Displaying items by tag: ciff

With the Cleveland International Film Festival kicking things off tonight March 22nd at Playhouse Square, I thought I’d reminisce a bit… 

Every year growing up I would go with my dad to the Cleveland Film Festival (back when it was in Tower City) and make some of my best memories. One of these years, back in high school, my dad took me to the merch table where I got a shirt and a bumper magnet that read CLE FILM FEST. I had just gotten my license the year prior and was hoping the bumper magnet would give off the cool, manic-pixie-dream-watches-experimental-art-films-in-her-free-time-girl aesthetic I was going for in my teenage years. Little did I know, that bumper sticker was gonna do a lot more than that. 

Sometime after I stuck the magnet to the back of my 2006 Nissan Rogue, I was late driving up 480 on my way to a tutoring gig in Parma. Although “allegedly” I was “speeding”. I get pulled over for the first time in my life. The highway patrol officer walks up to my window and tells me, “You were going pretty fast back there.” And I, most likely not knowing my rights, start apologizing basically admitting to it. 

But the next thing I know, he points to the back of my car and says “So I see you have a Cleveland Film Festival sticker back there… you know this highway patrol thing is my day job, but my real dream is to be an actor.” He then goes on to list a few minor roles he’s had… even having a scene in a movie with Steve Carrell! 

At this point, I realize he’s NOT aware that I am a 17-year-old going to tutor a 4th grader in math, but instead thinks I am someone with some kind of pull in the film industry. So I lean into it and act interested. He then pulls out a business card with his SAG membership info and his phone number on it. He hands it to me and says, “You know if you’re ever looking to cast someone like me, or have any other opportunities, give me a call”. 

He let me off with a warning….

So the moral of the story: if you’re a white, attractive young lady with a Cleveland Film Festival Bumper Sticker, things might go your way. 

Published in Brady Marks