Dollar Bank Sponsors the Cleveland International Film Festival for 27th Year
For the 27th year, Dollar Bank was a proud sponsor of the Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF48) and was the presenting sponsor during opening night on April 3, 2024.
Coleen Fisher, Senior Vice President of Private Banking at Dollar Bank and a board member of the Cleveland International Film Festival, got involved with the film festival at the beginning of her Dollar Bank career, and immediately knew that she wanted to be a part of the community.
“My first year at the bank, I attended the opening night festivities and I just fell in love with the whole idea of it,” Fisher said. “It’s such a unique experience and over 10 years, I got to know the staff and always kept in touch.”
Marcie Goodman, Executive Director of the Cleveland International Film Festival, knows how important this festival is to the arts community.
“It’s a big part of the arts community,” Goodman said. “Filmmakers from all over the United States and the world come for this opportunity to see films they may not see in theaters, how they were meant to be seen – in a theater with other people.”
The Cleveland International Film Festival showcases over 100 feature films and over 200 short films annually, with the festival growing more and more every year. According to Fisher, it is now one of the top 10 film festivals in the world. In 2023, over 70,000 people attended the festival in Cleveland.
The festival started as a small independent theater in Erieside, but relocated to Playhouse Square as interest and attendance grew. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival incorporated an online experience that has remained a popular option.
“The first two weeks are in-person showings,” Fisher said. “After that, there are streaming options where people can buy tickets and watch the films and shorts shown at the festival at home.”
The opportunity to support the arts community in the Cleveland area doesn’t stop when the film festival ends. As a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, CIFF also offers programming to school districts and colleges in Cleveland to feed the dreams of future local filmmakers.
“There’s a whole program for little kids in the Cleveland Municipal school district about how to be a filmmaker,” Fisher said. “They go over what goes into filmmaking, how to be a filmmaker, things like that. It’s to expose kids to different types of media and what all goes into filmmaking.”
Fisher joined the board recently in 2022.
“Dollar Bank’s sponsorship means a lot to the organization,” Fisher said. “Dollar Bank has been a sponsor for so many years, it is something everyone on the board is so grateful for.”
Goodman has been the Executive Director of the Cleveland International Film Festival for over 23 years and wants people to know what Dollar Bank’s support means for them.
We wouldn’t be able to have an opening night without Dollar Bank,” Goodman said. “We work so closely together, even outside of the Film Festival’s time of year, and everyone has always been so receptive and phenomenal.”
CIFF48 took place April 3-13, 2024, at Playhouse Square, followed by CIFF48 Streams, which happens April 14-21 online. This year the festival showcased 138 feature films and 225 short films from 60 countries. More than 300 filmmakers came to Cleveland for Festival post-film Q&As, industry events, and additional audience interaction opportunities.
About Dollar Bank
Dollar Bank has assets of more than $11.5 billion. Today, Dollar Bank operates more than 90 locations throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio and Virginia and has over 1,500 employees. For more than 168 years, Dollar Bank has grown to become the largest mutual bank in the United States, committed to providing the highest quality of banking services to individuals and businesses. Dedicated to aiding the communities it serves, Dollar Bank supports quality of life initiatives, financial literacy programs and organizations devoted to helping individuals and families in need. Dollar Bank (www.dollar.bank) is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.