CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The 49th Cleveland International Film Festival represents a new beginning in its nearly half-century history. CIFF49, which opens Thursday at Playhouse Square and runs through April 5, is the first under executive director Hermione Malone, who joined the organization in June.
“I feel a little antsy because you spend months and months planning and doing a lot of work to put together a really exciting program and festival, and it just comes down to seeing who shows up,” she said.
Malone has spent much of her first year focused on behind-the-scenes tweaks and changes that might not be obvious to festivalgoers but are crucial to ensuring the long-term future of one of Northeast Ohio’s signature cultural events.
“It’s sort of like when you get work done inside the walls of your house,” she said. “You can’t see it. But it’s critically important.”
Mallory Martin, CIFF’s artistic director since 2020, agreed.
“This is a definitely a new chapter for the organization,” she said. “It’s a healthy and good thing to take a look at what’s working, what might not be working, what we can improve upon.”
One of the most forward-facing changes is the size of the lineup. CIFF49 showcases 104 feature-length films and 198 shorts (under 40 minutes) from 60 countries—a roughly 17% drop from a year ago. Part of that reflects changes in moviegoing habits; another part is due to a reduced footprint. The festival, which used five theaters in 2024, will occupy four this year —the Allen, Upper Allen, Mimi Ohio and KeyBank State The fifth, the Connor Palace, will be used only for opening night.
Malone said it was important to strike a balance between offering a robust program that festivalgoers have become accustomed to while keeping the event sustainable. While CIFF’s last festival at Tower City Cinemas in 2019 featured more than 500 films, replicating that scale wouldn’t be practical or responsible now.
Expanding CIFF’s appeal
This year, the festival has also made a concerted effort to broaden its appeal and reach new audiences. After last year’s event, the organization connected with community members to find out what it did well and who still wasn’t engaging with the festival—and why. The mission, however, remained the same: to present a strong lineup of compelling, relevant and diverse independent films that showcase a wide array of perspectives and stories.
“The attention that Mallory Martin and her programming team has paid to creating a festival that represents all of Cleveland has been tremendous,” Malone said.
CIFF’s sidebars—curated sections of the program organized by category or theme—continue to offer something for everyone. There are sidebars highlighting Asian, Arab, Black, Jewish, Latin and Queer cinema, among others. For CIFF49, Martin, who personally screened 326 features this cycle, and her fellow curators expanded the variety of films within those categories, giving audiences more ways to see themselves and their interests reflected on the screen while also making the festival more accessible.
Comedy, for example, gets an extra boost this year. There are including 16 comedy features, including the opening night film, “For Worse,” on March 27. The romantic, comedy written, directed by and starring “Transparent” actress Amy Landecker, follows a newly divorced, sober mom who attends a wedding with a much younger date.
“It’s really fun writing and, and I think it will definitely bring a lot of laughter to opening night,” Martin said.
Documentaries remain a big part of the festival, perhaps even more so this year due to the lingering effects of the 2023 writers’ strike, which limited the availability of narrative films. This time around, the programming team recognized that documentaries about some groups tend to focus more on trauma. So, they tried to balance heavier subject matter with more uplifting, hopeful stories.
One such story is “Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore,” which premiered at Sundance and will serve as CIFF’s centerpiece screening on April 1. The portrait documentary explores the life and career of the Oscar-winning actress. Both Matlin and the film’s director, Shoshannah Stern, are Deaf.
“I’m so happy that (Stern) was the person to make this film because she brought such a great perspective to it,” Martin said. “A lot of the film is quiet or silent, and it makes any viewer, whether they’re from the Deaf or hearing community, get a little bit closer to Marlee.”
To attract younger audiences and families, CIFF is hosting Family Day on April 5. The lineup includes the animated feature “Fox and Hare Save the Forest,” the fantastical French film “Into the Wonderwoods” (dubbed in English) and a program of family-friendly shorts. Tickets for those screenings will be offered at a discounted price, and families can enjoy kid-related activities between shows, including a cereal bar.
Another new addition is Marketplace@CIFF. The market, scheduled for both weekends of the fest, will feature local makers and artisans such as print makers, jewelry artists, ceramicists, photographers and artists, giving moviegoers another way to support Cleveland’s creative community.
