Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF)

Overview

The Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) is one of America's largest film festivals. Founded in 1977 and held annually in March in Cleveland, the festival presents competitive international and American cinema to one of the largest combined festival audiences in the United States.

CIFF's scale distinguishes it from most regional US festivals. The festival screens hundreds of films from dozens of countries and attracts hundreds of thousands of total attendances across its run in the Cinemark theaters at Tower City Center. This scale makes Cleveland one of the most significant market exposure opportunities for films seeking North American theatrical distribution.

Cleveland's history as a diverse industrial city with strong immigrant communities -- Eastern European, Italian, Puerto Rican, and others -- creates an audience with particular receptiveness to international cinema.

Key Sections

• International Competition -- films competing for jury prizes
• American Independent Competition -- US films
• Documentary Competition -- nonfiction features
• Short Film Competition -- competitive programs
• International Showcase -- curated world cinema beyond the competition

What Filmmakers Should Know

CIFF accepts open submissions. The festival's large audience base makes it one of the most valuable market exposure opportunities for films seeking theatrical audiences in the US Midwest. A strong Cleveland audience response can translate to tangible distribution interest.

Major Awards

• Best Film -- jury prize
• Best American Independent Film
• Audience Award -- among the most meaningful audience prizes in the US

Festival History

CIFF was founded in 1977 and has grown into one of America's most attended film festivals over more than four decades.

See Also

For Midwest film strategy, see Film Festival Strategy. For US regional festivals, see Independent Filmmaking Strategies.