43RD CLEVELAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

DIRECTOR SPOTLIGHT AWARD RECIPIENT: JENNIFER BAICHWAL

In 2003 at the 27th CIFF, the Cleveland International Film Festival launched its Director Spotlight Award. The purpose of this program is to showcase directors with distinguished careers by featuring a retrospective of their past work and screenings of their most recent film available. Over the years we have highlighted a variety of impactful filmmakers whose talents have been embraced and celebrated on a global scale. This year we are proud to present the Director Spotlight Award to Jennifer Baichwal.

Baichwal has been a favorite among CIFF audiences since her film MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES screened at CIFF31 in 2006.

At this year’s Festival, we are thrilled to screen ANTHROPOCENE: THE HUMAN EPOCH (2018), WATERMARK (2013), and MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES (2006). Baichwal will be in attendance for the March 29th screenings of these films.

Her most recent work, ANTHROPOCENE: THE HUMAN EPOCH, is the third film in a documentary trilogy that explores the relationship between industrialized societies and the natural landscapes they dominate. Her two preceding films, MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES and WATERMARK, have each received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Documentary in 2006 as well as 2013.

Over her 25-year career, Baichwal has produced and directed ten feature documentaries, along with numerous other installations and lens-based projects. Her work has been screened and exhibited all over the world, and it has received multiple awards internationally.

In addition to directing films, Baichwal runs her own production company, Mercury Films, which she created in 2000 with her husband and creative collaborator, cinematographer Nicholas de Pencier.

The 43rd Cleveland International Film Festival will be held March 27 – April 7, 2019 at Tower City Cinemas in downtown Cleveland, as well as the Gordon Square Arts District and University Circle. More than 600 screenings will take place during the 12 days of the Festival, with over 300 guest filmmakers from around the world who will be visiting our city for the Festival. CIFF43 program details will be available at clevelandfilm.org on Friday, March 1, with Program Guides hitting the streets the week of March 4th. Tickets will go on sale to CIFF Members on Friday, March 8th and to the general public on Friday, March 15th. For more information, please visit www.clevelandfilm.org

The Cleveland International Film Festival is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.