Community working to blend arts, technology

Money sought for Cleveland festival

Thursday, December 02, 2004

 

Carolyn Jack

Plain Dealer Arts Reporter

 

A proposal to stage a major arts-and-technology festival in Cleveland is gaining momentum, winning support among leaders of the area's top business, government and arts organizations.

 

The festival, tentatively titled Ingenuity, is being organized by Cleveland Public Theatre founder James Levin and arts activist Thomas Mulready. They plan to start it in 2005 or 2006, with participants such as the Cleveland Clinic, NASA, Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Museum of Art and other artists and arts groups.

 

The festival is "the most exciting collaboration in Cleveland," said Lev Gonick, chief information officer at Case and an adviser to the festival. "I think James and Thomas have done a huge favor" for the community by starting it.

 

Levin and Mulready revealed project details at 2005 budget hearings held Tuesday by Cuyahoga County commissioners.

 

In making a public pitch for $150,000 from the county's discretionary fund, Levin said the festival would offer public performances and art and technology displays in unusual indoor and outdoor downtown locations such as storefronts, arcades, alleys and street corners. The county has already pledged $30,000 to the festival from its Destination Cleveland program, which promotes tourism.

 

If enough funding is found, the festival would be launched in 2005 with a five-day "pilot" festival from Aug. 31 to Sept. 4, said Levin, a local attorney.

 

He noted that the Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts, launched in October, has already earned attention for that city. Levin also said he hoped Cleveland's festival, which would showcase the area's own arts and technology groups, might grow into a high-quality festival like Spoleto USA in Charleston, S.C.

 

Successful festivals such as Spoleto USA have been shown to have a significant economic impact on their home cities or regions.

 

Levin and Mulready, creator of the CoolCleveland e-newsletter and the now-defunct Cleveland Performance Art Festival, plan to expand the festival over three years into a nine-day summer series of events centered at first on Public Square and lower Euclid Avenue, but eventually moving into other city sections such as the Flats, Playhouse Square, Cleveland State University or University Circle.

 

By including technological creativity in the festival, they hope to help festival-goers discover the intersections between the arts and sciences, the organizers said.

 

"All of the future economy of this region is going to be based on technology" in industries including arts and culture, Mulready said.

 

The festival's initial estimated budget is $1.4 million, with $250,000 of that to come from earned income, including ticket sales, Levin said. The rest would come from corporate sponsorships being explored with the assistance of executives at IMG Worldwide, Inc., he said.

 

The county's $150,000 would help the festival attract backing from other donors, Levin said.

 

A written project summary for the festival contained steering and advisory committee rosters listing an array of civic, corporate and university leaders such as United Way Services President Michael Benz; Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman; Tom Yablonsky, director of the Historic Warehouse District Development Corp.; Parkworks Executive Director Ann Zollar; and SAFMOD Artistic Director Neil Chastain.

 

"I'm so excited about what this is going to do for the economy . . . and the local artists," said Cimperman. "I think it's a tipping-point event."

 

Participating arts and technology groups listed include the Cleveland Museum of Art, Great Lakes Science Center, Tri-C JazzFest, Apollo's Fire, African Soul Dance Theater and Spaces art gallery. Individual artists are also included.

 

A decision about county support for the festival is not tied to the commissioners' 2005 budget process, so no deadline has been set for it.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1101983669172470.xml?eaall

 

 

"A tipping-point event"  Is this festival that big. 

well i think so.  theres so many little/medium sized art events that happen in the neighborhoods and several burbs that coordinating them into a downtown event and week long festival could really do some good for the cultural scene of the city.  Think winterfest in june heh

I think that this is the best time to live in Cleveland in 50 years. 

Ironic that this year we top out as the poorest city.

 

^Reallly, things are on the up tick and you can feel it.  Lets hope this isnt a hollow progree run like we saw in the 90s...Seeing as I wasnt here for the 90's...maybe I am good luck?.?.?........

Thought I'd bring this one back from the dead.  It appears that it will be Sept. 1-4.

