Cleveland International Film Festival begins rolling on 49th year
The Cleveland International Film Festival rolled out the red carpet Thursday night to kick off its 49th annual event.
Why it matters: The fest is one of Northeast Ohio's marquee cultural events, drawing over 70,000 attendees between Playhouse Square screenings and online streams.
CIFF is so highly regarded that it was the reason local tourism leaders opted not to bid on hosting the Sundance Film Festival.
State of play: The festival's opening night film, "For Worse," screened at Connor Palace.
In-person screenings of more than 100 feature films and nearly 200 shorts will take place through April 5. See the full list
The big picture: This year's "Centerpiece" film is "Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore," a documentary about the Oscar-winning actress who starred in 1986's "Children of a Lesser God."
The film screens at 7:30pm Tuesday at KeyBank State Theatre.
Zoom in: A few of this year's movies have Northeast Ohio ties, including "The Beldham," starring Bay Village native Patricia Heaton of "Everybody Loves Raymond" fame.
There's also "The Debutantes," a doc that follows three young Black women participating in a debutante ball revival in Canton.
If you go: Tickets for individual screenings start at $18 ($16 for CIFF members).
What's next: A curated selection of films will be viewable online through the CIFF Streams program from April 6-13.
Streaming tickets start at $14 ($12 for members).
Here's a look at five more films worth checking out:
"Following Harry"
When: 2:25pm, March 30 at Mimi Ohio Theatre.
The documentary follows 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Harry Belafonte during the final decade of his life as he reflects on his work in film, music and civil rights.
"The Stamp Thief"
When: 12:05pm March 28 and 7:30pm March 30 at Mimi Ohio Theatre.
Under the guise of filming a movie, "Seinfeld" producer Gary Gilbert brings a film crew to Poland to recover valuable stamps stolen by a Nazi officer during the Holocaust.
"Taste the Revolution"
When: 2:35pm April 2 and 7:30pm April 3 at Mimi Ohio Theatre.
Oscar winner Mahershala Ali stars in a mockumentary about an activist planning a world summit in the early 2000s that goes wrong.
"Slice of Life: The American Dream. In Former Pizza Huts."
The documentary visits businesses that have found success in buildings that once housed Pizza Hut restaurants.
"Didn't Die"
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New York Post
a day ago
- New York Post
Why Ray Romano hated the 'Everybody Loves Raymond' name
Everybody loves photos. 'Everybody Loves Raymond' is the latest show to get an exhibit at the Paley Center for Media in Manhattan, displaying costumes, props, and around 300 photos from the classic sitcom. 'Almost all of the behind-the-scenes footage was shot by me. It's probably the most documented TV show ever,' series writer and exec producer Tom Caltabiano exclusively told The Post. Advertisement 'I met Ray [Romano] in probably 1989. And I take pictures of everything, so I took a lot of pictures of Ray when we were doing stand-up together on the road. Then, he just happened to become famous… [as] I was writing [on 'Everybody Loves Raymond'], I started taking more photos, but I was 100% unofficial.' 12 A script for 'Everybody Loves Raymond' displayed in the Paley Center exhibit. Courtesy 12 Patricia Heaton, Ray Romano, Doris Roberts, Brad Garrett and Peter Boyle in 'Everybody Loves Raymond.' ©CBS/Courtesy Everett Collection Advertisement 12 Ray Romano and Patricia Heaton in 'Everybody Loves Raymond.' ©CBS/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection 'Everybody Loves Raymond' ran for nine seasons on CBS, from 1996 to 2005. The sitcom followed Raymond 'Ray' Barone (Romano), a sports writer living with his family in Long Island. Patricia Heaton co-starred as his wife, Debra, Brad Garrett played his brother, Robert, and Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle played his parents. By the end of the show's run, Caltabiano took 30,000 photos, making the 300 on display just a fraction of the total. He explained that it's rare for a writer to be on staff 'for the entire series from beginning to end,' which is also why the show is so well-documented. Advertisement The exhibit is currently open and runs through Sept. 7. Some props include Robert's police uniform, and the fictional family's toaster and yellow coffee canister. 