I couldn’t be more excited to be leading an institution I have loved and supported for years. As the new Director of the Cinematheque at Cleveland Institute of Art, it’s my pleasure to present my first program of films.
As you look over this calendar I have curated, you’ll see an interesting mix of new and classic films. Some may be slight and silly. Others will be a cinematic punch to the gut. To me, this is what film is all about. It can lift you up when you need an escape from the real world, or it can challenge you, and make you think about things you hadn’t considered. Through a diversity of programming, I will continue to grow our audience as we welcome new faces to share their love of film at the Peter B. Lewis Theater.
It goes without saying that anyone who would assume this position really loves movies. My predecessors, John Ewing and Bilgesu Sisman, certainly do, and their incredible work reflected that. I love all types of films and proudly tell people that I will happily watch pretty much anything. Of course, there are filmmakers I love more than others such as Robert Altman, John Waters, Aki Kaurismäki, Lee Chang-dong, Lynne Ramsay, David Lynch, Billy Wilder, Pedro Almodóvar, John Boorman, Akira Kurosawa, Werner Herzog, George Cukor, Jane Campion, and the list goes on and on. I look forward to bringing some of their films to the Cinematheque soon. (Some are already on this first schedule.)
If you’re a regular attendee of the Cinematheque, the main thing you’ll immediately notice is that I have made some changes to the layout of the print schedule. A common piece of feedback we receive is in regard to its confusing layout. While regulars have gotten used to navigating the previous design, it’s been a bit of a hurdle for new audience members. You’ll now see all of the films listed in chronological order next to the Cinema Talk with abbreviations noting if they are part of a series. When you open up to reveal the film descriptions you will find that all of the titles are in alphabetical order with all of their showings in one block. Hopefully this will simplify things making it easier to see what is playing, when it’s showing, and what each title is about.
I look forward to seeing you all at the movies soon.
David Huffman
Director of the Cinematheque at Cleveland Institute of Art