 

Here's the website (they really need a better URL):

http://clientreview.liggett.com/ingenuity/

 

seems that site has some glitches...dig the Zelda music, though!

bump

This article from the 9/1/05 Akron Beacon Journal details some of the interesting things going on at the festival.  I hope to see a few pictures from the meet!:

 

 

Celebrate form and function

Expect to find anything, with ingenuity as king, at Cleveland Festival of Arts and Technology

 

PR Miller treads carefully amid piles of junk soon to be prized objects d'art and a centerpiece of the visual arts leg of Cleveland's enterprising Ingenuity Festival of Arts and Technology, which opens tonight and continues through Sunday.

 

"I am taking this more seriously than any other art thing I've done,'' said the downtown Akron resident. "I was chosen by the Cleveland Sculpture Center to be the artist they sponsor at the event. This is an honor, something you can't apply for.... It's a major coming out in Cleveland.''

 

Miller's Waste-Not-Want-Not exhibition and sale at the Galleria employs the debris of technology in the making of pricey art, ultimately ushering it into the posh homes of the upper echelons for a salient touch of irony.

 

One piece, for example, perches a cast-off tuba bell on the base of an old Ohio Edison light pole, which sits on a cast iron cold air duct grate atop a sewer pipe that rests on a foundry pattern. With Miller rushing to complete this magnum opus in time for the show, he has yet to shuttle the electrical wiring through the middle and add a light bulb.

 

Questions of propriety will arise for the new owner. If you buy it, should you dust it?

 

Miller will be in good company, with more than 1,000 artists and 70 organizations percolating in the streets, alleys, performance venues and vacant storefronts that will transform the heart of the city into a throbbing gallery without walls. Visitors will discover a dizzying array of visual art projects, installations, video interactive works, photo exhibitions, digital animation, virtual reality exhibits, sound and audio installations and computer graphics.

 

What does this mean? It means you can find practically anything at this festival, from a demonstration of public profiling and surveillance processing by Bowling Green State University faculty to graffiti art and hands-on demonstrations of hip-hop techniques.

 

It will include awesome interactive invents, a fusion of art and technology that will give birth to the world's first Symphony for 21 iPods by Phil Kline, Canton native and New York composer, performer and writer. (His signature work, Unsilent Night, is a boombox composition that has become a holiday tradition for many.)

 

"This is the biggest collaboration of arts groups and institutions this area has ever seen in its history,'' said organizer Thomas Mulready of CoolCleveland.com, whose vast experience in technology, business and the arts ensures his comfort in the driver's seat. He ran the Cleveland Performance Arts Festival in years past. James Levine, founder of Cleveland Public Theatre, is co-director.

 

This event did not come to pass on a whim. Interested parties commissioned a study on other art festivals. They looked at 48 throughout the U.S. and Canada and discovered that festivals that focus on the arts without a supporting theme are difficult to market. "The creativity used in art is the same used in technology and business,'' Mulready said. They are a natural pairing. "It got us looking at this fruitful and vibrant field.''

 

He and Levine sent out feelers to NASA and Cleveland Clinic, among others. "What would happen if we brought them together and showcased the best of both sides?... Once we realized we were going to do it, everybody jumped on board.''

 

He cannot predict the public response to this inaugural fete, but he can promise it will be larger in ensuing years, a movable feast that will highlight different charms of the city, the banks of the river in 2006. ``It will be a spectacle people will come from Europe to see.''

 

The festival opens tonight with a free ceremonial splash at Public Square. Called Traffic Jam, it will feature more than 400 artists, dance companies, pep squads, skaters, bicyclists and marching bands converging on the crossroads with musical accompaniment to be simulcast on local radio and played through car radios strategically parked around the square. Musical performances and fireworks will cap the night.

 

The family-oriented festival will also feature continuous programming on the free Family Stage and the indoor Colonial Marketplace, plus children's events on the outdoor parking lot at 720 Euclid Ave.

 

A master schedule of events will be available in the festival district in the Euclid Avenue area from Public Square to East Ninth Street and along East Ninth Street from Prospect to Euclid and at Tower City. See the accompanying box for further details.

 

Meanwhile, PR Miller has his work cut out for him, readying 100 pieces for the trip north. The untrained eye would see rubble in every direction in his defunct factory abode, but he explains its order -- the ceramics here, the lamp parts here, the glass here -- the metal shop partly visible over there -- and inadvertently reveals the secret to his success.

