The Columbus International Film & Video Festival (CIF&VF) is bigger and better than ever this year.

Progressive educators at Ohio State University started the longest running film festival in the U.S. back when 16mm film was a new and exciting format. Now in its 62nd year, the Festival kicks off with a series of Early Bird Films in October and early November that lead up to the official start of the now 12 day Festival November 13-25.

This year the Festival teams up with Stonewall Columbus, VSA Ohio – The State Organization on Arts and Disability and the Niagara Foundation to bring films not seen anywhere else in Columbus.

The main Festival in November starts off with a film about sex and disability from Australia. Scarlet Road follows the extraordinary work of Australian sex worker, Rachel Wotton. Impassioned about freedom of sexual expression and the rights of sex workers, she specializes in a long over-looked clientele – people with disability. Director and Star Rachel Wotton will speak about the film and do a Q&A immediately after the film via Skype.

On Saturday, November 15th the Festival turns 180 degrees and offers Saturday Morning Cartoons For Kids at the Canzani Center at the Columbus College of Art & Design.

LGBT Shorts start next on Sunday at Studio 35 Cinema & Drafthouse as part of the LGBTFEST embedded in the CIF&VF, a festival within the festival.
Next is Shorts at Brothers Drake Meadery and then back to CCAD for a documentary about a social movement of Sufi inspired Sunni Muslims that began in Turkey in the l960s and now reaches across the globe. Sponsored by the Niagara Foundation, Love Is a Verb is an interesting look at Islam most Americans never see.

Thursday night is Student Shorts at CCAD, curated by Matt and Nicolette Swift. Friday night is another LGBTFEST presentation that includes visiting filmmakers Michael Lucas and Stephanie Lincoln speaking after their films that focus on LGBT rights from two different parts of the world where oppression is both common and horrifying.

Saturday, November 22nd is the big Movies&Mead evening that includes the Best Of Festival Winner, First To Fall. First To Fall is an intimate tale of friendship and revolution – a coming of age story that documents the journey of two young friends, Hamid (26) and Tarek (21), who abandon their peaceful lives as students in Canada to join an unconventional war in their homeland of Libya. After the film is a short awards ceremony where filmmakers from around the world receive their Chris Awards and party afterward with the event attendees. First To Fall director Rachel Beth Anderson will introduce her film and will attend the reception afterward where you can talk to her about the film.

Screenings continue Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and are still in the process of being scheduled.

You don’t want to miss this.

Check out the Festival website www.columbusfilmcouncil.org for the latest screenings and details as more films are being added all the time.