Cleveland International Film Festival

     I just got back from the Cleveland International Film Festival and I would have to say that overall I had a pretty good time.  I went to see a film called (818) with my sister and a friend of mine.  I enjoyed the film and the company, but some other things were a little off-putting.  First off I did not buy my tickets ahead of time, because my schedule for the past couple of weeks has been pretty hectic and nothing was really set in stone so I wasn't sure when I was actually going to get a chance to go to a film, so I didn't want to buy tickets and then not be able to go.  Then I found out the movie was stand-by only, but I really only had the time to see that particular film, so I took a chance and went anyway.  Luckily I was able to get in.  Now I've experienced stand-by before and I must admit I did not find any part of it to be enjoyable, but in the case of the film festival it really wasn't that bad.  It was really well organized and the wait really wasn't that long, so besides a couple of annoying people in line this part was o.k.  So we got our stand-by tickets, numbers 10, 11, and 12, and had a pretty good feeling about getting in with such low numbers, so we spent the rest of the time walking around the mall until the movie started.  We returned to the theater 15 minutes before the film was supposed to start and waited in line again, this experience was not as enjoyable.  We didn't have to wait for very long, but as soon as they called the numbers people at the bag of the line rushed ahead like the building was on fire, it was ridiculous.  I have never seen such a mad dash for what would be considered mediocre seats at best.  But I didn't let that get to me after all I was at the Cleveland International Film Festival for the first time.
     After the film ended there was a brief question and answer with the director, producer, and star of the film.  This was actually really cool even though some of the questions were pretty mind-numbing.  The director seemed like a really nice guy and had a lot of interesting things to say about the process that went into making his movie.  This part was unexpected, but I really enjoyed it.  I definitely plan on attending again next year and whenever I get the chance I hope to go to other film festivals around the world.  It was a new experience and I loved just about every minute of it.