 

"I make up stuff as I go along. People ask me if I make sketches. How can you sketch things you find on the street?... Recycling is my gospel. If you don't start cleaning up my planet, I'm going to throw you off.''

 

Connie Bloom is an Akron Beacon Journal staff writer. Call her at 330-996-3568 or e-mail her at cbloom@ thebeaconjournal.com.

 

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/entertainment/12531715.htm

 

So who's been hanging out at Ingenuity? For those who don't know, it's a four-day festival of arts and technology taking place in downtown Cleveland this weekend, running through Sunday.

I was there both on opening night and most of yesterday afternoon and last night, and plan to be there today and tomorrow too.

So far, I've been very impressed with the range and calibre of the acts (most of whom are local).

 

By far the best thing I've seen so far was VERB BALLETS' performance last night in the basement of a building on East 4th Street. Simply fantastic. I've heard a lot about this troupe but just moved back to town, so I hadn't had a chance to see them yet. Believe the hype.

Another highlight was singer-songwriter VICKIE CHEW performing at Fat Fish Blue as part of a Cleveland Women's Songwriters event. She does exactly the kind of alt-country/folk that I always melt for.

DANCEVERT did some cool dancing with big fans in the lobby of Key Tower.

The CAVANI STRING QUARTET gave flawless performances of Mozart and Dvorak pieces (broadcast live over WCLV) in the spectacular Arcade.

The CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART has a special exhibit at 515 Euclid showing a model of their $285 million expansion project, as well as some video installations, including one by that kid who won the NEO grand prize.

The Cleveland Trust Rotunda is the site of more VIDEO INSTALLATIONS; it's great to see the gorgeous interior looking so well cared for!

I also heard some appealing old-timey music being played on the street stages along Euclid in the afternoon, giving way to garage rock at night.

 

There's just tons of stuff to see; these are just the things I caught. There are ongoing visual art exhibitions at the Galleria and Tower City that I plan to check out today, as well as more performances. It's great to see so many underused spaces being put to creative use.

 

Turn-out seems strong. I read that the organizers are hoping for 80,000 to 100,000 attendees overall, and I'm pretty sure they'll reach that goal by the time the weekend's over. Last night, most people tended to congregate along East Fourth, which was continuously packed -- probably because it's the most vital part of downtown right now, and it's visually appealing and intimate.

 

Anyway, I'd love to hear thoughts from others who are attending, and I'll add my own comments as the weekend progresses.

yea i was working in the 515 Euclid building last night as one of the individuals explaining some of the exhibits.  from the people i talked to and encountered there were a great deal of people from the east coast (Philly, NYC, Boston) that came to see Ingenuity.  (Which is funny because everyone i know from Cleveland assumes no one outside of the city will come visit).  Also there seemed to be a lot of artists walking around, good for connections and networking. 

 

Im pretty sure theres even more going on tonite.  i saw the rotunda space with Kasumi Minkin's piece (shes one of the prof's in my major's department!), i liked the saxophone playing along with their remix.  CIA's gallery in the ARTcade had a performance piece in it last night with people dressed up in fluffy costumes and dancing.  I think i did catch the end of the All Signs Go gallery dance performance on E4th street.   It was really packed in there.  Quite a nice space that was too, it had that whole grit thing going on.

 

All in all from 2pm to midnight it seemed the place was packed with people, its a really nice thing to see on lower euclid.  i could see this festival eventually getting even bigger and encompassing all of downtown. 

^and you didnt' say "hi" to the large group of dorks?

i wasnt there today, i was at my other job, but i did tell one of the other guys working there to be on the look out for a large group of dorks haha

Nice to see it's being deemed a success. I was duly impressed -- go Mulready and Levin!

 

Arts festival's test flight is A-OK

Ingenuity organizers look ahead to longer event in July 2006

Monday, September 05, 2005

Carolyn Jack

Plain Dealer Arts Reporter

Ingenuity wound up its final day Sunday with more gorgeous weather, happy crowds and a commitment from organizers to do it again next year.

 

The new Cleveland arts and technology festival, which debuted in a sort of pilot version Thursday evening in the lower Euclid Avenue area of downtown, drew what co-director James Levin roughly estimated as 70,000 people over four days.

