The 50th Cleveland International Film Festival is returning, at least partially, to its roots at the Cedar Lee Theatre. The festival was founded in 1977 at the Cleveland Heights venue. Following a move to Tower City in the ‘90s, CIFF eventually shifted to Playhouse Square in 2022.
“It allows us to honor where we are today, where we've been in the past, and it also gives us the opportunity to try to show films more than once,” said Paul Sloop, director of programming.
The plan is to use three of the six screens at the Cedar Lee. Films will still run at Playhouse Square, likely in two theaters and the screening room for Cleveland State University’s School of Film and Media Arts. CIFF’s Shorts Club has already been using the space, which Sloop called “intimate.”
“It offers our patrons the opportunity to see films that they might miss because of something else they watched at the same time,” he said. “It's going to feel a little bit more like most of the festivals in the world that are not at one place, but we're not going to be spread out all over the city like most festivals are.”
The Cedar Lee has one thing that Playhouse Square does not: A free parking garage.
“That does offer a level of convenience that just isn't available Downtown,” he said. “Having said that, the beauty and opulence and wonder of Playhouse Square, they are fantastic partners and we're thrilled to be there as well."
Sloop said it’s too soon to reveal any programming, but there could be a celebration of “one or two” films from the festival’s past.
“The reason is, there are always far more high-quality new films available to us than we can possibly program,” he said.
Sloop said they are still planning to offer streaming program options this year, but the scope has not yet been determined as they’re going to “lean heavily” into the in-person experience.
“I can't stress enough how, despite all that convenience, there's nothing like watching a film on a big screen in a room full of people,” he said. “I have an 82-inch TV in my home and a lot of kids, and it's nothing like if we all go to the theater.”
The media release about the Cedar Lee this week also mentioned that the entire programming team is once again based entirely in Cleveland.
“I've worked from my home … my entire career,” he said. “I've only spent limited time in the office near festival time, because I've been able to direct my teams from outside. So really, what's happened with the rest of the team is just them joining me in a virtual world of operating.”
The festival underwent a transition this summer as it closed its physical office in Ohio City and the entire staff went virtual. Several longtime staffers also departed amid accusations of a toxic workplace. CIFF Executive Director Hermione Malone, who took over from Marcie Goodman in 2024, said in June that it was time to “recalibrate both internally and externally.”
“Any time the executive director of a nonprofit, even a for-profit, who's been around for 30-plus years departs ... it offers the opportunity for self-reflection and reexamination of everything we're doing from soup to nuts,” she said.
