CLEVELAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
ANNOUNCES CIFF47 (2023) FESTIVAL DATES
AND FINAL CIFF46 STATS
The Cleveland International Film Festival is delighted to announce that CIFF47 will take place from Wednesday, March 22 through Saturday, April 1, 2023 at Playhouse Square. The announcement comes on the heels of the conclusion of CIFF46, which was the much anticipated in-person return of CIFF following a three-year gap that included two years of presenting the Festival online.
CIFF46 was presented in a hybrid form of being in-person and then online. The Festival took place from Wednesday, March 30 through Saturday, April 9, 2022 in-person at its new and forever home at Playhouse Square, and then from Sunday, April 10 through Sunday, April 17, 2022 online. The Festival showcased 146 feature films and 182 short films, representing 73 countries.
The Festival welcomed 28,567 film enthusiasts and hosted more than 300 guest filmmakers from around the world during its 11 days of being in-person. Included were 4,864 students from 70 schools in northeast Ohio who took part in FilmSlam®, the Festival’s oldest educational program for those in grades 5 through 12 (plus one second-grade class this year!).
Nearly 300 CIFF volunteers, who worked in tandem with Playhouse Square RedCoats, donated their invaluable time and talent to help ensure the success of CIFF46, contributing 4,894 hours over 1,266 shifts. And without the generous support of 138 sponsors and funders, 141 nonprofit community partners, and 49 media and neighborhood outreach partners, CIFF46 would not have been possible.
CIFF Executive Director, Marcie Goodman, said: “Our organization is deeply grateful to everyone who supported and experienced our move to Playhouse Square and joined us online. Together we started all over, and what a magical and amazing new start it was!”
In-person CIFF46 highlights included: two family friendly Saturday mornings, which were made up of Family Shorts programs, craft activities, and filmmaker talkbacks; a surprise performance by the award-winning Music Express Show Choir from Garfield Heights High School following the screening of FULL OUT: INSIDE OHIO SHOW CHOIR; and, director Daniel Roher, who was greeted with a sustained standing ovation at his post-film conversation for NAVALNY. His film also took home the Nesnadny + Schwartz Portrait Documentary Competition Award.
The Festival awarded $131,500 in cash prizes across 34 awards, including the esteemed Roxanne T. Mueller Audience Choice Award for Best Film, sponsored by the Callahan Foundation, which went to FROM THE HOOD TO THE HOLLER.
CIFF46 Streams, presented by PNC, had 24,482 online views. The industry standard is that at least two people watch every film at the same time, taking that number to 48,964. Total CIFF46 attendance was 77,531. And nearly $100,000 was raised for CIFF’s Annual Campaign.
@CIFF47
CIF47 will take place March 22 – April 1, 2023 at Playhouse Square. The Festival will launch its Call For Entries submissions process this summer. For more information on the Cleveland International Film Festival, please visit clevelandfilm.org.
