SINCE: 1977
WHERE: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
The Cleveland International Film Festival is the premier film event between New York and Chicago. Today’s CIFF includes a full survey of contemporary international filmmaking with approximately 150 feature films and 130 short subject films from over 60 countries. Along with the main program of international films, there are special sidebars that add interest and diversity to the overall Festival. In recent years these have included 10% Cinema (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender themes), American Independents, Cinema en Espanol, Family Films, It’s Easy Being Green (films about environmental issues), Jewish and Israeli Visions, Local Heroes (films with local ties), Pacific Pearls, Pan-African Images, Standing Up (films with a conscience that address social justice and activism), and Women of the World.
Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF)
Come See Me in the Good Light, directed by Ryan White has won the Audience Choice Award for Best Film at the 49th Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF49). The Sundance Award-winning documentary captures poet Andrea Gibson as they navigate a terminal cancer diagnosis with their wife, fellow poet Megan Falley, by their side.
The 49th Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) running March 27 – April 5, 2025, has revealed the year’s spotlight films, with For Worse, the directorial debut of actress Amy Landecker as Opening Night Film. The documentary Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore directed by Shoshannah Stern will screen as Centerpiece, and Love, Brooklyn directed by Amy Landecker as Closing Night Film.
American Delivery directed by Carolyn Jones is the winner of the Roxanne T. Mueller Audience Choice Award for Best Film at the 48th Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF48) which wrapped on Saturday, April 13th with the award ceremony. The film interweaves the stories of women and their families across the U.S. as they navigate the challenges of pregnancy, mental health, childbirth, and the postpartum period.
The 48th Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF48) will showcase the documentary Shari & Lamb Chop as the festival’s Centerpiece Screening on Tuesday, April 9, 2024.
The 48th Cleveland International Film Festival taking place April 3-13, 2024 will kick off its in-person, 11-day run at Playhouse Square on Wednesday, April 3, 2024 with Thelma – a celebration and playful subversion of the action genre as well as a soulful exploration of aging and autonomy, directed by Josh Margolin. On Saturday, April 13, 2024, CIFF48 will present its Closing Night Film Devo directed by Chris Smith.
A documentary on the origins of the anti-gay movement, 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture directed by Sharon “Rocky” Roggio won the Audience Choice Award for Best Film at the 47th Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF47) which took place March 22nd – April 1st, 2023. The documentary follows the story of tireless researchers who trace the origins of the anti-gay movement among Christians to a grave mistranslation of the Bible in 1946.
Filmed over two years across the UK, Europe and the US, the documentary Ithaka follows 76 year-old retired builder, John Shipton’s tireless campaign to save his son, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Cleveland International Film Festival announced its juried competitions for the upcoming 47th edition of the festival, comprised of thirty-two feature films in three competitions, with $30,000 in cash prizes available. In addition, dozens of short films will be included in CIFF’s three Oscar qualifying categories, with $3,000 in cash prizes available.
The 47th Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) kicks off on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 with Butterfly in the Sky, a documentary about the PBS series Reading Rainbow, which inspired millions of children to “take a look, it’s in a book.”
From the Hood to the Holler directed by Pat McGee won the Audience Choice Award for Best Film at the 2022 Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF46).The documentary follows Democratic candidate Charles Booker as he runs for Senate in Kentucky, and works to unite people of all colors across Kentucky, while fighting against big money in politics, voter suppression, and systemic corruption in a historically deeply red state.
Bryan Russell is billed as the first person in the world with Down syndrome to ever run for public office.
