CLEVELAND FILM TALK

A Collaboration between Cuyahoga Community College and Cleveland International Film Festival

Guests

Joel Allen Schroeder, director of the documentary Dear Mr. Watterson. About the life and career of Bill Watterson creator of Calvin and Hobbes.

TJ Amato, co-director of  The Sugar Wars: The Life Story of Angelo Lonardo. Chronicling the life of the Lonardos' the first crime family in Cleveland, Ohio.

Justine Malle, director of  Youth, a semi-autobiographical film about her life and dealing with her fathers illness.

Doug Dearth, director of  Underdogs. Filmed in Canton, Ohio. It is a story about a hapless high school football team that finds victory with a new coach and a determined quarterback.

Benjamin Greene and Corwin Lamm, director and editor of  Survival Prayer. A story about remote indigenous cultures of Haida Gwaii, and the trials they face for survival.

Harry Freeland, the director of  In the Shadow of the Sun. Told over a span of four years, this is the story of a community of albinos on Ukerewe Island.

Directors Tia Lessin and Carl Deal discuss Citizen Koch, their film about three republican state employees who's loyalties are tested when Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, his move to take away their union rights

Piotr Mularuk talks about his film Yuma, based on actual events about a group of friends living on the Polish-German border after the fall of the Berlin wall and how they sought to change their lives.

Delphine Lanson, the director of  Father's Birth. A story of two gay Frenchmen who wish to have a child find themselves traveling to Wisconsin in search of a surrogate.

Carlo Guillermo Proto, director of  El Huaso. This film follows Gustavo, a man suffering from short term memory loss, his goal of competing in rodeos as a huaso (skilled horseman), his preparations for his death and his families struggle as they come to terms with his eventual fate.

Emanuel Vaughan-Lee, co-director of  Elemental. A film that highlights three individuals and their deep connection to nature as they are driven to confront some of the most pressing ecological issues of our time.

Ariana Delawari the director of  We Came Home. About her life as an Afghan American, her fathers efforts as an anti-soviet activist and her travels back to her fathers homeland after 9/11.

Directed by Kristin Hanggi Grantham and Rose is the story of Grantham, a young man in a juvenile detention center and Rose, an elderly woman who volunteers as a mentor. Sensing something special in him she sneaks him out and they share an adventure that changes both of them.

John Lucas' The Cooler Bandits. Centers around four African-American youths, who in 1991 committed several robberies Akron, Ohio and received harsh sentences when caught, even though no one was ever hurt.

Joshua Shreve who directed Chasing Ghosts. A film about 11 year old Lucas Simons, who after the death of his brother, films what looks to be a ghost at someone else's funeral. He befriends Chris Brighton, who had a near death experience. The two help each other deal with their experiences.

Nadine Licostie director of The Last One. A film covering the history and growth of the AIDS quilt and the stigma, discrimination and social status of people suffering from the disease.

Sarah McCarthy. She is the director of The Dark Matter of Love. A movie about the lives of The Diaz family, Claudio, Cheryl and Cami and the Russian children, Masha Kulabokhova and twin brothers Marcel and Vadim they adopt. They quickly find it more difficult than they imagined to bond with children who grew up in institutions and as a result turn to science to help rebuild their family.

Che Sandoval, in his film Much Better than You he explores the events of one night in the life of Cristobal, a failed business man. In order to find some way to deaden his pain, he wanders the streets of Santiago looking for alcohol and meaningless sex but fails to find any solace in his endeavors.

Robert Lemon's film Transfusion is about the relationship between immigrant and African-American communities. Centering around one of Columbus, Ohio's poorest neighborhoods, the community invites in a taco truck in hopes it will help revitalize the area.

Chris Kasick. Uncle Nick explores the life of Nick and his younger brother Cody (who Nick hates). The drunken, fighting, infidelity laden Christmas dinner with Cody and his family oddly parallels events for the family during the 1974 10 cent beer night at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

Derek Hammeke director of Finding Home. A film that centers around Stephanie Freed, who after hearing horror stories from her father about human trafficking in Cambodia, helps to found Rapha House. Designed to be an orphanage and recovery program for girls and young women as they try to escape their lives of slavery.

Michelle Ehlen who directed Heterosexual Jill. After Jill has an affair with Jamie (a woman Jill thought was a man) she attends a lesbian conversion group to be straight again. In order to prove she was never a lesbian she asks Jamie to date her again.

Mark Grieco. His film Marmato is about a gold mining area in Columbia and the Canadian mining company that has bought the rights to the mine. Their plan to open pit mine the gold out puts the 8,000 inhabitants culture and existence at risk.

Blake Robbins and his film The Sublime and Beautiful centers around David and his wife Kelly. Their lives and marriage are brought to the breaking point when their children are killed by a drunk driver.