For independent filmmaker Molly Kreuzman, her medium offers its creators an opportunity to be fearless and purpose-driven outside the stifling confines of big-studio production.
In turn, its audiences are exposed to deeply transformative ideas, issues and expressions they may never have discovered in mainstream cinema.
“What I love about film is that I think it gives you the opportunity to sit quietly in a dark room with a lot of other people and experience something that might be very new and different to you,” she explains as we chatted over coffee last week. “It might even be a little scary, or it might be out of your comfort zone. But you have time to digest a story that might just change your mind, and that to me is the beauty – especially of independent film.”
Kreuzman serves as coordinator of the Cinema Columbus Film Festival, which will enter its second year in 2023. A Columbus native, she spent two decades in the Pacific Northwest in a variety of leadership roles for the Ashland Independent Film Festival in Ashland, Oregon, and BendFilm Festival in Bend, Oregon. She served as executive director of Film Southern Oregon and as a film screener for the Klamath Independent Film Festival in Klamath Falls, Oregon, BendFilm and others. Kreuzman is also the director and producer of the internationally distributed documentary Earth Seasoned…#GapYear (2017), and co-producer of feature film Phoenix, Oregon (2019).
The 2023 Cinema Columbus Film Festival, presented by the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA), will take place April 26-30, 2023 at venues city-wide, including the Drexel Theatre in Bexley, Gateway Film Center in the University District, Downtown’s Southern Theatre, Studio 35 Cinema & Drafthouse in Clintonville and OSU’s Wexner Center for the Arts. COSI, Columbus College of Art & Design, the Columbus Museum of Art, McConnell Arts Center in Worthington and the Palace Theatre Downtown are also slated to host screenings.
Audiences will have the opportunity to purchase single-film tickets at the various venues, but those who seek maximum viewing quantity and flexibility can purchase a full festival pass. CCFF is also working to offer a special all-access pass that will admit holders to additional special events and experiences. More details are to be announced in the coming weeks on their website.
Film subjects will be wide-ranging, but Kreuzman says “there will be something for everyone. From blocks of kids films to films made from NASA footage, to documentary, foreign, and narrative feature films – we will have it all. Whether this is your first festival or you are a seasoned festival attender you will find films that delight, enlighten and spark curiosity.”
Kreuzman also believes strongly in the power of film to showcase other vital art forms to viewers.
“Unlike any other single art form, [films] bring almost every art form together – music, acting, stage and set design, costuming, screenplays writing, and animation,” she says. “And they incorporate the science of film which runs the gamut from camera use to lighting balance, to soundscapes and special effects.”
The 2023 festival is the first to solicit entries from filmmakers, which can be submitted under four distinct categories: narrative features, documentary features, narrative shorts and documentary shorts. Although the call for entries has been open since August 29, filmmakers can still submit their works as a ‘last call’ entry until Sunday, December 18.
Kreuzman has dubbed the festival as “the perfect mix of Midwest charm and industry fervor.”
“Even after just one year, Cinema Columbus has become the keystone that makes Columbus a premiere destination for filmmakers and fans of film alike,” she says.
While Kreuzman is quick to underscore the contributions of other local independent film initiatives like the seven-decades-running Columbus International Film & Animation Festival, the Columbus Jewish Film Festival and the Gateway Film Center’s Nightmares Film Festival, she believes Cinema Columbus has the capacity to give independent film “[an] overdue raise up in our arts and cultural hierarchy, if you will.”
A significant component of that amplification is employing and extending the reach of the festival within Columbus to attract and retain young, up-and-coming filmmakers, helping them to find real opportunities to make a living off their art.
“We’re working to put together a really special experience for this creative community to have a viable outlet, which we just don’t have in Central Ohio,” says Kreuzman. “I got invited to a shindig over at the state capitol and I’m talking to these senators and I’m like, ‘Look, here’s the deal. These kids are born here. We put them through school. They probably went to secondary education here, and then they leave. And shame on us. We’ve invested all this in them and then they’re going somewhere else because we don’t have the work here. So let’s reshape that.'”
That sense of community has started to take root as Kreuzman has begun hosting informal filmmaker gatherings to help artists find mentors and collaborators. She has also taken the initiative to facilitate practical workshops supported by funding from Film Columbus aimed at skill-building in areas like budgeting, legal issues and securing a production crew base.
Establishing those intimate, supportive relationships was at the crux of Kreuzman’s own entree into filmmaking, especially because veterans of the industry she looked up to made themselves accessible to her. She is intent on doing the same in her role for local filmmakers.
“We just lost – I call her my shero – Julia Reicher, who was a documentary filmmaker out of Yellow Springs. She was one of the founding women of documentary film, and I had the opportunity to meet her…uh, I don’t know, it was probably 10 or 15 years ago by now,” Kreuzman recalls. “And the thing that was so amazing about her was she let me call her and ask her questions when I was making my documentary. I mean, this is the woman that won an Academy Award. She didn’t need to pick up the phone. But she did. Her smile lit up a room. She was so giving and so encouraging.”
Kreuzman also hopes the festival will bring filmmakers and audiences closer together, which is less likely to happen within the more insulated domain of mainstream cinema.
“My favorite independent film would be [Morgan Neville’s] 20 Feet from Stardom, which I have probably seen – no kidding – 30 times,” Kreuzman says. “So, I had the chance to meet him at an industry thing down in Los Angeles, and I was able to tell him directly ‘I just love your films!'”
Kreuzman says they hope to have film-goer and filmmaker Q&As after each screening. Audiences will also select the festival’s grand prize film entry, which will be awarded a cash prize of $3,000.
She also hopes that festival film-goers will feel compelled to explore more independent cinema on their own.
“if you’re a viewer of films, you can start a film club – just like a book club,” Kreuzman says. “There are so many ways to incorporate it into your world. Another great resource is Kanopy through Columbus Metropolitan Library. They can stream films and they have great write-ups that are super helpful. And they’re free. If you you think you’re into independent film and you don’t want to leave the confines of your home, there are options – and it helps support our libraries. You could also audit a film class somewhere through continuing education programs, and there is everything in the world you can explore on YouTube – and even on LinkedIn Learning.”
And for those who might be inspired to try their hand behind the camera and explore the foundations of filmmaking?
“First-time filmmakers can start at MOFA (Mid-Ohio Filmmakers Association), and they meet at Studio 35,” Kreuzman says. “They actually screen [their work] for each other in the upstairs studio, which I think is probably the most helpful thing you could ever go through. I did pre-screenings of my films with people, you know, ‘Do you like this story?’ I think that’s a great way to do it. I mean, we all know that nowadays the technology with your phone is incredible. I think the arts are always one of those things where you just have to do it. You just have to try it. Show it to your friends. What do they think? If they like it, take it to the next level. And if it’s something you’re truly passionate about, people like me are around in Columbus and we’re always happy to talk.”
The 2023 Cinema Columbus Film Festival, presented by CAPA,will take place April 26-30, 2023. For festival updates, ticket and pass information, or to find out how you can support the festival as a donor/sponsor, visit their website.