“If you’re going to be unlucky enough to still be in Ohio next week, well, you’re not so unlucky after all. Surprisingly, there’s actually something happening in Cleveland that will make northeast Ohio not so boring. The 33rd Cleveland International film festival starts March 19th, just in time for spring break weekend.”
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If you’re going to be unlucky enough to still be in Ohio next week, well, you’re not so unlucky after all.

Surprisingly, there’s actually something happening in Cleveland that will make northeast Ohio not so boring.

The 33rd Cleveland International film festival starts March 19th, just in time for spring break weekend.

Taking place at Tower City Cinemas, more than 140 feature films from over 60 countries will be shown.

The good news is that students get a discount, and will only pay $10 a film.

It might seem expensive, but just remind yourself of how much money your roommate is spending in Cancun.

On second thought, you’d better not.

Just look at the film schedules and find a few films that look interesting and spend the rest of your time exploring Cleveland. You could also buy a six-pack of movie vouchers, which saves you a bit of money.

Though many of the films showing during the festival have come from all over the world, one hails from right here in Akron. Mike Wendt, a recent graduate of the University of Akron, is showing his film, The End (of the World as We Knew It) on Sunday, March 29, at 2:20 p.m. The film focuses on an alternative rock station, from Cleveland, that graced the airways from 1992 to 1999. That station was 107.9 The End, and Wendt’s film makes a statement about the end of independent local music radio.

As the film explains, 1999 was the end of the world as we knew it. We’ve still got 96.5 Kiss FM, and since many of us probably weren’t listening to alternative, independent radio back in ’92, we probably don’t know what we’re missing. The film, though, might make us wish we were born a decade earlier.

Another film worth checking out is The Brothers Bloom. Starring Rachel Weisz and Adrien Brody, the film follows the story of two brothers on their last con, seeking to rip off a rich heiress. If you can imagine what Wes Anderson’s version of Ocean’s Eleven would be, it’s probably pretty close to this film. It is playing on Sunday, the 29th at 7:00 p.m.

If a foreign film would suit your interests better, consider Chaser, a film from South Korea. The Cleveland Film Society’s Web site describes it as one of the best psychological thrillers to ever come out of South Korea. Playing on Thursday the 26th and Sunday the 28th, the film’s main character is an ex-detective who becomes a pimp.

That’s a good note to end on. You won’t find anything that interesting in Akron next week.

Seriously. Where else are you going to find a pimp that’s actually the good guy?

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