programming
and Projection
Marcie Goodman Executive Director
Beth Steele Radisek Special Projects Director
Bill Guentzler Artistic Director
Patrick Shepherd Associate Director
The mission of the Cleveland International
Film Festival is to promote artistically and
culturally significant film arts through
education and exhibition to enrich the life
of the community. In other words, the CIFF
presents the newest and best films from
around the world and does everything in
its power to make sure its audience learns
something along the way—about other
cultures, about the community, about the
experience from the filmmakers themselves.
CIFF MEMBERSHIP & CIFF MERCHANDISE are available online at clevelandfilm.org
Officers
Mark Smith ................. President
Chris S.W. Blake.......... Vice President of Strategic Planning
Nancy Callahan ........... Vice President of Development and President-Elect
William E. Koeth ......... Vice President of Finance
Kevin Poor .................. Vice President of Marketing
Kate O’Neil ................. Secretary
Joe Arezone
Cheryl Bailey
Jules Belkin
Frank Bird III
Anne E. Bloomberg
John J. Boyle III
Rober t Bryan
William Busta
Joe Cimperman*
Pat Cirilio
Tom Cook
John Davies
Timothy J. Downing
Lauren Rich Fine
Char Fowler
Scot t Gaines
Debra S. Gold
Lynn Got tlob
Dean Ilijasic
Jinny Johnson
Gretchen Corp Jones
Sawssan Khoury
Lisa King
Lisa Krieger
Gregg Levine
Toby Devan Lewis
Alan Gordon Lipson
Joyce Mar tin-Fy fe
Todd Mesek
Njeri Nuru-Holm, Ph.D.
Sarah Rathke
David K. Ream
Ivan Schwarz*
Roy Turnell
Beth Yates
*Ex officio
2016 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
EXECUTIVE STAFF
MISSION
The Terminal Tower got in on the celebration and dressed up in CIFF40 colors for the 12 days of the Fesival. p. 15p. 14
Office: 2510 Market Ave, Cleveland, OH 44113 | 216.623.3456 | clevelandfilm.org
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