Flicks FixLike a pack of smokes to a nicotine junkie, a couple of film fests are keeping Northeast Ohio cinephiles from checking into rehab tonight, now that the Cleveland International Film Festival has unreeled its last movie frame. Take the Cleveland Institute of Art's student-film showcase, E.M.I.T., which is an anagram of the acronym for the school's T.I.M.E. digital-arts department. At 7 tonight, the fest screens a series of shorts and animated flicks, including a feature with turtles dancing underwater.Then you can drive down I-77 for the start of the four-day Akron Film Festival, with 35 shorts and five feature films on the marquee. The fifth annual fest starts with tonight's showing of Ted Sikora's Hero Tomorrow, about a struggling Cleveland comic-book writer, who tries to keep his superheroes alive while his girlfriend watches his vigilante dreams turn into multicolored nightmares. Tomorrow, the Lanre Olabisi-directed August the First tells the story of a dysfunctional family on the morning of a son's graduation party. Saturday's offering is Cleveland director Abigail Child's doc, On the Downlow, about four African American dudes, who explore their bisexuality. The fest wraps up Sunday afternoon with an awards ceremony to give props to the best films. "In expanding the film festival this year, we wanted it to be more social, more about filmmakers meeting each other. There's a lot of empty space in Ohio, so it's easy to feel isolated," says Steve Felix, the Akron fest's 26-year-old marketing rep. "We wanted to have a high standard for entries, not just an open-mic night for filmmakers." E.M.I.T. starts at 7 tonight at the Cleveland Cinematheque, 11141 East Boulevard. Tickets are $6 to $8, available by calling 216-421-7450 or visiting www.cia.edu. The Akron Film Festival is at 6 p.m. today through Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at the Bang & the Clatter Theatre, 140 East Market Street in Akron. Visit www.akronfilmfestival.com.
Thu., April 3, 7 p.m., 2008
Thu., April 3, 7 p.m., 2008
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