These are our five recommended films from the Cleveland International Film Festival, which will take place in cinemas from April 3 – 13, 2024 and online from April 14 – 21, 2024.

Girls Will Be Girls by Shuchi Talati – India, France, USA, Norway | 2024 – 118 minutes

16 year old Mira finds her sexy, rebellious coming-of-age hijacked by her mother who never got to come of age. (Mubi)

Trailer:

Sleep by Jason Yu – Korea | 2023 – 94 minutes

A pregnant wife who becomes worried about her husband’s sleeping habits. What starts out as some light sleep-talking soon escalates to unexpectedly grotesque behaviour. They consult a sleep clinic without success and as his nightmarish behaviour escalates, they desperately seek help from a shaman.(Mubi)

Trailer:

Smoking Tigers by Shelly Yo – USA | 2023 – 91 minutes

Set in early-2000s SoCal, Smoking Tigers follows a Korean American girl as she navigates derision and growing tensions while balancing the duality of her low-income family and wealthy, elite high school environment. (Mubi)

The Queen of My Dreams by Fawzia Mirza – Canada, Pakistan | 2023 – 96 minutes

Against the backdrop of a shared obsession with Bollywood fantasy, Mariam, a Pakistani Muslim woman, and her Canadian-born daughter Azra come of age in two different eras. (Mubi)

Trailer:

Wakhri (One of a Kind) by Iram Parveen Bilal – Pakistan, USA | 2023 – 99 minutes

A school teacher becomes a viral sensation overnight when she accidentally unleashes her unabashed opinions on social media. This newfound fame comes with its own challenges as she has to navigate archaic mindsets and secret identities. (Mubi)

Trailer:

More information: https://www.clevelandfilm.org/