50 Years of Cleveland International Film Festival: In Conversation

Eight films made up the first Cleveland International Film Festival in 1977. Fast-forward 50 years, and it’s blossomed into a 10-day event, which will show 326 movies April 9-18. Along with its screenings at Playhouse Square stages, CIFF returns to its roots with a significant lineup at Cedar Lee Theatre this month: an homage to the earliest years of Cleveland’s annual marquee movie event.

Cleveland Magazine hosted a conversation between festival founder Jon Forman and CIFF’s current executive director Hermione Malone about the past, present and future of the beloved film fest.

Hermione Malone: So, John, you started the festival in 1977. I’m really curious to know what inspired the first event. Why did you want to bring a globally focused film festival to Cleveland?

Jon Forman: I was out of work, and I needed a job. When I was a student at Case Western Reserve University, I ran the college’s film society. Students actually went to see movies in theaters because there was no internet, no streaming. Fast forward, I graduated, and had some non-film jobs, and one of the companies I was working for filed for bankruptcy, and I was out of work. A friend of mine, who helped start the festival, said, “Why don’t you start a Cleveland Film Festival?” You’re 20-something, you figure, why not? We put together the very first Cleveland Film Festival with an all-volunteer staff, and were able to rent the Cedar Lee Theatre from its owners at that time, a company called Community Circuit Theaters. We had the first festival which showed eight films in a subscription film series. At the time, the American Film theater, I think, was showing a subscription film series of some very well-produced intellectual type movies. And I said, “Well, that performance seemed to work, so let’s steal their form.” And we did it over eight weeks: one film a week, two showings each week, and it worked.

HM: Awesome. Were you at all surprised by the response?

JF: Yes. I always said it was an artistic success because it paid all the bills. I wasn’t paid. Everyone who worked was doing it as a volunteer, and it was great. The festival ends and, you know, life goes on. (In the second CIFF), we almost doubled the number of films we were showing. Again, I was concerned that Clevelanders would not embrace the concept of a festival, so we still spaced them out. I think we might have tried to grow too quickly. But again, it worked enough to cover our expenses, and the festival was a success. Festival ends, and the owner of Community Circuit (Bert Lefkowich) was in the process of divesting himself of other theaters in Cleveland. Bert said to me, “Hey kid, would you like to own a movie theater?” He basically financed the purchase of the theater. Very kind of him, although he was also a ruthless businessman, very business-oriented. He said, “If you miss one payment, I get everything back.” I said, “That’s fair. I have nothing to lose.” So we took over the theater, and the rest, as they say, is history. 

JF: Hermione, last year was your first festival year, and I am certain it was challenging just because you’re the new kid in town, new organization — the challenges of running it at Playhouse Square. What were your greatest challenges coming on board last year?

HM: I always compare it to fixing up the house where you’ve got to work on the plumbing in the wall, or the electric in the wall, the foundation, stuff that other people can’t see that aesthetically aren’t beautiful, but are necessary. I think the organization has been doing things in a way that was really manual for a very long time. So I spent a lot of time trying to figure out, how can we do this more efficiently, more effectively? One thing we did from the very beginning is, I wanted to listen to people. I started this job in May. By July, I was having community listening sessions. I felt it was really important to understand both the perspective of people who came to the festival and loved it and the people who had never been or who hadn’t been in a very long time. We got almost 1,000 responses, which is statistically significant given the audience size, but we used that feedback in so many ways this year to plan the festival.

JF: I said that this will never happen in Cleveland, and fast forward 50 years. I’m thrilled to see where the festival’s gone and where it’s going. What do you consider to be the greatest challenges, going forward, year 51-plus?

HM: I think one of the challenges we have is that, at some point, I think the festival stopped attracting as strong of numbers, folks in their 20s and 30s, to come out. We have a very loyal fan base, as I call a lot of our attendees. But they’re aging, so they come out less, or they move to Florida. We’ve got to really do a good job of thinking about how we attract younger patrons to come out and experience the festival. I think the other challenge is, frankly, the streaming that allows the world to come into your home. I’ve got to do something that pulls you off the couch. For us, a part of that experience has always been the connection to filmmakers and principals and subject matters in narrative and documentary films. But I think there’s a push to create more experiences for folks to have in addition to seeing the films. 

JF: Well, if you figure out how to get them off the couch, let me know. It’s a challenge in the world of film festivals, also in the world of specialty theater, that’s really very frustrating and difficult. When I was a student at Case Western, we just could not wait to go to go to see movies in theaters or in the film society. I think that is a great challenge. One of the things I think the festival has done that I admire is bringing in more and more of the independent filmmakers, and making this more of an event, and I think people do respond to that. They love to do a Q&A afterwards and ask smart questions, occasionally dumb questions, but at least there’s this interaction. I think people really find it unique. It’s really a nice experience, having that interaction with a stranger sitting in a theater next to somebody.

