The Buzz is your source for the latest festival highlights and best bets for films each day. You can also catch “The Buzz” video program with Meaghan Earley on Facebook or YouTube. For more information visit www.clevelandfilm.org/social.

What’s Buzzing at the 38th CiFF saturday, March 22, 2014; Day 4:

Rise and shine with “As the Palaces Burn,” at 9:35 a.m., a documentary that takes a shock-ing twist when the lead singer of a popular rock band is arrested for manslaughter, an incident he never even knew had happened.

For an eclectic grab bag of short films, Shorts Program 1 is all yours at 2:10 p.m., serving up seven different shorts from the US, the UK and India.

Need some afternoon munchies? So does “Oliver, Stoned.” When a snack run goes awry, Oliver embarks on a madcap adventure in a stolen ice cream truck at 3:00 p.m.

Join us for “Hanna’s Journey” as a young woman travels to Israel for all the wrong reasons. Will she find the right ones? Find out at 6:25 p.m. tonight.

For an evening out with the whole family, come see “The Zigzag Kid” at 7:30 p.m. A young boy goes on a quest to find the truth about his mother’s death, with the help of a notorious thief and a mystery woman.

Follow disillusioned Cop Daniel into the underground for “UMMAH Among Friends,” at 9:30 p.m. His journey connects him to an unexpected new family that tests his loyalty to the police force.

Petty larceny gets deadly serious at 11:40 p.m. Three friends go out for a last weekend fling before college and unexpectedly meet up with a man one of them stole from. Travel to the heart of Texas with “We Gotta Get Out of This Place.”

Find out the latest information about these films and other festival events by picking up The Daily, reading the festival website and, of course, seeing as many films as you can.

the Buzz

The CIFF DAY 4 / sAturDAY / 3.22.2014

Don’t Dance? ‘Five Dances’ Offers You MoreWhich comes first, the story or the

cast? For Filmmaker Alan Brown, it was the dancers he cast for his film

who inspired him to create his story.“I developed the story—and the characters

—around the dancers I cast,” says Brown. “I wrote the story as I grew to know them.”

Early reviews of the film, “Five Dances,” have lauded the superb dancing of Ryan Steele, the film’s lead. Steele was recommended and was asked to audition. The first audition focused on dancing. When he was called back, it was time to test his acting.

“I’d already seen him dance, so when I discovered that he had wonderful, natural dramatic instincts and talent, I hired him on the spot,” says Brown. Later that day, Steele and Brown met for a coffee and got to know each other. That’s when Brown knew that he would write the film around this character.

“Five Dances,” as the film’s webpage says, “is a classic tale of finding success and romance in the big city.” We follow Steele, who plays Chip, as he interacts with the rest of the members of this small modern dance troupe. That’s why Brown insists that this film isn’t just a dance film and encourages those who aren’t necessarily dance fans to come and watch.

You’ve “likely never seen a film quite like this,” Brown says. “And … certainly never seen a dance film like this one. [You’ll] be enthralled by our talented dancers and by Jonah Bokaer’s amazing choreography.”

The film has screened all over the world,

and now it plays in Cleveland. Audiences may be different, or decide to attend the film for a variety of reasons, but “everyone everywhere loves a good story.”

“Some people come for the dance, others for the love story,” says Brown. “… The most satisfying, and common, [audience] reaction I’ve gotten is from people who come up to me after a screening and tell me that they’re not dance fans but loved the film.”

Audience reaction means a lot to this writer/director, but it’s filmmaking and the creative process that keep Brown going.

“… I really wouldn’t want to be doing anything else,” he says. “I’m happiest when I’m making a film. —Anne M. DiTeodoro

Award-winning author and director Alan Brown’s character-driven story appeals to a much wider audience than just dance buffs.

Maurice Reedus, Jr. is “The Sax Man.”

shOWing tODay at the hanna theatre

The historic Hanna Theatre at PlayhouseSquare will host a full day of screenings for the 38th CIFF.

hOLLyWOOD shOrts 2:30 p.m. hanDy 6:30 p.m. FiVe DanCes 4:30 p.m. the saX Man 8:45 p.m.

Last train of the day . . .ALL TRAIN LINES: 1:35 AM

ride the rta to CiFF38

Challenge MatchThe Challenge Match is the CIFF’s annual fundraising campaign, and the only time of the year that we ask for your support (we do not send out solicitation letters at any time). The challenge to you – our audience – is to raise $100,000, which will be matched by Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.

We are $22,463 closer to reaching our goal of $100,000

a $10 DOnatiOn QuaLiFies yOu FOr One OF these FaBuLOus Prizes!!