 

Those first-year attendance levels and the enthusiastic support of a wide range of community backers and participants have reinforced Levin's and co-director Thomas Mulready's intention to make Ingenuity an annual event. They have already begun planning the next festival, which will likely move to a time slot in the first two weeks of July for 2006 and expand to 10 or 11 days, Levin said. 

 

He said the next steps needed would be to assess what worked this year and what did not; seek even more sponsors, including national ones; and strengthen the festival's business and artistic collaborations.

 

Ingenuity enjoyed an unusual number of such partnerships and the help it received from donors, city and county government and arts and technology groups "was more than just Here's the money -- now show me,' " Mulready said.

 

People also gave time and effort to make the festival a success. "It was the community, not James and I," he said, gesturing toward the crowd on Euclid. "This is better than our vision -- we didn't think this many people were going to come."

 

Both drew on long experience in planning Ingenuity. Levin founded and ran Cleveland Public Theatre for 20 years. Mulready co-founded and ran the Performance Arts Festival for 11 years and now runs his latest enterprise, the CoolCleveland.com e-newsletter.

 

The two decided last year to start Ingenuity as a way to showcase Greater Cleveland-based creativity in the arts and technology.

 

Festival participants ranged from NASA and the medical imaging firm Brainmaster to the Cleveland Museum of Art, local poets, dance troupes and bands.

 

Helped in part by fine weather, Ingenuity went smoothly and its notably diverse crowds stayed happy, Levin said.

 

"Nothing went wrong. Police told me they were amazed," Levin said.

 

He would like next year's festival to do an even better job of showing how arts and technology can be combined in artwork, performance and scientific projects.

 

In 2006, "I'm hoping we'll have some knock-your-socks-off, World's Fair-type exhibitions," Levin said.

 

Still, festival-goers found plenty to intrigue them. Fred Wright, 58, a Cleveland Heights resident who runs an online art gallery and has experience in concert presentation, said he was impressed at what Ingenuity featured and how it was run.

 

"All the components were in place," Wright said. "I'm amazed at how arts and technology worked together here. . . . It brought the left and right brains together."

 

 

Next year's festival will be held on Lower Prospect Avenue, around East 4th Street, July 13-16.

 

There had been talk of the Flats, but I think it will be good to feature this part of downtown next year. We need to keep the spotlight on lower Euclid, Prospect and vicinity until we finally get this area churning again!

Is this official info?  I heard the same...that they were considering the West Bank of the Flats...and I agree that it should be held, primarily, in the Lower Euclid/Prospect area.  I think Lower Euclid is going to be pretty torn up by next year, so Prospect makes more sense. 

 

I also thought it was going to be longer next year?  Spanning two weekends?  What happened to that?

Yeah, it's straight from the horse's mouth. The Flats is still on deck for future years, but not 2006.

As for the festival being longer next year, nope. They are going to incorporate a weeklong kids' camp into the plan next year; kids from across the city can take part and will present a project in the festival at the end of the week.

The budget will nearly triple next year to $2 million, in part to incorporate more "techy" exhibits.

I am glad that it will not be a longer event this year.  I feel that its still in its infancy and needs to strengthen itself before it takes on too much.  I like that they will stay downtown.  There is a relationship there that can benefit both East 4th/Prospect and provide a positive experience that will remain in the minds of Clevelanders.  We need more positive associations with downtown. 

I thought they were going to try to tie it into the Orchestra's 4th of July concert on Public Square, or at least they were thinking about it.  I guess that is no longer the case?

I picked up a schedule for the 30th annual CIFF yesterday. How exciting! This event is one of the jewels of Cleveland's great arts scene.

 

The festival runs March 16-26 at Tower City Cinemas downtown. You can peruse 10 days' worth of films from all over the world here: http://clevelandfilm.org/

The Film Festival Store is opening on March 3 at Tower City Cinemas

 

Store hours between March 3 and March 16 are as follows:

          o Monday–Saturday, 11 AM – 7 PM

          o Sunday, 12 noon – 5 PM

Store hours between March 17 and March 26 are as follows:

          o o 11:30 AM – 9:30 PM

 

Buy your tickets there and you'll pay zero handling fees!