12 The toaster displayed in the Paley Center exhibit. Courtesy 12 Costumes and behind the scenes photos displayed in the Paley Center exhibit. Courtesy Advertisement 12 Tom Caltabiano attends the 30 Years Of 'Everybody Loves Raymond': An Evening With The Legends Of The Classic Sitcom event at The Paley Museum on June 16, 2025 in New York City. Getty Images Visitors can also pose for photos on the couch from the show, but curator Jason Lynch told The Post that those are recreations to avoid any mishaps. 'We just wanted guests to have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the family's furniture and take a photo and feel like they are part of the family. Which is also the feeling you get watching the show,' he explained, adding that everything else in the exhibit is original. For Caltabiano, tracking down the props and costumes for a show that's been off the air for 20 years wasn't too difficult. 'It was such a tight-knit group that worked on the show. It was so personal to everybody involved, so they did have so many things already. That certainly was a big help in putting this together,' Lynch explained. Romano's manager, Rory Rosegarten, had a lot of props such as the toaster and canister. 'He had a bunch. And we still have more coming from various places in the country…it's shocking how dispersed it was,' said Caltabiano. 12 Lew Schneider, Maggie Wheeler, Patricia Heaton, Ray Romano, Phil Rosenthal, Tom Caltabiano, Cindy Chupack and Aaron Shure attend PaleyLive: 30 Years of 'Everybody Loves Raymond' at The Paley Museum on June 16, 2025 in New York City. Ron Adar/Shutterstock Advertisement 12 The coffee canister on display at the Paley Center exhibit. Courtesy 12 Doris Roberts, Ray Romano, Brad Garrett and Peter Boyle in 'Everybody Loves Raymond.' ©CBS/Courtesy Everett Collection Caltabiano himself rescued some papers that are displayed in the exhibit. 'The wardrobe department takes a Polaroid photo of every single actor of every single wardrobe change from every scene of every episode,' he explained. Advertisement When the show ended, they were going to be tossed into a dumpster. 'I was like, 'Oh man, if I could save these from 'I Love Lucy' can you imagine how valuable they were?' At that time, we ended two days ago, so it's not as much of a nostalgia, but I saved them all. So I store them all in my basement, and when I look at them, I'm like, 'wow, what a record of every single moment of the show.'' The exhibit also has a glass display case showing Romano's list of alternate titles for the show, including, 'That Raymond Guy,' 'Concerning Raymond' and 'Um, Raymond.' 'Ray was tortured by the name,' Caltabiano explained. Advertisement 'Because Ray in real life is a modest guy and he's like, 'Everybody loves Ray, what if the show stinks? Every journalist is going to be like, oh really, everyone loves Ray?'' 12 Ray Romano's list of alternate names for the show, displayed in the Paley Center exhibit. Courtesy 12 Robert's police badge on display at the Paley Center. Courtesy He quipped, 'Thank God it was a hit. He had to make it a hit just to overcome that title!' Advertisement Similar to the show, in real life, Romano's brother was a cop. Romano's sibling used to joke about saving people and getting shot at during his job, while Romano instead 'tells jokes and gets an award…everybody loves Raymond!' After they put that in the script, he said series creator Phil Rosenthal's wife, Monica Horan, who was also in the series, said 'that would be a great title for the show.'' 12 Around 300 behind the scenes photos taken by Tom Caltabiano are on display at the Paley Center exhibit. Courtesy 'And then Ray was like 'Oh no. Are you kidding me?'' he recalled. 'So, he called [David] Letterman, and he called the president of CBS and said 'Please, can we change the show name?' So the president said, 'Look, if it's a hit, we'll change it.' And then it became a hit and the president says, 'Well, we can't change it now!'' When asked if a reboot or revival could ever happen, Caltabiano said, 'Well, I believe in the works is a reunion show where Phil and the cast reunite and talk about clips and their favorite moments. Doing a newly scripted reboot – that I don't know. Honestly, without Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts, it would be a completely different show,' he said, referring to how Boyle died age age 90 in 2016, while Boyle died at age 71 in 2006. But, he added, 'Never say never.'
Washington Post
a day ago
- Washington Post
Marlee Matlin tells her story in an intimate and groundbreaking documentary
When American Masters approached Marlee Matlin about doing a documentary, Matlin had one name in mind to direct: Shoshanna Stern. Like Matlin, Stern is deaf. She also hadn't directed before. But Matlin, who herself became the first deaf person in the Directors Guild of America just a few years ago, was certain she was up to the task.
