More short films and a new 鈥渙ld鈥� venue are in store for the 50th Cleveland International Film Festival.
Organizers announced the schedule Monday at the , where CIFF was founded in 1977. The Cleveland Heights venue will host a large portion of this year鈥檚 films, with the rest showing at Playhouse Square.
鈥淲hen you have milestone anniversaries, it seems like a logical time to look back at the beginning, at the evolution, at the key players in the story of the organization,鈥� Executive Director Hermione Malone said.
As part of the 50th anniversary celebration, 2016鈥檚 鈥淏elieveland鈥� will run again, this time with an alternate ending created after the Cleveland Cavaliers won the 2016 NBA Finals. The ESPN documentary still holds the record for best-attended film in CIFF history. Former Cleveland Browns running back Earnest Byner will participate in a post-showing panel discussion.
Festival founder Jon Forman, owner of the Cedar Lee Theater, will participate in a 鈥淪pill the Tea鈥� discussion on April 16. Joining him at the nearby Sophie La Gourmande cafe will be actress, writer and Cleveland native Ann Elder (鈥淟augh In,鈥� 鈥淢ama鈥檚 Family鈥�).
The opening night film is a documentary, 鈥淎 Man with Sole: The Impact of Kenneth Cole,鈥� about the activist and fashion designer. Cole, and director Dori Berinstein, will be at the April 9 screening.
鈥淚f I Go, Will They Miss Me?鈥� comes to Cleveland from its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. Director Walter Thompson-Hern谩ndez will be in attendance for his story of a working-class neighborhood in Los Angeles.
CIFF hosts another Sundance premiere, 鈥淯nion County,鈥� produced in Ohio last year. A third Sundance premiere, the Cleveland-based "Carousel,鈥� with Chris Pine and Jenny Slate, is not currently part of . Paul Sloop, director of programming, said only that its status is "TBA."
"We're still talking to them," he said.
Two music-related films will run at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in addition to other venues: the Eddie Cochran documentary 鈥淒on鈥檛 Forget about Me,鈥� and 鈥淧eter Asher: Everywhere Man.鈥�
CIFF started with eight films, one per week, on the Cedar Lee鈥檚 lone screen. In 1991, the festival moved to Tower City and, in 2022, to Playhouse Square. Malone said they have 鈥渘ot had further conversations鈥� about venues beyond this year. Forman said he鈥檚 鈥渉onored鈥� to host the festival at the Cedar Lee, which has tripled in size since 1991.
鈥淚 really hope they do this again next year and in future years,鈥� he said. 鈥淢y hunch is, if it's successful here, they're going to have to give it serious consideration.鈥�
Malone said CIFF鈥檚 contract with Playhouse Square runs through 2032.
