Taking place from 4-9 p.m. Saturday, November 21, at the Grog Shop (2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., 216.321.5588, grogshop.gs), the first annual Cleveland Grindhouse Film Festival has finally taken shape. "We have had so many great film submissions it was hard deciding what to show," says organizer Brenna Lee Roth, a one-time Clevelander who's now an actress in L.A. "We will show a film where a guy cuts his balls off. Yes, it is graphic, and we do suggest that if anyone is offended that they should stay home. I for one am really looking forward to coming back to Cleveland." Soap actress Robyn Griggs hosts the affair; scheduled movies include Video Psychotherapy, Clean, Tera, The Girl, Killer Bike Chicks, La Recherche and Visiting China. The Girl director Mark Cray and Playboy model Lisa Neeld will also be on hand and will participate in a brief Q&A session. Local rock bands Night Owl Elixir and Silence So Loud will play after the screenings, and there is an after-party at the B-Side Liquor Lounge. Proceeds will help raise funds for Roth's nonprofit organization Growing Our Future Today, which is working with PBS on an educational documentary about future fuels. Admission is $10.
Best known for being the mastermind behind the sketch comedy show The State and for having directed cult classics like Wet Hot American Summer, The Ten and Role Models, Shaker Heights native David Wain will host a screenwriting seminar from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday, November 23, at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque (11141 East Blvd., 216.421.7450, cia.edu/cinematheque). Registration is $75, $25 for C.I.A. students with a valid ID. For more information, email [email protected].
As part of its regular lecture/film series Five Star Films, the Lakewood Public Library (15425 Detroit Ave., 216.226.8275, lkwdpl.org/film) will host a free screening of Howard Hawks' The Big Sleep in its main library auditorium. Based on a Raymond Chandler novel and featuring a screenplay by literary giant William Faulkner, the film screens at 6 p.m. Saturday, November 21. FREE.
The Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque (11141 East Blvd., 216.421.7450, cia.edu/cinematheque) hosts its first-ever midnight screening at 11:59 p.m. Friday, November 20, when it shows The Room, Tommy Wiseau's cult hit about a San Francisco banker who discovers his girlfriend is cheating on him. Tickets: $8.
