The 43rd Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF43) will kick-off its 12-day run on Wednesday, March 27 with THE ETRUSCAN SMILE, a story of love and forgiveness. Produced by multiple Academy Award winner Arthur Cohn and co-directed by Mihal Brezis & Oded Binnun, thefilm follows the story of Rory MacNeil, an old-fashioned Scottish man who travels from his beloved and beautifully slow-paced home on Hebridean Island to seek medical treatment in fast-paced, high-tech San Francisco. Rory finds himself and his world transformed when he moves in with his estranged son and forms an unbreakable bond with his grandson. The film, based on the bestselling book, La Sonrisa Etrusca, by Jose Louis Sampedro, stars a bevy of acclaimed and talented actors including Brian Cox, Rosanna Arquette, Thora Birch, JJ Feild, Peter Coyote, and Treat Williams.

On Sunday, April 7, the Festival will close with THE PUBLIC, directed and written by, as well as starring, Emilio Estevez. The film’s story unfolds when a record-setting cold spell hits Cincinnati, and the public library becomes an unlikely stage for a protest in which issues of homelessness and human rights take the spotlight. Estevez stars alongside an ensemble cast including Alec Baldwin, Jena Malone, Christian Slater, Gabrielle Union, Taylor Schilling, Jacob Vargas, Michael Kenneth Williams, and Jeffrey Wright.

CIFF43 will be held March 27 – April 7, 2019 at Tower City Cinemas, as well as the Gordon Square Arts District and University Circle.