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THE
CIFF DAY 6 / MONDAY / 3.23.2015
Sponsored by
Honoring a Lesser-Known
Music Titan
ABOVE: A writer, director,
cinematographer and editor, in
addition to a producer, Jeremiah
Gurzi’s work ranges from indie shorts
to major TV shows. “Heaven Adores
You” was a particular labor of love
from the moment he and director
Nickolas Rossi first discussed it.
RIGHT: Musician Elliott Smith was
nominated for an Academy Award for
“Best Original Song” in 1997 for “Miss
Misery,” which appeared in the film,
“Good Will Hunting.”
“I was flabbergasted at the amount of
unreleased Elliott Smith music safely preserved
in the official archives,” he says.Testimonials,
meanwhile, “highlighted the therapeutic power
of Elliott’s music. Cathartic feelings consistently
and overwhelmingly characterized personal
experiences when referencing Elliott.”
The music’s transformative power struck
home for him while he, Rossi, and Moyer
were at the Jackpot! Recording Studio in
Portland. Engineer and archivist Larry Crane
was playing some of Smith’s unreleased and
unfinished tracks for the trio, “and it literally
sounded like Elliott was in the other room
laying down a live recording. This was such
a powerful and moving moment.”
That moment is what he hopes to share
with Elliott Smith’s fans, old and new alike.
— Lara Klaber
SHOWING
TODAY
HEAVEN ADORES YOU
is playing today at 5:45 p.m.
at Beachland Ballroom
Photos: Elaine Manusakis
I
t was a haunting, quiet song that was
upstaged by power ballads and the sheer
glitter of the Oscars, but anyone who
watched the 70th Academy Awards may still
be able to hear a quiet croon in their heads:
“Do you miss me, miss misery, like you say
you do?” It was, technically, Elliott Smith’s
most widely-seen performance, of which
he only said, “I wouldn’t want to live in that
world, but it was fun to walk around on the
moon for a day.”
Seventeen years later, and more than a
decade after Smith’s death in an incident that
still perplexes and divides his fans, producer and
cinematographer Jeremiah Gurzi has released
a tribute film, “Heaven Adores You,” which
explores the full depths of the talent that the
world lost.
For Gurzi, the journey of bringing
Smith’s music to the screen began in the
summer of 2009.
“I had coffee with [director] Nickolas
Rossi in Los Angeles,” says Gurzi. “He had
mentioned a recent groundswell of enthusiasm
for a short memorial video he had made
commemorating Elliott Smith on YouTube.”
When they met again a few months later,
they discussed the video again and decided
that they wanted to make a feature film
honoring Smith’s work.
Soon their team swelled, with Kevin Moyer
and Marc Smolowitz joining the production
crew along with four executive producers and
three associate producers. Gurzi shies away
from referring to the work as a documentary, however, instead calling it “a long-form
project honoring a lesser-known music titan.”
Their intent is not to rehash the more sordid
details of Smith’s life and death but to focus
on the music, the sometimes tormented, but
always creative, mind behind it, and its impact
on the world.
TOP: CIFF staff members Dan Kilbane and Noelle Celeste meet
with volunteers at the Capitol Theatre before audiences arrive.
MIDDLE: The Capitol Theatre fills up for a screening of “Move
On!” “Kilbanetown Comeback” also screened at the Capitol
Theatre. Filmmakers from both films attended the screenings.
BOTTOM: “Out in the Night” director blair dorosh-walther talks
with sponsor Sister Sinema’s Deirdre McPherson before they
introduce the film at Shaker Square Cinemas.
ALSO AT BEACHLAND BALLROOM
Director Martin Shore
began his career as a
touring musician with
such artists as Clarence
Clemons, Albert Collins,
and Bo Diddley.
“Take Me to the River,”
a documentary about
American soul music
and the impact of Stax
Records on the Civil Rights
movement, is playing today
at 8:00 p.m. at Beachland
Ballroom. Director Martin
Shore discusses his musical
history and his inspiration
to make this film. Check out
The Daily online to read the
full story.
Festival Updates
Nowhere to Go After School
W
hat happens when
teenagers find
themselves with no
place to live? Filmmakers
Anne de Mare and Kirsten
Kelly answer this question
by following three homeless
Chicago teens in “The
Homestretch.”
“Five years ago, we were
fortunate to meet young people
who trusted us to tell their
story,” says de Mare.
