NEWS RELEASE
Marcie Goodman, executive director of the Cleveland International Film Festival informed the Board of Directors that she plans to step down at the end of June 2024.
Marcie Goodman started at CIFF in 1987, took a hiatus from 1994 to 1997 to work at moCa Cleveland, and returned to CIFF in 1998. In 2001 she became the organization’s third executive director in its 47-year history — following founder Jonathan Forman and his successor, David Wittkowsky.
“It has been a labor of love to work with so many dedicated board members, talented staffers, loyal volunteers, and generous sponsors, donors, and funders,” Goodman said. “Together we’ve helped filmmakers find audiences for their amazing work, bringing our artists and our attendees joy, wonder and excitement. One year from now I will have been the Film Festival’s executive director for 23 years. It’s time for me to take a break and turn the page to the next chapter. The Cleveland International Film Festival is world-renowned, so I’m 100% certain the board will get to choose from amazing candidates to replace me. And the board will find someone with the right leadership skills, energy, and vision to keep CIFF going as one of the crown jewels of Cleveland’s arts and culture community. The new director will also have time to prepare for CIFF’s 50th anniversary in 2026!”
Board President Chris Blake said: “Marcie Goodman has overseen an extraordinary run of success for CIFF during her tenure as executive director. Under her leadership, CIFF managed extraordinary growth during the Festival’s time at Tower City Cinemas, successfully pivoting to showing films online at the start of the pandemic, and transitioning the Festival to its new forever home at Playhouse Square. We are grateful for her service to CIFF and we’re looking forward to celebrating her during CIFF48 — her final Festival as executive director. In the meantime, we will use the advance notice she’s given us to identify the next great leader for CIFF.”
The Board of Directors will soon begin a national search for CIFF’s next executive director.
CIFF48 will take place April 3-13, 2024 at Playhouse Square — the country’s largest performing arts center outside of New York. The Festival will screen films in five of the iconic theatres at Playhouse Square, with a handful of other spaces being used for CIFF talkbacks, community events, and patron andfilmmaker gathering places. Information on CIFF48 Streams – the Festival’s online component – will be announced in the coming months.
The Cleveland International Film Festival is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. Also, the Cleveland International Film Festival is made possible in part by state tax dollars allocated by the Ohio Legislature to the Ohio Arts Council(OAC). The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically.