About Us

The Cincinnati Film Society, a 501-c-3, not-for-profit organization, was founded 22 years ago to encourage the appreciation of film as an art form by providing opportunities to view foreign, classic and other films, and by bringing together film devotees to learn about and discuss film. The Society also fosters filmmaking projects and provides technical assistance to filmmakers.

The Cincinnati Film Society is dedicated to showing alternative films and video media that might otherwise never be shown in Cincinnati. Offerings include films by small, independent filmmakers; foreign films; overlooked American classics; and films of special interest to blacks, working women, children, gays, lesbians and film buffs. The Cincinnati Film Society's intent is to offer films that are entertaining, significant and stimulating.

The Society often features personal appearances of filmmakers with their films. Among those have been Michael Moore with Roger and Me, John Sayles who showed and discussed Matewan, Gregory Nava with his Oscar-winning El Norte, Wayne Wang with Dim Sum, Tom Hayes with People and the Land and Steve Gebhardt with Bill Monroe; Father of Bluegrass Music. In 1992, the CFS presented a retrospective of the work of the British filmmaker Lindsay Anderson (now deceased) who discussed each work with the audience during the ten-day event. Last year, avant-garde filmmaker Stan Brakhage made an appearance in support of a major retrospective of his work.

During the last 22 years, the Cincinnati Film Society has presented more than 400 films and videos, and numerous visiting directors, producers, actors and writers. The Society often co-sponsors films with other arts groups, including the Cincinnati Jewish Federation, the Contemporary Arts Center, the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Film Commission, Media Working Group, the Arts Consortium, Cincinnati CityBeat Weekly, Wright State University, the Cincinnati Art Academy, Hebrew Union College, the University of Cincinnati Film Society, Xavier University, Media Bridges Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Art Museum, and the Conference For Women. The Society presents approximately 40 films each season to members from Greater Cincinnati and from surrounding cities in Kentucky and Indiana.

The Cincinnati Film Society is funded in parts by grants from the Ohio Arts Council, the Cincinnati Institute for Fine Arts and the City of Cincinnati.