As the filmmakers researched
the topic, they found that there Anne de Mare (left) founded Spargel Productions, a film and documentary production
company based in New York City, along with Kirsten Kelly. The two filmmakers also created
are tens of thousands of kids
the 2008 award-winning documentary “Asparagus! Stalking the American Life.” Kasey
registered in the Chicago public (right), one of the film’s subjects, spent over a year staying with various friends and family
members, as well as sleeping on the street. The film follows her story as she enters a new
school system classified as
transitional home.
homeless with nowhere to go
after school. And the problem is
The documentary debuted at the Hot Docs
growing, not only in Chicago, but across the U.S. Canadian Film Festival and has also made the
“This film will make you laugh, it will make
rounds in public screenings across the country.
you cry, and it will make you think,” says Kasey,
The film is sparking “meaningful, forwardone of the subjects of the film. “It will warm
moving dialogue” about the homeless youth
your hearts.”
crisis amongpolicymakers in Washington, D.C.
The film was featured in a February 2015
The filmmakers encourage others who see the
article in The Atlantic. “Where ‘The Homestretch’ film to also get involved.The film’s website lists
most succeeds as a film lies squarely in its
a number of ways to “take action.” Among other
authentic, no-frills portrayal of what it means to
things, they suggest donating emergency supplies
be young and homeless in America,” writes
to homeless students and youth and urging your
Terrance Ross. “It doesn’t overload the screen
U.S. Senators and Representatives to reauthorize
with tear-jerking montages of young
the Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHYA) by
panhandlers tethered to street corners, begging
passing the Runaway and Homeless Youth and
cup in tow. Instead, it reveals that, in the U.S.,
Trafficking Prevention Act (S. 262).
youth homelessness is as subtle as it is insidious—
—Anne M. DiTeodoro
and that disagreements over what ‘homelessness’
looks and feels like, and over the role schools
SHOWING THE HOMESTRETCH
should play in conquering it, have perhaps been
TODAY
is playing today at 4:10 p.m.
the greatest obstacle to finding a solution.”
Added Screenings:
Friday March 27th
Comedy Shorts Program 8:50 pm
Saturday March 28th
Man from Reno 9:05 am
Sunday March 29th
Run Boy Run 9:00 am
All-Stars 6:50 pm
Audience Choice Shorts Program 7:20 pm
Photo: Ron Wynne
Late Additions:
Friday March 27th
Being Evel 9:50 pm
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.
We are $40,993 closer to
reaching our goal of $125,000
There are prizes at every donation level
starting at $1, ranging from CIFF39
buttons, to a limited-edition CIFF portable
charger, to a chance to win all-access
passes to CIFF40 in March 2016!
A $10 DONATION QUALIFIES YOU FOR
ONE OF THESE FABULOUS PRIZES!!
A SHOW FOR ALL SEASONS: Experience
an unforgettable night this Summer with
dinner at Spice Kitchen & Bar, and VIP
seats to a concert at Jacobs Pavilion.
Anniversary of Cleveland Foundation Day
Last year the 38th Cleveland International Film Festival was honored to share in the
100th anniversary of The Cleveland Foundation with a full day of free films. In celebration
of the one-year anniversary of our Cleveland Foundation Community Day, CIFF is offering
a FREE SCREENING of “The Homestretch” today at 4:10 p.m.
A PERFECT GETAWAY: Enjoy a weekend
“stay-cation” with an overnight stay at the
Cleveland Airport Marriott, complete with
dinner at the award-winning AMP 150,
breakfast, and a basket of treats.
BEDTIME STORIES: This package includes
a Tempur+Sealy Hybrid Copper Plush
Queen Mattress set, something new to
sleep in from Legacy Village, wine, and
some binge-worthy TV shows on DVD.
Is it bedtime, yet?
THE HOME FOR INSPIRATION
THE
ONLINE
Visit The Daily online edition at
www.clevelandfilm.org/festival/the-daily.
TODAY’S ONLINE VERSION INCLUDES:
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.
Photo: Ron Wynne
Official Airline of the 39th CIFF
• Take Me to the River
(Playing today at 8:00 p.m. at Beachland Ballroom)
Martin Shore discusses how his musical life
led him to direct this film.
• FilmForums: This CIFF program uses film to
“Traficant: The Congressman of Crimetown” director Eric Murphy greets
Congressman Tim Ryan after a screening of his film. James Traficant, the
film’s subject, was succeeded by Tim Ryan.
provoke conversations about important
contemporary issues.