There are hundreds of film festivals in the United States. The one that catches my eye is the Cleveland International Film Festival. Yes, it is close in proximity to Westminster College, but that is not the reason I chose to enter my short documentary into it.

        The Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) is known for accepting very diverse films with emphasis on culture and values.  The board members tend to place artistic over commercial values. The CIFF wants to help its audience learn as well as being entertained.

Since my short documentary’s emphasis is on the culture of motorsports rather than statistical information, I feel this festival will fit my style better than a film festival with emphasis on documentaries. My documentary holds no pressing issues or “antagonist’, nor does it really chronicle a story, but is more or less a reflection of one of America’s subcultures.

        I'm unsure of the exact criteria for judging the festival, but I'd imagine the panel would be very diverse, cultured, and look for specifics of what makes a great film/documentary. The CIFF also has 16 other sub- categories including "Family Films", "Tour of Duty", and "American Independents".

       The 2011 CIFF will be held from March 24- April 3 to mark their 35^th anniversary. If my film is accepted and qualifies to be shown, I would definitely attend the festival. However, as exciting as it would be, I couldn’t stay the whole week due to conflicting class schedules. But I look forward to maybe finding a loop hole and attending regardless of my work’s qualification. I have never been to a film festival and would find it very exhilarating to meet up and coming film makers from across the world and have up front face to face insight with some of the great minds that will be entering the Cleveland International Film Festival.