Featured Film
'The House My Mother Left'
The House My Mother Left, from Columbus-based director Kaylin Allshouse, explores the relationship between a young woman, Frankie, and her mother as Frankie attempts to help rebuild her childhood home after a burglary while still coping with the loss of her father.
The Pitch
Gilbert Moses and 'The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh'
Filmmakers of a certain age often cite Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark (or The Godfather or Harold & Maude) as the movies that first made them want to make movies. True for me, as well. But the film that made me realize I could make movies in my own backyard?
The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh
Yep, the campy '70s flick, starring Julius "Dr. J" Irving, Stockard Channing and Springfield, Ohio's own Jonathan Winters. It made an impression on me way back before I was even in double digits.
This movie with these stars was made not more than two hours away in Pittsburgh - and it's about Pisces! (That's my sign. I don't believe in astrology at all, but I do like to rep the fish.)
That was it. The final barrier - so far away it was on another planet Hollywood - was toppled.
A handful of decades later, The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh remains an all-time favorite (though I couldn't tell you when I saw it last). Even more so after learning it was made by Gilbert Moses, an American director, playwright, and actor, known for his contributions to African-American theater and film.
Holy Moses
Born in New York City, Moses began his career in the 1960s as an actor and director with the Negro Ensemble Company, which focused on producing works by Black playwrights.
Moses was a leading figure in the Black Arts Movement, a cultural and political movement that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s and aimed to create a distinct African-American cultural identity. He directed several notable plays during this time, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning "No Place to Be Somebody" by Charles Gordone.
Moses continued to work in theater throughout his career, directing productions on and off-Broadway, as well as serving as a producer and artistic director for several theater companies. He was a professor of drama at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a recipient of several awards and honors, including an Obie Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
I'm a bit melancholy about Moses' death. He passed away in 1995 at the age of 52 - the year I'm about to complete. Makes you look back to see what you've accomplished - and have yet to do.
That list is long. Best to get started.
Dailies
The Early Days of Cincinnati's Film Industry
We love this feature story from Greg Hand in Cincinnati Magazine. Hand revisits the Queen City's love affair with film, from the late 1800s through today. That includes Clarence E. Runey, a young entrepreneur who moved from Wisconsin to Cincinnati in the early 1900s.
Runey (pictured above in Latonia, Ohio) owned a printing press and a movie camera, eventually adding moving pictures to his repertoire in 1906 by filming the German gymnastic exhibitions staged to celebrate the silver anniversary of the North Cincinnati Turnverein.
"With all the film crews around nowadays, Cincinnati could start a streaming service featuring solely movies backgrounded by our local scenery. Hollywood’s recent attentions excuse us from forgetting Cincinnati once boasted its own thriving film industry, churning out feature-length, homegrown entertainments," Hand writes.
Penn State Theatre professor debuts latest animated film, “Frontline Nurses: Dispatches from the COVID-19 Pandemic”
n his latest animated film, Frontline Nurses: Dispatches from the COVID-19 Pandemic, Penn State Theatre faculty member William Doan leaned on the classic theater exercise of story circles to shed light on the trauma experienced by nurses during the height of the pandemic.
The harrowing tales told during the five-minute film were gathered in 2020 during collaborative research led by Doan, director of the College of Arts and Architecture’s Arts and Design Research Incubator (ADRI), and Michael Evans, assistant dean for undergraduate nursing education and a teaching professor in the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing at Penn State.
In Production
Anti-bullying film shooting in Mansfield features former boxing champ Buster Douglas
Mansfield is in the spotlight for another movie, this time The Final Contestant, which started filming in and around Mansfield on February 20. The film features former heavyweight boxing champion James "Buster" Douglas in an anti-bullying movie.
Local residents Kimberly Miller with Kelby King, co-owners of Heart of Ohio Films and their nonprofit Mansfield Films, said, "What a perfect guy to support this movie's message and the absolute wrong way to fight: Bullying."
Film School
Students, faculty member earn accolades at BEA Festival of Media Arts
Penn State senior Zack Gershman earned first place in the category for Video Sports Talent recently at the BEA Festival of Media Arts. He was also recognized in the Television Short News Reporting category for a piece titled TikTok’s Favorite Gym Teachers.
In addition, Ashley Seering, an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Film Production and Media Studies, earned an Award of Excellence in the Short-Form Documentary category for her film Postcards.
Film Festivals
Cleveland International Film Festival announces 2023 opening and closing night films
The 47th Cleveland International Film Festival kicks off at Cleveland's Playhouse Square on March 22 with Butterfly in the Sky. The film tells the story and impact of Reading Rainbow, the long-running PBS series that starred LeVar Burton and encouraged multiple generations of kids to read.
Opening night will feature appearances by co-director Bradford Thomason, co-executive producer and consulting editor Dava Whisenant and film subjects Ellen Doherty and Kathy Kinsner.
More Than 200 Films To Screen at Upcoming Short. Sweet. Film Fest
Cleveland's Short. Sweet. Film Fest began after festival founder Michael Suglio realized that hosting a film festival in an informal, club-like atmosphere would be a good idea. The festival, now in it's 12th year, began at Market Garden Brewery. Now that it’s outgrown that space, this year’s iteration will take place from March 1 to March 5 at Atlas Cinemas Shaker Square.
Midwest Movie Maker lists upcoming film festivals throughout Ohio
Film festivals offer filmmakers an opportunity to both showcase their work and network with peers. Many future collaborations were launched in theater lobbies and after parties.
They are also a great way for cinephiles to meet filmmakers, to ask questions and learn more about the craft. Similarly, after parties help loosen up those conversations.
Click through each title to learn more about the festival, how to submit your film and how to get tickets.
The Vault
Greater Cleveland Film Commission developing film production workforce, attracting more movies to Cleveland
Movie producers and studios choose Northeast Ohio due in part to the advocacy work of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission (the Commission), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to attract, educate, and advocate for film production and build an artistic infrastructure in Northeast Ohio. In late September, Cleveland City Council authorized the Director of Economic Development to renew the Commission’s $250,000 annual grant to support economic development in the movie industry here in Cleveland.
Although more than 300 productions have been filmed in Ohio since 2007, and passage of the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit (OMPTC) in 2009 has resulted in the state receiving $1.2 billion in economic impact and over 7,000 jobs, the Commission is advocating that more be done. The Commission says that to take Ohio’s media industry to the next level, the tax incentive must be increased and rolling application periods be adopted (currently, there are tax credit application windows that close, discouraging some productions on a tight timeline from filming in Ohio).