Reaction to the Cleveland International Film Festival

On Sunday, March 21, I attended the Cleveland International Film Festival with a group of my Multi-Modal Literacies classmates. As I drove a car-full of my peers to Cleveland, I was very excited for the road trip. However, when I got to Cleveland, I missed a detour leading to the parking garage, and my adventure became stressful. Regardless, after some instinctual driving and the reassurance of my passengers, we arrived at Tower City Mall in a matter of 10 extra minutes.

Before viewing our film, my classmates and I dined at the Hard Rock Cafe. This was a great opportunity to interact with my cohorts in a way that I do not normally have the chance to enjoy. The food was great, and the conversations were just as enjoyable.

After lunch, we made our way to the theater to purchase our tickets ahead of time. Leading up to this moment, I was determined to see the film Bomber, a comedy which caught my eye in the festival's catalog. However, after purchasing a stand-by ticket and waiting in line for a chance to see the film, a man admitting people into the theater notified us that Bomber filled two theaters. Panicked, as we had planned on seeing this film, my classmates and I rushed to another film that had begun 5 minutes earlier, Toe to Toe. Although this film was not my initial choice, I was glad that I had the chance to view it. The film was very deep, and it stretched me beyond my level of comfortability, and I enjoyed the experience.

I planned to return to the festival that following Thursday, but a snow storm prevented some friends and I from venturing to Cleveland on the late, snowy night. I was very disappointed, as I enjoyed my experience on Sunday and hoped to share the same experience with another group of friends. Thus, I plan to return to the Cleveland International Film Festival next year and for several other years to follow.