Tue 10/5-Sun 10/10
The Chagrin Documentary Film Fest, returning for its 12th year, is known for the vast diversity of its subjects, both in feature-length films and shorts. And this year’s a record-breaker, with 38 feature films and 30 short (less than 40 minutes) films, many of them festival or midwest premiers, including four from National Geographic.
Festival founder/director Mary Ann Ponce says that having so many new films submitted is a sign of the festivals’ growing reputation.
“The profile of the film festival within the documentary film community is on the rise and we’re honored to have so many premieres this year,” she says. “We are especially please to be able to bring several documentaries from award-winning directors to our audiences this year.”
Unsurprisingly, there are COVID films. The First Wave, by Emmy winner Matthew Heineman, looks at the early days of the pandemic through the eyes of healthcare workers at a Queens, NY medical center.
Others look at the life of legendary ocean explorer and environmentalist Jacques Cousteau, a rhino orphanage in Africa, an amateur British theater group whose horror film adaptation goes from their village hall to London’s West End, a Catholic priest who advocates for welcoming LGBTQ+ people to the church, a Chinese expatriate string quartet returning home after 36 years, biracial families, how Wikipedia works, pediatric heart surgery in Haiti, gig economy workers, the displaced residents of a decrepit, condemned trailer park, singer Tiny Tim, and one subject you might not want to hear anymore about: the 2016 presidential election, covered in the film The Accidental President.
There’s the festival opening night party on Tuesday October 5 with a baseball theme and an appearance by Slider, along with a screening of War on the Diamond, which looks at the aftermath of a 1920 game between the Yankees and the Indians, in which Indians catcher Ray Chapman was hit by a pitch by Carl Mays that killed him. (He’s buried at Lake View Cemetery.) There are also talks and panel discussions throughout the week.
For a full schedule and tickets, go to chagrinfilmfest.org.