Universal Cinema Film & TV Journal’s Amir Ganjavie recently interviewed Neha Aziz the Features Programmer for the Cleveland International Film Festival. What follows is part of that interview.
Amir Ganjavie, UniversalCinema Magazine (UM): Can you start by explaining the selection process?
Neha Aziz (NA): Our artistic director works with someone, and we get assigned films [either] randomly or [specifically], if someone’s an expert on a certain subject. Like Yvonne, one of our other programmers is from Cuba, so she kind of specializes in a lot of Latinx and Mexican content. And our programmer Brett, he’s the only one who’s actually from Ohio, he lives in Columbus. And so, a lot of local films may get sent to him. And then we [all] just also just get a mixture of things. I tend to get a little bit more Asian cinema just because I also program films for the Austin Asian American Film Festival and I am also Asian.
Then we just kind of decide [on films]. I think the most important thing that we keep in mind is our audience. Will [the film] perform well at the festival? Do we like this film? Like the filmmaker? Is anyone involved with alumni? Those are just some of the things that we think about when programming films.
(UM): And how do you find films? Is it through Distributors? Festivals? Open submissions?
(NA): Our artistic director, Mallory Martin, has a lot of contact with distributors. So, a lot of times they will send her links to various films. [We] also go to film festivals. Me, Brett, and Mallory went to Sundance at the beginning of this year. Mallory went to the Toronto International Film Festival last year. So, it’s attending different festivals and it’s also just keeping tabs on the trade publication. If a film director said to [be making] a new film and… [it] sounds interesting, [we’ll] keep tabs on it. Those kinds of things.
There are so many films that we want, but [have release dates] before the festival starts. So, we can’t play those, but we can support them.
And then, it’s just kind of what we may be interested in. Like I kind of have a pulse on a lot of South Asian cinema because it’s just something I already pay attention to via social media and things like that. So, I’m like, it might be cool to Joyland, which was from Pakistan. That’s where I was born, that’s where my family is from. Mallory saw it at Tiff and loved it, and I got the chance to watch it at Sundance, and [thought], “This film is beautiful, this film speaks on a number of different subjects and it’s just a very well-done film.” So, that was one of the things where I’m like, I think it, I believe it’s being released in a couple of cities at the end of April. So, it worked out that we were able to play it at our festival.
(UM): I’ve discussed with different programmers the importance of inclusion and diversity, and I’m curious to know, because some programmers told me that inclusion is very important, they’ll sacrifice quality for the sake of more diverse films. Other programmers told me quality is the most important and they won’t sacrifice it for inclusion. So, I’m just curious in terms of this debate where you are situated, and how you are trying to address this issue?
(NA): I think like for me, as I said earlier, that the most important thing is keeping our audience at the forefront of our decisions. Because there’s a film that maybe we all really like, but we don’t think will perform well. And that would be terrible to program and [because] no one would come to it.
I think for me, the thing that I also look for the most is potential. If I think the story is good and I think all of the elements come together, minus maybe one or two, that’s something I’m more willing to give a chance. Especially to people who are new to the industry, like this is their first or second film.
I think for me, I don’t look to make any quotas. I always want to make sure that we get a broad range of topics, of countries, of filmmakers, of ethnicities that I feel like we don’t really, at least for me I’m not going to speak on behalf of the festival or other programmers, but I think for me, I get so many films from so many countries that it’s something I’m already considering. And I’m not like, “We need to have a film from here, because more likely than not, we’ll already have it.” It’s obviously impossible to program a film from every country [laugh] at a film festival. But our festival is very well rounded and there’s something for everybody. Inclusion can mean so many different things. Like race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual identity, and also just experiences and different abilities. So, yes, those are things that we’re looking at, but it’s also because we already have people who that’s such a big part of our lives and something that we always want to champion and not just to meet a quota that we end up having a very diverse lineup.
(UM): You already mentioned that having crowd-pleaser movies, movies that the audience like, is very important. So, I’m curious, sometimes a good movie doesn’t have big stars attached, or might not have gone to a big festival. Does that impact your decision, or are you looking for films that did well at bigger festivals? To what degree are you open to experimenting or taking risks and introducing new movies?