THE FOUR POSTER: Festival patrons will enjoy this collection of colorful posters from CIFF’s past, plus a signed copy of Matthew Chojnacki’s book, Alternative Movie Posters: Film Art From the Underground.

A NIGHT AT THE RITZ: Enjoy a relaxing Sunday with a night at The Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland! Included in the package are overnight accommodations, unlimited in-room movies, a $50 in-room dining credit and more.

PIANO MAN: Let him sing you a song, he’s the Piano Man! Your evening will start with a luxurious dinner with wine pairings at PURA VIDA, and continue as you head over to the Q and slip into amazing seats for the Billy Joel concert.

Stop by the Challenge Match table in the Tower City Cinemas lobby to donate.

thank yOu FOr yOur suPPOrt!

Official Airline of the 38th CIFFThe Cleveland International Film Festival receives public support with local tax dollars from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, to preserve and enrich our region’s artistic and cultural heritage.

Festival Updatesadded screenings:Monday March 24thOhio shorts Program 1 9:10 amComedy shorts Program 9:35 amOhio shorts Program 2 11:00 am

Sunday March 30ththe sax Man 4:45 pm

Late additions:Saturday March 29thLast Days in Vietnam 12:45 pmto Be takei 3:00 pm

Sunday March 30thLast Days in Vietnam 3:45 pmto Be takei 5:00 pm

Check for the latest festival updates on Twitter or Facebook. Or visit www.clevelandfilm.org/festival/updates

W hat would you do if your best friend and girlfriend were leaving you behind in

your small town for new adventures? Rob your boss of petty cash? Maybe.

Brothers Zeke and Simon Hawkins, co-directors of “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” know a little something about relationships, good and bad. Their film is a Texas thriller where everything goes wrong from the very beginning.

Though presenting their first feature film, Zeke and Simon have been working together since they were teenagers.

“Simon did the editing while I sat close by and did things like drink coffee,” jokes Zeke. But he adds seriously, “The process of working together makes total sense and is a natural ebb and flow.”

Making the film took two years, according to the Hawkins’ brothers. Producers Brian Udovich and Justin Duprie were originally inspired to tell the story because of their own family ties.

Duprie is a fourth-generation cotton farmer, and the co-producers built the idea around his community. Screenwriter Dutch Southern came into the mix and wrote the script based on the producers’ stories.

The Hawkins’ were last to join the team. “In making a lower-budget movie, things tend

to take longer,” says Simon, “but we always have each other to utilize to make things happen.”

Zeke adds, “We have differentiated roles in the process.We each have our own specific thing,

and we talk a lot about what we want to do.” So why did they choose this film to be their

first co-feature? “We saw a script we believed was unique,

and we thought it was an opportunity to make something special,” says Simon.

“We Gotta Get Out of This Place” is unique in that it is accessible. Desperation, confusion and sexual tension abound in this thriller.

Just like characters in their film might not always agree, Zeke and Simon have had their doubts. However, they consider themselves lucky.

“With the two of us, we have a support system,” Zeke says. “You get to push for what you really need to do rather than listening to the million reasons telling you to stop.”

—Molly Drake

Small-Town Blues

Brothers Zeke and Simon Hawkins team up for a wild ride in the heart of Texas. They were drawn to the thrilling, offbeat script for their first feature-length film.

The Daily hasn’t shrunk; it’s online. Read exclusive content that’s not available in the print edition by visiting The Daily online edition at www.clevelandfilm.org/festival/the-daily.

TOdAy’S ONlINE vERSION INClUdES:

• One: A Story of Love and Equality (Playing today at 12:30 p.m.) Becca Roth travels to North Carolina to talk to locals on both sides of the issue of rights for same-sex couples.

• Antarctica: A Year on Ice (Playing today at 5:20 p.m.) Anthony Powell heads south to discover the brutal Antarctic winter and understand the conditions of researchers who live there.

• Handy (Playing today at 6:30 p.m. at the Hanna Theatre in PlayhouseSquare) A round of applause for Vincenzo Cosentino’s touching story about the comedic love life of his right hand.

THEonlinE

We gOtta get Out OF this PLaCe is playing today at 11:40 p.m.

shOWingtODay

CIFF Volunteer Amanda Gedeon (center) donated to the Kick-starter campagin that helped Producers Yada Zamora (left) and Kate Logan get “Kidnapped for Christ” made. It was only after Amanda signed up to volunteer at this year’s CIFF that she found out the film she contributed to was going to be screening during her shift on Friday, March 21. “It was the coolest moment of my year,” says Amanda.

THE HomE for sToriEs

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