Last night was the opening of the 34th Annual Cleveland International Film Festival. The festival kicked off with the film TiMER. To accommodate everyone in attendance the film was shown in several theaters at Tower City Cinemas.

Before the film started CIFF Staff Members, Mayor Frank Jackson, Dollar Bank Representatives, Jac Shaeffer the director of the film and Jennifer Glynn the producer of the film visited each theater and welcomed everyone. It's always exciting when the producer and director of the film are present. I enjoy seeing the people that are responsible for creating great films.

So, what if you could know the exact day when you would meet your soul mate? Would you want to know? That is the synopsis of TiMER. You can choose to have a device implanted in your wrist that will count down the number of days, hours, minutes and seconds until you meet your true love.

Even though I would never want a TiMER I really enjoyed this film. The cast was amazing, I loved the music, laughed so many times and also got teary eyed. This film deserves a lot of recognition and I hope many more people get to see it . Learn more about TiMER at Timerthemovie.com

Okay folks, wanted to give you a little heads up into some interesting happenings in the world of film coming up in the next few weeks.

This is the time of year that the Cleveland International Film Festival is upon us. Like people gear up and get into the spirit of Christmas, it’s around this time of year I start getting visions of little film reels dancing in my head as I lye in bed waiting for the gift of offbeat cinema to hit Tower City Cinemas for a week. While the Festival showcases films from around the world, there are a few local films that are playing that really deserve to be seen and I figured since I have a bit of a voice with the radio gig and this little spot right here, I would showcase a few of them.

Pinned
Where: Cleveland International Film Festival
When: March 19th @ 4:45 PM
March 20th @ 11:20 AM
March 25th @ 7:15 PM (at the Capitol Theater)

British actress Kate Winslet has split from her husband Sam Mendes, a film director, after nearly seven years of marriage. The announcement was made via email sent out to journalists, and revealed that they had been separated since the beginning of the year.

The Schillings law firm representing the couple confirmed the split, and said that it was "entirely amicable and is by mutual agreement."

Winslet, 34, married Mendes, 44 in May 2003 in a low-key ceremony in the Caribbean. It was her second marriage. Her first marriage was to director Jim Threapleton, which ended in divorce in 2001.

Winslet had one child from her marriage with Theapleton, and another from her marriage with Mendes. According to the statement issued Monday, they are both "fully committed to the future joint parenting of their children."

It was not clear if divorce proceedings had already begun.

The 34th Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) and Downtown Cleveland Alliance invite you to spend your lunch hour at the 34th CIFF! Snack on popcorn and watch any (or all!) of a program of collected short subject films each weekday at noon. Screenings typically last between 90 and 100 minutes, but individual films can have a running time between one and 30 minutes. So you will be able to join us at the beginning, join us in progress, leave early, or leave at the end. Or take a longer lunch break and enjoy the whole program!

Tower City Cinemas will offer a $4.50 small popcorn and small drink special at the concession stand between 11:30AM and 1:00PM each day. For those looking for something more substantial, Jule’s Café is open in the Tower City Cinemas lobby and offers a variety of wraps and baked goods.

Tickets for the 300+ films that will show during the 34th CIFF between March 18 – 28, 2010 are now on sale. Ticket prices for most films are $10 per film for CIFF members and $12 for non-members. If you are a non-member, use promo code LEADER for $2 off. Tickets are available online at www.clevelandfilm.org, by telephone (1.877.304.FILM), at the CIFF store in the lobby of Tower City Cinemas, or by mail using the Program Guide order form.

If you did not get the chance to see one of the most hyped-up, loved movies of the year -- Avatar -- on the big screen, you'll have another chance this fall. James Cameron is reportedly in talks with Fox to bring his Oscar-nominated film back to 3D theaters, and with some extra scenes.

Why would they want to re-release it? Studio heads believe that they lost out on some money when Alice in Wonderland came to theaters last weekend in 3D and Imax. This is despite the film being the highest-grossing movie of all-time.