 

I attended two films on Saturday, "Dark Horse" and "Quo Vadis, Baby?".  Both were really good (esp QVB)- and completely sold out (they actually had Quo Vadis on two screens simultaneously and both were sold out).  Before each film, someone from the Cleveland Film Society (who puts the event on) gives a litte intro.  Before "Dark Horse", the staffer said they've already sold more tix this year (by the middle of day 3 of the fest) then they did all of last year!  And if I remember correctly, last year set an attendance record. 

 

When we were there the place was a total mob scene - far more people then we've seen in past years (as we exited the Cleveland cop on duty was arguing with a staffer to get the mass of people out of there since it was a pretty clear fire hazard - sort of pointless though since they were trying to exit as it was...)  They added a 5th screen last year, and added morning and midnight movies this year.  Wonder if they'll add a 6th screen next year...

Nice!!! That's great news about how well the movies are selling.

I've got tickets for 6 flicks; can't wait.

I was there on Saturday and it was packed. they reported it was a record sell out. we saw The King...nice and disturbing as a good indie should be. next Saturday I am going to Buckle Brothers, which was made by a local. the only thing I can gripe about was the food situation, at 9pm nothing was open except the hard rock ...I really avoid chains with a passion b/c I like to support the local guy, but there was no choice-as we were starving and wanted to try to catch another flick.  B/c of all the foreign movies, it would be great to do a "taste of" Cleveland ethnic or indie restaurants in the food court area (which was closed by 9 pm). As a side note, I had not noticed the Lake Erie artist Gallery in tower city...it is very cool , all local artists, photogs, etc.

Sheesh- I forgot to add a highlight of the evening was a sighting of Toby from American Splendor fame. Sweeeet.

   B/c of all the foreign movies, it would be great to do a "taste of" Cleveland ethnic or indie restaurants in the food court area (which was closed by 9 pm).

 

Peabody,

 

Great idea.  We should take advantage of the Festival's draw and build on it. 

I saw Measures to a Better Future on Friday afternoon.  I really enjoyed it and the feeling of being in a hub of culture and activity.  In a way, it was nice to get away from all the rapid party-goers from the St. Patty's Day festivities, but the CIFF was its own special mad house! 

 

I'm glad to hear that ticket sales are going so well. 

 

One thing I'd change about this whole fabulous festival is that the PLACE needs to be more dramatically marketed...namely, you can pass by on a bus, in a car, or on foot by way of Prospect, Huron or Public Square and there's simply no fanfare!  I want banners!  I want searchlights!  I want someone out on Public Square with a bullhorn and a bell calling everyone to come come in and see what's going on!  That, and restaurants should most definitely be open late.  Did you try Prospect or East 4th?

Recommendations for dining late (well, around 9ish) downtown that are locally owned/operated, and somewhat close to Tower City Center:

 

Waterstreet Grille - http://www.pluggedincleveland.com/restaurants/2076+waterstreet+grill.html (Ignore the cranky review - there's no hype about Waterstreet; it's just pretty decent food in a casual setting; I think they were hoping for Johnny's Downtown).

 

Pickwick and Frolic - http://www.pickwickandfrolic.com/aboutus.html

 

Little Bar and Grill - Good bar food http://www.pluggedincleveland.com/restaurants/1930+the+little+bar+and+grille.html

 

Fatfish Blue - http://www.pluggedincleveland.com/restaurants/652+fat+fish+blue.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

yes all those Gateway/W.6th places are great and open late. They are a good option if you are only watching one film...Mayday thanks for the link to Fat Fish Blue..I have been meaning to go there .  the only problem with leaving tower city is a number of people are doing marathon film watching and only have time for a quick bite (there is usually 45 min b/t films) so they cant really leave tower city for a good dinner .  I could  not get tickets to a second film Saturday, so it was not a big deal, but my poor friends wanted a bite to eat and had to settle for popcorn and cookies for dinner b/t films. I agree with mister good day..where are the spot lights???they could borrow them from the strip clubs in the flats.

^I really wanted to like Fat Fish Blue.  I really like cajun/southern food and they have a great space.  Sadly the night we went the food was really subpar.

I saw Tuning, the Slovenian film, today at the CFF.  It was at 4:30 in the afternoon, so the crowds were fairly light.  But on my way out, I definitely noticed a stream of people coming into Tower City that seemed as if they were headed for the CFF.  It's good to hear and see that ticket sales are going so well.

 

Re: packaging the CFF with an ethnic fair/"taste of" of sorts.  I think it's a great idea that could help draw an even bigger turnout to the films and help the CFF have a greater impact on the community as a whole.  It could easily coincide with the ethnicities of the movies being presented.  For example, at a 4:30 show, I personally picked out about 15-20 Slovenian people in the audience that I am acquainted with--a pretty good turnout for non-film buffs who were only there to support their nation's film.  If some sort of ethnic exhibit/fair/contest could coincide, I know for a fact that Slovenians would show up in larger numbers.  In addition, this could all be tied in with the better marketing efforts that someone else suggested above.

As of yesterday, they were within $3,000 of reaching their $30,000 goal for individual donations (to be matched by the Cleveland Foundation). I'm heartened to see Clevelanders support the festival so enthusiastically. Go CIFF!

That crowd seems kind of light for a Slovenian film in Cleveland. Wonder if it was promoted in the neighborhoods/churches?

CIFF has surpassed its fundraising goals!  Good job Cleveland!

 

Also, I went to buy tickets to a 7:00 show last night around 4:00 and 2 of 4 at that time were sold out.  One (Tapas) had even added a second screen and both were sold out!  I went for my second choice, How to Eat a Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy it).  It was amazing!  If any of you are looking for a film to see today, it's showing at 2:30 and the director and producer will be there.  I suspect they still have tickets for it, but get there early, just in case. 

 

I've really enjoyed both films I had the chance to see and I look forward to catching at least one more today!

KJP, no, it's not advertised heavily at either St. Mary's or St. Vitus or in the Slovenian newpaper.  I've never noticed it and neither did a couple of Slovenian friends that I checked with.  I think that myself and the others that I recognized at the showing all actively seek out the Slovenian movie each year on our own.  That's why in my earlier post, I mentioned that I think there is a good opportunity to do something to tie in the ethnic films with the city's strong ethnic communities.  Maybe this already happens with some other ethnicities, but I couldn't speak to that.

any news?

We saw "Beauty Returns" and "Obaba" last weekend.  Interesting films.  The CIFF is great for downtown, restaurants (up to 2-hour wait lists), RTA, etc... We should all e-mail the Ratners, though.  Apparently, in their quest for the new county office HQ, Ratner volunteered to buldoze the theatres for more parking spaces.  Brilliant (and typically Cleveland), huh?  Hopefully, the excellence of CIFF will help influence Ratner away from such regressive thinking.

http://www.ingenuitycleveland.com/

 

They say the new site will be ready in April, but this year it's July 7-16. 9 days! That's great news for me because I just couldn't find the time to make it down last Labor day when it was only for four days.

 

Between Ingenuity, the Cleveland Rib Cook Off (May 25 - 29), the Cleveland Grand Prix (June 23 – 25), the CMJ fest (June 14-18) and the fourth of July fireworks, it seems downtown will be pretty packed with stuff to do.

Another fantastic night Downtown last night, inspired by the CIFF.  I went to dinner with a group of 7 people on E. 4th (HoB, not impressed...) who weren't even going to the festival.  Split with them after that and met a friend at the Little Bar & Grill for a beer before a 9:45 show.  We saw Wassup Rockers (Larry Clark...director of Kids) and enjoyed the large crowds and the festival atmosphere.  It's just so nice to walk out of a movie in TC at midnight and be amongst hundreds of other theater-goers!  I really hope FC is paying attention as the CIFF breaks its attendance records every year...

sorry about HOB, you should have eaten at the Little Bar! We had a great cheese burger and quite respectable wings there Saturday before our film Buckle Brothers (it was great-now a tangent...the Director Terry Williams is a local film maker from Twinsburg, who at the Q and A said he made a professional connection at the festival to try and film something here in Cleveland,a thriller, woohoo). Back to the little Bar- I think MayDay recommended the place-thanks! I had been meaning to get over there for some time and try the place...I tend to be partial to Ohio City/tremont,but the LB will bring over to w.6th a little more often.

HOT!

 

Record 52,000 film-festival tickets sold

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Clint O'Connor

Plain Dealer Film Critic

 

Drop the popcorn. Step out of the darkness and embrace the light. It is now safe to return to your regular life.

 

The 30th Cleveland International Film Festival is a wrap.

 

The 11-day fest, which ended Sunday night, set attendance records and featured a host of interesting films, filmmakers, documentaries and short subjects. The Cleveland Film Society on Monday announced the major award winners and final box-office figures.

 

A record 52,000 tickets were sold this year, a 17 percent bump from last year. If you were at Tower City Cinemas on Saturday, you were part of the biggest single day in festival history (6,839 tickets sold)....

 

http://search.cleveland.com/Clint+O%27Connor

 

Dang, I didn't see any of the award winners.

Great news about the attendance bump.

Apparently, in their quest for the new county office HQ, Ratner volunteered to buldoze the theatres for more parking spaces.  Brilliant (and typically Cleveland), huh?  Hopefully, the excellence of CIFF will help influence Ratner away from such regressive thinking.

 

I sort of wish someone would bulldoze them and rebuild them with with some visibility, say facing a sidewalk or something wacky like that.  I s'pose it's nice given our March weather to have TC has a giant lobby for the theaters, but how nice would it be to have a movie marquee downtown...

 

Which reminds me- though this belongs in the UC thread- how excited would I be to see a visible cinemateque marqee as part of the CIA reconfiguration...

I have to agree, Straphanger.  Theatres offer a tremendous amount of street life, especially if they are surrounded by complementary uses like bookstores and restaurants.  They add another dimension to night life.  TCC is buried and forgotten by many people for much of the year, and generates no street life.  My dream would be to see a theatre either on the vacant lot on Public Square, or on the vacant lot on Euclid that East 17th will be cut through.

I've thought about this quite a bit.  I pass through TC on Prospect every morning and there's really no way to tell that there's a cinema just downstairs (unless one of the Higbee's windows has been updated with current film posters).  Basically, my idea would be to leave the cinemas where they are, but put a marquee on that stretch of Prospect, either on the corner of Ontario or further west, closer to the valet parking and sunlight entrances.  This wouldn't provide the street life that a box office and queues would, but it's still visibility for the theaters. 

 

This is the same problem that I have with the market in Reserve Square.  It's a great asset, but unless you live in the building, you may not know it's there!

ps: I've thought of a theater on 17th and Euclid for about 5 years...it would be amazing!  There, or on Prospect and 14th, where there is currently a Goodyear shop...

Which reminds me- though this belongs in the UC thread- how excited would I be to see a visible cinemateque marqee as part of the CIA reconfiguration...

 

YES! The Cinematheque desperately needs street visibility.

^Weird - I was thinking the same thing... If the CIA doesn't make room for them, what about renovating the old Mayfield theater in Little Italy?

RE: the Ratners.  Saw this on cleveland.com. 

 

Thursday, March 23, 2006 

 

Big donations and record attendance highlight film fest

News and notes from the Cleveland International Film Festival ...

 

Cleveland concert-promoting legend Jules Belkin announced at a screening of “A Cantor’s Tale” Wednesday night that he would match anyone’s donation to the festival’s $30,000 "Challenge Match" two to one.

 

Forest City developer Albert Ratner took him up on it, writing a big check after the film. Marcie Goodman, executive director of The Cleveland Film Society, the festival’s parent, would not disclose the amount of Ratner’s check, but the "Challenge Match" tally began the day at $17,000 and ended it at $27,000.

 

The "Challenge Match" takes donations throughout the festival to ensure the success of future festivals.

 

Belkin has more than a passing interest in the festival. He is vice president of development for the Cleveland Film Society’s board of directors.

 

This year’s fest runs through Sunday at Tower City Cinemas.

 

 

^Weird - I was thinking the same thing... If the CIA doesn't make room for them, what about renovating the old Mayfield theater in Little Italy?

 

Yeah, I've had the same daydream.  That theater stresses me out- every time I come back to town I'm afraid that I'll drive down Mayfield and it will be demolished.  Or turned into some shitty art gallery.  I think I read that a recent LI plan envisioned bulldozing the theater and replacing it with a, gulp, parking facility.  But unless this was made into a move that showed at the CIFF, this is getting way off topic.