CLEVELAND FILM FESTIVAL Eclectic array of treats for movie buffs

March 20, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

CLEVELAND

Although it’s easier than ever to see esoteric movies these days thanks to services such as Netflix and DirecTV, nothing beats the communal experience of a film festival.

If flying to Cannes, Sundance, Berlin or even Toronto simply isn’t in your Recession-era budget, the 35th Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) provides an invaluable service for those of us who don’t quite get the appeal of mindless mainstream fodder such as “The Roommate” or “Beastly.” For just a tank of gas, it’s a great opportunity to binge on a smorgasbord of what’s new and happening in world cinema.

CIFF, which kicks off at 7 p.m. Thursday with a one-time-only screening of “Hamill,” the story of a champion Loveland, Ohio, wrestler who happens to be deaf, lets area buffs sample “art-with-a-capital-A’” flicks that will most likely never see the light of day in Mahoning Valley theaters. For 11 days and nights, CIFF will be serving up such exotic bon-bons as “Caterpillar,” a Japanese curio that examines war crimes, disabled veterans, spousal abuse and — last, but not least — sexual perversion. Or, direct from January’s Sundance Film Festival, “Bobby Fischer Against the World,” one of 13 nonfiction titles in the prestigious Nesnadny + Schwartz Documentary Film Competition.

Thirty-seven movies — including “The Interrupters,” a documentary about former gang members and ex-convicts turned straight from “Hoop Dream” director Steve James — are in the running for CIFF’s Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Film Competition, which celebrates social justice and activism. Selected by audience vote, the winner of the $5,000 cash prize will be announced at the Closing Night reception.

A baker’s dozen of homegrown indies compete for a cash prize in the American Independent sidebar, another CIFF competition in which the audience picks the winner. (Juries comprised of film professionals award the other prizes.)

And in CIFF’s ninth annual Central and Eastern European Film Competition, films from Croatia, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Macedonia, the Czech Republic, et al, contend for a $10,000 check. The winners in all competitive categories will be announced on April 3, the festival’s closing night.

As usual, CIFF’s wildly eclectic, “something for everyone” programming (150 feature films and 130 short subjects originating from more than 60 different countries) is spread over a groaning board of individual sections and subdivisions. You can pick and choose from It’s Easy Being Green (eco-friendly films); Jewish and Israeli Visions (films from or about Israel and the Jewish diaspora); Cinema en Espanol (Spanish language films); Local Heroes (films made about Cleveland, in Cleveland or by Clevelanders); 10% Cinema (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender films); Global Health (films dealing with worldwide health concerns); Pacific Pearls (films from Asia and the Pacific Islands); Pan-African Images (films from Africa and the United States by and about Africans and African-Americans); Film is Art (a tribute to artists and the artistic process); and Women of the World (films by or about empowered women). There’s also a sidebar devoted to family-friendly fare from such far-flung locales as Germany, the Czech Republic and Russia.

Plus, directors Ed Gass-Donnelly, Lisa Gossels and Dave Boyle share the stage in CIFF’s annual “Someone to Watch” program which celebrates the work of rising stars in the world of international cinema. All three filmmakers will be feted with miniretrospectives of their work.

IF YOU GO

What: The Cleveland International Film Festival

Where: Tower City Cinemas in downtown Cleveland

When: Thursday through April 3.

Tickets: Order them online at www.clevelandfilm.org