HM: We’ve heard from people who have what they call “festival friends.” So there are people they see every year at the festival. They don’t actually hang out with these people throughout the balance of the year, but they look forward to seeing them every year at the festival. So we know that the bringing together of people is really powerful. And we also know that getting all of these diverse perspectives of the world of issues is important. There are people today who can point to a singular film they saw that transformed how they thought about a people, a place, an issue. And so that’s always the dream of ours, is that it stays with you.

JF: Last year you had a very successful film, Lost & Found in Cleveland, which was a record-breaking film for the festival. Why did that work? What was the appeal, besides the fact that it has the word “Cleveland?”

HM: Well, that’s a lot to do with it. I think one of our programmers said, “Clevelanders love a film about Cleveland,” so whether that’s sports or whether that’s a setting in Cleveland, but the other thing I realized is how much of the community was involved in some way in the making of the film. There were people who were there, who had hands or tentacles into the making of that film. I think whenever Cleveland can show up in a way that’s in the spotlight, that looks great, they want to be there and be a part of it. I also think the filmmaking team did a really great job of engaging Clevelanders to come out to see that film as well.

JF: I think it’s great. My only experience of something similar, not the same, was when the festival opened up, whatever year it was, with Major League and the Cleveland Guardians. It was huge, successful, even though only the opening shot was shot here. And, no, not the best film ever made, but it was really fun. Also, we were fortunate to have principals from the film, which is harder and harder to get. Now you can get independent filmmakers because they’re not yet established. Peter Falk came for Husbands, and Ellen Burstyn came, and Katherine Helmond came, Alan Alda came. We were just thrilled. Having a Frank Capra tribute, that was wonderful.

JF: This year you’re using this screening room at Cleveland State University. What’s the collaboration? 

HM: CSU’s film school actually sits right next door to the Playhouse Square theaters, and we’ve often had them collaborate around programming for their students — so, is there a way to connect filmmakers to students for panels or labs or things of that sort? We do have a board member who is with the film school, and so she’s always looking for ways to improve that collaboration. Last year, students from their program came up with our street team concept. While we had our photographers bopping around, the students were also there getting video, getting great interviews. They interviewed Marlee Matlin and Shoshannah (Stern), the producer of a film (Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore) last year, but adding an edginess to the content. It was less about being polished and perfect and more about having on-the-ground experiences. That’s a great thing. We’re going to continue this year as well.  I think it’s incumbent upon us to always think about what’s coming up next. Micro-content, these little short dose series that show up on social media and other platforms. Partnering with a university who has a focus on the film arts is really one way for us to start thinking programmatically, going forward, beyond just the festival. What does it look like to show up in a big way and support the film arts community here? And how can we do it with our eye toward what’s coming and not just sort of looking back at what was.

JF: I’m intrigued and pleased you’re doing that kind of stuff. Because I think people kind of pooh-pooh, sometimes, the film scene in Cleveland. But Cleveland has the Cinematheque. It has the Case West Reserve Film Society. It’s got what’s going on in Cleveland State. I operate a theater in Oberlin for Oberlin College, and they have their own Film Society. And I’m surprised and delighted people turn out for that. I think there’s strong interest in filmmaking for students today. You can make a movie without the fancy equipment that used to use 35-millimeter (film) and IMAX. Yes, that still exists, but it’s so easy to do something on a modest scale. When you visualize the festival going forward, where you may go, I think the fact that you’re incorporating this student component is really very good.

HM: I think we’re one of the few festivals that doesn’t have either robust year-round professional development training or operate a theater. So it puts stuff in this really interesting space, and at this particular point in time, to think about, what do we want to work to look like? What do we want a festival to symbolize? What does it look like for a festival to exist in the community beyond just 10 days when we’re showing movies on screens? I think that’s a little bit of our challenge, and our focus going forward is evolving this from being just this thing that’s happening at a point in time, to, how can the festival have a presence in the arts and culture scene throughout the year? I think critical partnerships like with CSU are going to be a big part of that. 

JF: The festival is a signature event in the Cleveland cultural scene, but also nationally, I know one of the things you inherited was this wonderful reputation. Filmmakers love coming here. I always was aware that the Cleveland festival in its early years had a better international reputation than it did a national reputation because there were not a lot of opportunities for foreign language films to be shown. Invitations from a festival were kind of neat. There was an expense. 

I think it’s so interesting to see how the festival evolved in 50 years, and where it may go after this. I often refer to the festival, it’s like one of my children. It started, and now it’s in its middle age. And 50 years is a long time, and how it’s evolved is fascinating, but where it may go, I hope, the next 50 years, is anyone’s guess.

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