World premieres, awards and festival highlights
While the festival includes selections from prestigious festivals such as Sundance, TIFF and Tribeca, Cleveland will also host two world premieres (“If An Owl Calls Your Name‚” “Sound Spring”) and three North American premieres (“Bury Your Dead,” “Tarika,” “The Antique”). Six films (“A Sisters’ Tale,” “Gulizar,” “Honeymoon,” “My Chest is Full of Sparks,” “My Friend An Delie,” “Silent Storms”) will be making their U.S. debuts. The festival will award over $130,000 in cash prizes to filmmakers during the 10-day event.
Notable films to watch:
• “Lost & Found in Cleveland” (March 30): A comedy starring Martin Sheen, Dennis Heysbert and June Squibb about an “Antiques Roadshow”-style TV show. It was filmed almost entirely at Playhouse Square in 2023. “It could not be more Cleveland,” Martin said.
• “Songs from the Hole” (March 29-30): Directed by Contessa Gayles, this year’s Groundbreaker Award recipient, given to an emerging filmmaker of color, the documentary follows an incarcerated musician creating a hip-hop visual album while serving a double-life sentence. “It’s an incredible film,” Malone said. “It’s a little bit of experimental filmmaking in terms of the storytelling. I’m looking forward to seeing how people react to it.”
• “My Chest is Full of Sparks” (March 31): A documentary from Mexican transgender director Gal S. Castellanos about his transition and long-distance relationship with his mother. “Gal is currently facing some difficulties with his passport under the new U.S. administration,” Martin said. “It’s really tragic, but it’s emboldened him to bring the film to the states and share his story. We’re doing everything we can to get him here.”
• “I’m Your Venus” (March 31-April 1): Directed by Kimberly Reed, this year’s recipient of the DReam Maker Award, which honors an LGBTQ+ director, this documentary investigates the unsolved murder of Venus Xtravaganza, a critical figure in the 1990 doc “Paris is Burning.” Said Malone: “I was mesmerized by ‘Paris is Burning’ years ago, so I’m hoping to catch ‘I’m Your Venus.‘”
• “If An Owl Calls Your Name (April 1): A world premiere of a documentary examining the stories of three Canadian Native American Tribes and their history of foreceful assimilation through residential schools.
• “Boys Go To Jupiter” (April 3-4): Straight from the Tribeca Film Festival comes a wacky animated feature about a Florida teenager made with the same software as “Flow,” this year’s Oscar winner for animated feature film. “It’s really beautiful, and it also has voice acting from some of my personal favorite alt comics like Julio Torres, Joe Pera and Janeane Garofalo,” Martin said.
• “Love, Brooklyn” (April 5): CIFF49’s closing night film, which comes straight from Sundance, stars André Holland (“Moonlight”), Nicole Beharie (“Miss Juneteenth") and DeWanda Wise (TV’s “She’s Gotta Have It”) as friends caught in a complicated love triangle as they navigate life in a rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn. The screening will be followed by the festival’s award ceremony.
CIFF: A cherished cultural institution
One thing that hasn’t changed is CIFF’s reputation among filmmakers for having some of the most engaged audiences on the festival circuit. That’s why more than 300 filmmakers and guests have accepted invitations to come to town, including Matlin (“Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore”) and Landecker (“For Worse”), to introduce their films and participate in post-screening Q&As.
“That’s what film festivals are all about,” Martin said. “It’s about community and experiencing this art form together.”
Indeed, what truly sets CIFF apart and makes it one of the most popular — and largest — regional film festivals in North America is the devotion of its audience.
“When the film guides came out this year, people were posting on social, ‘Best day of the year!” and there was a steady stream through our office to pick them up," Malone said.
“It’s that infectious enthusiasm that makes this event so special.”
If you go
The 49th Cleveland International Film Festival runs March 27-April 5 at Playhouse Square, 1519 Euclid Avenue in Cleveland. Tickets start at $16. CIFF49 Streams, the virtual component, runs April 6-13. For more information and a complete schedule, visit clevelandfilm.org.