(NA): There’s definitely a risk for sure. Like Plan 75, which takes place in Japan, and [the presmis is] people over 75 should sacrifice themselves for the younger generation. That’s an insane concept, right? But it’s something that’s very interesting. And… we definitely want to push boundaries. That was the whole point of having additional programmers from different places with different experiences. But we don’t program to celebrities or things like that, just because we may have some talent come, but it’s usually like a filmmaker or like a producer, it’s not like George Clooney’s coming to the festival.
Joyland features a trans actress, an incredible talent named Alina Khan that’s just something that we don’t really see because so many of those stories about minorities are so much about trauma, which is obviously very important. Things that are processed and things that are issues in our communities are very important. But so little of minority stories are about joy and just the lives that we lead. And so that’s definitely something that I look at and for Joyland, there is a wide range of emotions that take place in that film, but there’s so much humor and kindness and exploration as well.
I think we’re just picking films that we love and we think that the people who attend will really like.
(UM): I have already watched Joyland, and I loved it. It’s one of the best films I have seen.
(NA): [I’m] very upset that it didn’t get nominated for Best International Picture at the Oscars.
(UM): I’m curious how you try to differentiate Cleveland Film Festival from other film festivals that happen in the US. Is there any kind of specificity that makes it different from other film festivals?
(NA): I think every film festival is unique. This is a big major festival in the Midwest I program, it’s also a very large festival, so it’s bigger venues there are more people, right? These venues fill like 500 people, like 1000 people. And I program films for Austin Nation, American Film Festival, which plays one screen at our local art house theater, AFS Cinema run by the Austin Film Society, which is our non-profit here. So obviously films that play at Austin Asian American Film Festival will have films from an Asian or Asian American lens. You need to program for your audience. And an audience at every festival is different, an audience at Sundance is different from an audience at Cleveland, is different from an audience at [TIFF].
I think it’s just kind of like we have such a good mix of films that are lighthearted that make you feel palette cleansed. Because the world is not in the best shape. I think we want to give people things to think about, and I want to open up people’s minds and maybe shine a light on something they may not know. But then I also want to, films I think can be educational and can inspire conversation and all of these things, but they’re also like escapism. We want to enjoy ourselves. We want to take some time to not think about everything that is going on in the world and just spend an hour and a half or two hours watching a comedy.
We have a film called The Smell of Money that takes away [North] Carolina about the neighbors next to a pig farm and how those people are suffering. And that’s widely different from the film I told you about earlier, Plan 75. I think it’s making sure there’s a mix of people, a mix of films that people can enjoy and have fun and escape and laugh. And then films that are like, I never knew this, or I’ve never seen a film from Pakistan, or I’ve never seen a film from Iran. And I think it’s just getting the right balance of things that are enjoyable and things that are enjoyable but also can be more effective.
(UM): Do you offer any awards or support for filmmakers?
(NA): Yes. Any person who wins an award gets a cash prize with their award. And then we do offer assistance for filmmakers. We accommodate their travel up to a certain amount and, if they’re unable to make it, then we do try to pay a screening fee for their film.
(UM): And for industry, do you provide programs or networking opportunities?
(NA): We have parties and events every evening, I podcast about Partition and I met a lot of people in Cleveland that actually ended up doing work on my podcast. We had a filmmaker from the film that I really loved, Terrible Children. The filmmaker’s name is Shanti Thakur. And part of her film dealt with Partition and I had her on as a guest and we talked about Partition in film and media.
So, I met so many people just by being a part of the festival. There are so many events and so many meeting places. I’ve met people on my way to the bathroom. I think it’s just a very open and nice environment and, because all of the theaters are connected to each other, you don’t really have to go outside. The fact that it’s very confined to that space downtown I think is really helpful. And every evening, as I said, there are events, there are brunches, there are dinners, there all sorts of things that you can attend to get to know the staff, to get to know the programmers, get to know other people that are a part of the festival, just to meet a wide variety of people. So, I think there are just so many opportunities just based on the layout to meet people from all facets of the industry.
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