Related PDF - Cleveland International Film Festival

THE
CIFF DAY 12 / SUNDAY / 3.29.2015
Sponsored by
Brothers to Watch:
Photo: Lisa Sands
Combining Strengths for a Better End
B
ill and Turner Ross are returning to
their home state of Ohio to receive the
Cleveland International Film Festival’s
“Someone to Watch” honor.
The brothers’ first feature in 2009, “45365,”
was shot in their hometown of Sidney, Ohio.
It got rave reviews—the late Roger Ebert,
well-known film critic, called it “An achingly
beautiful film,” and at SXSW, the film won the
Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature.
They followed that with “Tchoupitoulas,”
a “music travelogue” that shadows three
young boys through New Orleans. For
feature number three, “Western,” a “nonfiction western,” the brothers move even
farther south to the Mexican border.
In an interview with Filmmaker magazine,
the brothers call these three films “a sort of
regional Americana trilogy,” but note that
there won’t be another in the series. “This is
the end of a chapter that we feel pretty good
about,” they say.
It is obvious that these brothers work well
together.They talk in terms of “we,” not “he”
or “I,” and admit they make very good partners.
“We both pick up where the other leaves
off with very little need for communication,”
they say.
From Sidney, they moved to Los Angeles
and worked for several years on other people’s
projects. Then in 2007, they realized “that our
passions were being invested in the dreams of
others—so we split.”
They quickly discovered that working
together was a great creative collaboration
where their “individual strengths could be
combined for an even better end.”
Although they say that they wouldn’t trade
their small town upbringing for anything
else, they do note that there was not much
support for aspiring filmmakers. “What we do
now was never discussed as an opportunity,”
they say. “There were no real examples in our
periphery. It’s meant finding our own way, and
inherently our own voice.”
CIFF heard that voice and knows that these
brothers are indeed filmmakers to watch.
“Recognition is always an honor,” they say.
“We exist in a bit of an undercurrent, and any
attention we can garner helps to motivate our
future projects.”
—Anne M. DiTeodoro
SHOWING
TODAY
WESTERN
is playing today at 4:35 p.m.
Photo: Elaine Manusakis
Turner (left) and Bill Ross were born and raised in Sidney, Ohio. While filming on the US/Mexico border, they were chased across
town and cornered because they pointed their camera in the wrong direction.
Photo: Ron Wynne
TOP: Danny Fullem, Andrew Thames, Nick Cavalier, and
Bob Reiland (left to right) gather in G4 Studio following a
“Meet the Filmmaker” series interview with Cavalier, who
directed “Forced Perspective.” Fullem, Thames, and Reiland
produce the series for CIFF.
MIDDLE: Kathleen Cerveny of the Cleveland Foundation,
Darnell Weaver of Rainey Institute, Dee Jay Doc Harrill of The
FRESH Camp, and filmmaker Miquel Galofré participate in a
FilmForum following a a showing of “Art Connect.” BOTTOM:
“A Murder in the Park” Co-directors Shawn Rech (left) and
Brandon Kimber (center) along with the documentary’s
subject, Alstory Simon, respond to audience questions after
a screening of the film.
CLOSING NIGHT AWARDS
Everyone in attendance at any of the films showing
in the last round is invited to join us for the Closing
Night dessert reception and awards presentation
program around The Fountain at Tower City Center.
The reception will include a brief program announcing
the winners of all the CIFF competitions.
Added Screenings:
Sunday March 29th
Run Boy Run 9:00 am
Take Me to the River 9:00 am
All-Stars 6:50 pm
Audience Choice Shorts Program 7:20 pm
Late Additions:
Sunday March 29th
Being Evel 11:50 am
Check for the latest festival updates
on Twitter or Facebook. Or visit
www.clevelandfilm.org/festival/updates
Challenge Match
The Challenge Match is the CIFF’s annual
fundraising campaign, and the only time of
the year that we ask for your support (we do
not send out solicitation letters at any time).
The challenge to you – our audience – is to
raise $125,000, which will be matched by
Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.
Help us exceed our goal of $125,000
A $10 DONATION QUALIFIES YOU FOR
ONE OF THESE FABULOUS PRIZES!!
