Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Cleveland flicks

Last night I attended the Columbus preview for the 31st annual Cleveland International Film Festival. Since I also had a screening of 300 to attend, I didn't have much time to stick around other than for some quick conversation and eats, but I snagged a festival guide, which makes scheduling a lot easier than the website.

For those who haven't been, Cleveland's fest is a well-run event that is remarkably easy to navigate for something of its size. It runs from March 15-25. On some days they offer as many as seven sessions, with at least five of those providing four choices, so there's plenty to see.

I'm planning to exercise a little more sanity this year, so 9:30 a.m. and midnight screenings may not make the cut for me unless there's something I really want to see. (I'm trying to think if I caught anything I liked at those times. I don't think I did.) Without those I can knock out five films a day, which is a pretty full docket even for seasoned moviegoers. It may also make it easier for me to file reports during the festival and be more lucid.

I'd have to check my lists for an exact number, but I saw several films that haven't received commercial U.S. runs or have taken a long time to get them. (In some cases, the disappearance of these films is no great loss.) So if you're interested in catching some movies that you may be hard to come by in the future, this festival is worth your time.

In other festival news, I'm set for Ebertfest 2007. The films have not yet been announced, although now that I'm posting this they'll probably be named later today.

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