Cameron is said to have an additional 40 minutes of extra footage that didn't make the theatrical release. Because of regulations, he would only be able to add in an extra 10 minutes, because 170 minutes is the maximum that movies can be in Imax.

One of the new scenes has to do with Jake Sully's avatar proving himself to the Na'vi people, and the other involves a native festival during which tribe member Tsu'tey gets drunk.

The other 30 minutes that Cameron can't tack on in the theater will probably get included on the DVD.

Irina Krupnik, a former model and actress, is suing the producers of "Couples Retreat" over the use of one of her photos in a steamy scene. Krupnik says that she was disgusted after watching herelf with Jon Favreau sharing a private moment with her. In the scene, Favreau is seen pleasuring himself while looking at the photo. She says that it was a shameful moment for her when she saw an older man getting off on the image of a girl the age of his own child.

The photo in question was taken over 10 years ago for a modeling job in the Bahamas when Krupnik was just 21-years-old. She says that at the time she was unaware that her photo would one day be used in a sexual and degrading context. Sources say, however, that she had signed a release that allowed for the commercial use of the image through stock photo agencies.

The lawsuit was filed in Manhattan Supreme Court against NBC Universal and Universal Pictures Co. In the suit, Krupnik claims that they ruined her "wholesome image" and violated her privacy with "shocking" use of the photo. She says that the scene has caused her “great humiliation, embarrassment, emotional distress, shame, mortification and injury to her reputation and career", and for that she is asking for $10 million.

According to local television reports out of Los Angeles, actor Corey Haim was found unresponsive in his apartment near Burbank. He was taken to Providence St. Joseph's Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The cause of his death appears to be a drug overdose, which may have been accidental. Police say that they were called to the hospital at around 4am PT to investigate.

Haim, who was best known for his roles in "The Lost Boys", "Watchers" and "Lucas", was one of "The Two Coreys" from the 1980's. The other "Corey" was Corey Feldman, a fellow teen idol in the 80s.

Haim was 38 years old.

Sunday night, James Taylor picked up his guitar and began performing "In My Life" while the faces of Hollywood stars who've passed away in the last year began to show on the screen as a part of the Oscars annual "In Memorium" tribute. It started off with Patrick Swayze, and moved on to Ron Silver, Natasha Richardson, David Carradine, Dom DeLuise, and included producers, directors and even the film journalist Army Archerd. Noticeably absent, however, where Farrah Fawcett and Bea Arthur.

Both of the beloved actresses were missing from the tribute, and this did not go unnoticed. In fact, film critic Roger Ebert quickly took to Twitter to point out the gaffe, writing:

"No Farrah in the memorial. They have a lot of 'splaining to do."

While both Fawcett and Arthur were better known for the television roles, both still had notable careers in film. Fawcett starred in movies including "The Cannonball Run" (1981), "Extremities" (1986, nominated for a Golden Globe for best actress in a drama), and "The Apostle" (1997 - Oscar-nominated film). Arthur, on the other hand, starred in "Lovers and Other Strangers" (1970 - film was nominated for 3 Oscars), and "Mame" (1974).

If you didn't tune into the Oscars last night, you missed out on a good show. Everyone's eyes were on Kathryn Bigelow and James Cameron, formerly husband and wife, who were duking it out for awards including Best Picture and Best Director with their respective films, "Hurt Locker" and "Avatar", which essentially cleaned up at the awards ceremony.

Acclaimed films like "Precious", "Up", and "Crazy Heart" also snagged a few awards here and there, and Sandra Bullock made history by winning "Best Actress" for her role in "The Blind Side". She's the first Oscar winner to have also won a Razzie award in the same year (she won a Razzie the night before the Academy Awards for her role in "All About Steve").

Without further ado, here's a full round-up of all the evening's winners:

— Motion Picture: "The Hurt Locker."

— Actor: Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart."

— Actress: Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side."

— Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds."

— Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire."

— Director: Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker."

— Foreign Film: "El Secreto de Sus Ojos," Argentina.

— Adapted Screenplay: Geoffrey Fletcher, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire."