My 2016 Cleveland International Film Festival Schedule
This year is the 40th annual Cleveland International Film Festival. The first movie I ever saw at the CIFF was Only the Strong Survive, a documentary about Stax Studios that I saw in 2003 at the 27th CIFF. After that I did not go again until 2006, when I saw 10 films at the 30th CIFF. I've gone every subsequent year. Many of the 109 total movies I've seen at the CIFF are documented here. That's almost 10 movies a year over 11 festivals, with the high water mark being the 18 films I saw in 2009.
This year I have purchased tickets to see ten films. I also have two free vouchers from work (we're a major sponsor), but those can only be exchanged in person, not over the internet, so I've picked two movies I'm less interested in and will try to swap my vouchers for them the first day I'm at the festival. Here's the complete list:
Thursday, March 31
Believeland @ 7pm. The world premiere of the ESPN 30 for 30 series on how cursed Cleveland sports teams are. This is showing off-site at Playhouse Square.
All the rest of the films on the list are at Tower City Cinemas.
Friday, April 1
All About Them @ 9:40pm. It seems like I always end up seeing a French romantic comedy. This may be intentional. This year's entry is a love triangle.
Office @ 11:35pm. Virtually every year the CIFF shows a Korean thriller. This year's entry shows what happens when it turns out your coworker was a serial killer... and now he is hunting down your coworkers one at a time.
Saturday, April 2
The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith @ 11:25am. A documentary about a room in NYC that saw a ridiculous amount of good jazz, most of which was documented by photographer W. Eugene Smith.
The Anarchists @ 2:30pm. A period piece about a police officer who goes undercover with an anarchist group in Paris in 1899. What happens when his loyalties get twisted?
What is Classic Rock @ 4:40. Yep, it's a documentary about classic rock.
April & the Extraordinary World @ 7:10pm. A French animated film set in a world where scientists have been disappearing for years. Also, animals can talk.
Tuesday, April 5
TENTATIVE: Deep Time @ 7:05pm. I intend to use a voucher to get a ticket to see this documentary about life in Williston, ND, in the heart of the oil patch.
Saturday, April 9
Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World @ 11:25am. Werner Herzog has never made a boring film. Bad films, oh yes, but boring, never. His newest is a series documentary vignettes musing on the internet.
Equals @ 1:45pm. In a future where emotions have been removed from humans via genetic engineering, what happens when a disease makes those emotions return?
TENTATIVE: A Beginner's Guide to Snuff @ 11:20pm. I intend to swap a voucher for this one. A pair of filmmaker brothers decide their horror film will be more realistic if their lead actress doesn't know she's really going to be the victim. She fails to cooperate. Played as a black comedy, as befitting the midnight block at the CIFF.
Sunday, April 10
Liza the Fox-Fairy @ 7:15pm. Another dark comedy; in this one any time a nurse feels desire for someone, that person is killed by the jealous ghost of a Japanese pop star who is following her around. Because why not.
This year I have purchased tickets to see ten films. I also have two free vouchers from work (we're a major sponsor), but those can only be exchanged in person, not over the internet, so I've picked two movies I'm less interested in and will try to swap my vouchers for them the first day I'm at the festival. Here's the complete list:
Thursday, March 31
Believeland @ 7pm. The world premiere of the ESPN 30 for 30 series on how cursed Cleveland sports teams are. This is showing off-site at Playhouse Square.
All the rest of the films on the list are at Tower City Cinemas.
Friday, April 1
All About Them @ 9:40pm. It seems like I always end up seeing a French romantic comedy. This may be intentional. This year's entry is a love triangle.
Office @ 11:35pm. Virtually every year the CIFF shows a Korean thriller. This year's entry shows what happens when it turns out your coworker was a serial killer... and now he is hunting down your coworkers one at a time.
Saturday, April 2
The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith @ 11:25am. A documentary about a room in NYC that saw a ridiculous amount of good jazz, most of which was documented by photographer W. Eugene Smith.
The Anarchists @ 2:30pm. A period piece about a police officer who goes undercover with an anarchist group in Paris in 1899. What happens when his loyalties get twisted?
What is Classic Rock @ 4:40. Yep, it's a documentary about classic rock.
April & the Extraordinary World @ 7:10pm. A French animated film set in a world where scientists have been disappearing for years. Also, animals can talk.
Tuesday, April 5
TENTATIVE: Deep Time @ 7:05pm. I intend to use a voucher to get a ticket to see this documentary about life in Williston, ND, in the heart of the oil patch.
Saturday, April 9
Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World @ 11:25am. Werner Herzog has never made a boring film. Bad films, oh yes, but boring, never. His newest is a series documentary vignettes musing on the internet.
Equals @ 1:45pm. In a future where emotions have been removed from humans via genetic engineering, what happens when a disease makes those emotions return?
TENTATIVE: A Beginner's Guide to Snuff @ 11:20pm. I intend to swap a voucher for this one. A pair of filmmaker brothers decide their horror film will be more realistic if their lead actress doesn't know she's really going to be the victim. She fails to cooperate. Played as a black comedy, as befitting the midnight block at the CIFF.
Sunday, April 10
Liza the Fox-Fairy @ 7:15pm. Another dark comedy; in this one any time a nurse feels desire for someone, that person is killed by the jealous ghost of a Japanese pop star who is following her around. Because why not.