Inside Cleveland International Film Festival's "Get Shorty" Event

The Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) held its annual “Get Shorty” event on February 10th, a showcase of eleven short films ranging in genres of dramas, comedies, and even a music video. The event was held to allow audience members a vote as to what short film(s) will be shown at the 41st Cleveland International Film Festival in late March.

Though the event has gone on for many years, this was my first time attending. Snacks and refreshments were served in the beautiful Breen Center at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland before guests were seated and given ballots for each of the eleven films to be shown. Films ranged anywhere from a few minutes to fourteen. The topics varied from the serious to the outrageous, but each film was a worthy candidate for admittance into the festival. After each film, the audience ranked it on a scale of one to three; three meaning “highly recommend,” two - “recommend,” and one - “don’t recommend.” At the end of the evening, the scores for each film were tallied and the results were announced to the audience (which I'm unable to reveal for obvious nondisclosure reasons).

I found the event a great way to become involved in CIFF. Helping, even in a small way, to program the festival made me feel like a part of the greater film community that Cleveland has to offer. Highlighting short form content, specifically, made the process even more enjoyable, serving to expose more people to the art of what makes a great short film. Many of the ones showcased at “Get Shorty” proved the immense talent it takes to tell a story in short format, making the judging very difficult, but a lot of fun!

Here’s to another great festival, and I hope to return again next year to contribute!

Be sure to check out the announcement of the winner and other films to be shown at the 41st Cleveland International Film Festival in early March. Opening night is scheduled for March 29th. For event information and tickets visit: http://www.clevelandfilm.org/

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