CINDERELLA: You and your Prince or
Princess will have a “ball” with dinner at
Otto Moser’s Restaurant before a performance of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s
CINDERELLA! (glass slippers optional)
CINEMA PARADISO: Indulge in unlimited
movies for the rest of the year at any of
their locations with a Cleveland Cinemas
Season Pass!
A KID FROM CLEVELAND: Is there
anything better than diving into a good
book, or sharing one with a friend? How
about a collection of 39 Cleveland books
on a variety of subjects, including local
history, sports, pop culture, true crime,
food, and much more?
Stop by the Challenge Match table in
the Tower City Cinemas lobby to donate.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Official Airline of the 39th CIFF
The Cleveland International Film Festival receives public
support with local tax dollars from Cuyahoga Arts &
Culture, to preserve and enrich our region’s artistic and
cultural heritage.
Inspired to Find the Truth
E
ver since his
teenage years,
documentary
filmmaker Justin
Weinstein has been
fascinated with how
people can deny
real evidence when
it contradicts their
beliefs.
Tyler Measom,
another filmmaker,
LEFT: Tyler Measom has written, produced, and directed more than 100 commercials, short documentaries,
and industrials for a wide range of national and international clients. RIGHT: Justin Weinstein has been
was raised as a
making documentaries for broadcast, theatrical release, and commercial clients for more than 10 years.
devout Mormon
until he decided he was being “deceived” by
over the world who were hungry to see a film
the church and left religion.
about him made.
When the two started discussing the idea of
He believes people recognized that there was a
making a documentary on James Randi, the
compelling story to tell and it would make a fun
magician and escape artist turned skeptic, these
and entertaining film.
personal reasons made the story meaningful for
“Randi is an amazing character,”Weinstein
each of them.They decided on the spot to make
says. “He was a joy to work with. Some of the
the film together—the result is “An Honest Liar.” time he’s an 86-year-old man, irascible and
“We both deeply believe many of the
opinionated, but much of the time he’s like a
fundamental problems our society suffers are due 12-year-old boy, playful, curious, and fun-loving.
to a lack of proper education in critical thinking
He’s invigorated by an audience, and can be hard
and basic science education,”Weinstein says.
to keep up with!”
To make the film, Randi provided thousands
People who watch the film are sometimes
of hours of archival footage, which covered his
surprised that the filmmakers were able to
frequent television appearances on shows such
interview Uri Geller for the film since he and
as Happy Days and his 32 appearances on The
Randi were such vicious enemies for so long.
Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson.
“The fact is we just asked, and he was very
It also included a segment from The Tonight
generous and gracious with us,” says Weinstein.
Show where the staff turned to Randi for advice
“He himself says that he didn’t care what kind
in advance of an appearance by Uri Geller.When of publicity he got—it was all good for him.
Randi’s guidance prevented Geller from being
He wouldn’t read the articles that were written
able to demonstrate his alleged psychic powers
about him, but measure them with a ruler.”
on the show, the two became sworn enemies.
Weinstein and Measom hope their film will
Weinstein calls the abundance of footage
inspire audiences to think more critically, to ask
both a blessing and a curse, which made editing
questions to probe deeper before accepting things
a challenge to integrate the past and present
as truth, and to be open to questioning even their
stories into a cohesive whole.
own beliefs, however difficult that may be.
The film took three years to make and was
—Lisa Curland
funded in part by a very successful KickStarter
campaign.Weinstein credits the campaign’s
SHOWING A
N HONEST LIAR
TODAY
success to Randi’s huge and avid following all
is playing today at 11:35 a.m.
followed by a FilmForum
THE HOME FOR INSPIRATION
Photo: Elaine Manusakis
Festival Updates
CIFF fans start
young. Winifred is
entranced by what
the 39th CIFF has
to offer. She’s
thinking—“just
wait until I get my
Director’s Pass!
I sure hope
everyone donates
to the Challenge
Match!”
THE
ONLINE
Visit The Daily online edition at
www.clevelandfilm.org/festival/the-daily.
TODAY’S ONLINE VERSION INCLUDES:
• Call Me Lucky (Playing today at 3:45 p.m.)
Comedian Barry Crimmins’ blunt humor is shaped
by his personal history; here he discusses his
experience being the subject of a documentary film.
• Closing Night Awards: At Closing Night, CIFF honors
all of the award-winning filmmakers.