Associated Press
a day ago
- Associated Press
Marlee Matlin tells her story in an intimate and groundbreaking documentary
When American Masters approached Marlee Matlin about doing a documentary, Matlin had one name in mind to direct: Shoshanna Stern. Like Matlin, Stern is deaf. She also hadn't directed before. But Matlin, who herself became the first deaf person in the Directors Guild of America just a few years ago, was certain she was up to the task. The resulting film, 'Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore' is an intimate look at her life: Growing up in a hearing family; winning the best actress Oscar at 21 for her first movie role in 'Children of a Lesser God,' which film critic Rex Reed at the time called a 'pity vote'; what she's described as an abusive romantic relationship with her co-star, the late William Hurt, which he denied; getting sober; and her experiences in an industry not equipped to accommodate deaf actors. It's also an evocative portal into the world of the deaf community that uses groundbreaking techniques and sound design to put American Sign Language (ASL) and visual communication first. The film opens in select theaters Friday. While Matlin told much of her story in the memoir 'I'll Scream Later,' on some level it wasn't a completely satisfactory experience. Before the #MeToo movement, its revelations were not treated entirely seriously in the media. But a documentary also provided an opportunity. 'We communicate visually,' she said. Matlin and Stern spoke though translators to The Associated Press about the 'CODA' effect, making the doc on their terms, and why they hope Reed sees this film. Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity. AP: Shoshanna, what was your approach? STERN: I had never seen a deaf person direct an episode of TV or film. Never. I thought, what does that even look like? I didn't realize until I took the job that really the whole form of documentary as we know it is really rooted in sound, in the assumption that people will be speaking and they can speak. I thought, what are we going to do when we're using American Sign Language? I have to reframe a whole form of documentary. We have to be able to see what a visually-based documentary is going to look like. We wouldn't do justice to Marlee's life if I had forced this form that really wasn't rooted in the way that she experienced this life. And that was exciting to do. Scary for some people out there, but I never felt scared in making this documentary because she believed in me. MATLIN: If I had had a hearing director approach me to do this project, we could have done a very good job, but that person would not have seen me in the same way. They would not have the same lens as a deaf person. AP: What were some techniques you used to spotlight the deaf experience? STERN: I did want to film with captions in mind, so I made sure that we did have a wider frame. We figured out visual voiceover with a split screen that we added. We did this little surgery with words and syllables in one of the scenes where we mixed them all around to be able to bring people into how Marlee experiences conversations and the world. We wanted to make this documentary an immersive experience for the audience members, a sensory experience to help them understand. AP: 'CODA' felt like a big moment, but in the years since it won the Oscar, have you seen things change? MATLIN: 'CODA' certainly was a milestone and respected by so many people in the industry. It tackled a lot of things that both deaf and hearing people or audiences can identify with. I love the fact that they burnt in the captions. That you can't just turn it off. And I hoped that all the love we received and the three Academy Awards that we got would make a difference. It was honored on so many other levels too as well, whether we're talking about (director) Sian (Heder) or you're talking about Troy (Kotsur) or the SAG award which was just a dream come true, specifically of mine. I took that opportunity to specifically address that that we 'exist,' that we want to be actors just like you, we want to be directors, we want be producers, we want to be hair and wardrobe stylists. We want to work in all levels of production. So 'CODA' really elevated that conversation about how much we wanted to be part of the industry. But for some reason it didn't really break open the door as wide as I would have thought. Yet we just don't give up. We are persistent. Because it is what it is. We are working on our own levels to make changes. STERN: Marlee said something really brave when we were at Sundance. She said, 'It won't last.' The moment, yes, in the moment. But I don't know if we have movement. MATLIN: There's so many stories that we can tell, so many stories that you can put up on screen, so many stories that we can put on stage. I'd like to see action because I've been hearing that, 'Yes, we have to do this' or 'I will do this,' but it's been 40 years. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining. I just want to make sure that we put our money where our mouth is. I go back to that comment about Rex Reed. I wonder if he would ever see this film. I'd love to see if he has the balls to make a comment and say, 'Oh look, I realize I might have said something wrong.' That's just one example of the things I'd like to see happen. And maybe the people who interviewed me over the years. I don't want you to misunderstand me, I have a great deal of respect for them. But specifically, I am calling out Rex Reed. So, you know, sorry but not sorry.
