Chagrin Documentary Film Festival

The 16th annual Chagrin Documentary Film Festival (CDFF) will take place October 7-12 at walkable venues throughout the charming century Village of Chagrin Falls, Ohio and is pleased to announce the acceptance of 74 films to the 2025 Festival.

The festival will kick off on Tuesday, October 7 and run through Sunday, October 12, 2025. The complete 2025 program lineup and ticketing information will be announced in early September (chagrinfilmfest.org)  Screening venues include CDFF’s permanent home “CDFF on the Triangle”, the historic Township Hall, Chagrin Valley Little Theatre, an outdoor screen in Triangle Park and several others.

The 2025 festival launches on October 7th, presenting Colin Hanks’ moving documentary John Candy: I Like Me.

Emerging Filmmakers:

American Clown directed by Guilford Adams, Casey Pinkston (United States);

Champions of the Golden Valley directed by Ben Sturgulewski (Afghanistan, Germany, United States);

Coroner to the Stars directed by Ben Hethcoat, Keita Ideno (United States);

God As My Witness directed by Lindsay Q Pitre (United States);

A Lile Fellow: The Legacy of A.P. Giannini directed by Davide Fiore (United States);

Looking Up directed by Elena Neuman (Israel, United States);

The Opener directed by Jeff Toye (United States);

Remaining Nave directed by Paige Bethmann (United States);

Turtle Walker directed by Taira Malaney (India);

World Without Cows directed by Michelle Michael,

Brandon Whitworth (United States);

 

Voices:

The Danny Gans Story directed by Andrew Davies Gans (United States).

 

Environmental Documentaries:

The Last Dive directed by Cody Sheehy (Mexico, United States);

Lost Wolves of Yellowstone directed by Thomas Winston (United States);

Oceania: Journey to the Center directed by Natalie Zimmerman (Kiriba, United States).

 

International Documentaries:

Along The River directed by Gerburg Rohde-Dahl (Germany);

Game On: Basketball in Rural China directed by David Hamlin (China, United States);

Kaláka: from the Carpathians to the Caribbean directed by Réka Pigniczky (Argenna, Colombia, Hungary, Romania);

You Need This directed by Ryan Andrej Lough (Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, United States);

Among Thieves directed by Trevor J. Wallace, Gino R. Caspari (China, Hong Kong, Switzerland, United States);

Memory for Burial directed by Charloe Jarrix, Maud Guillaumin (France, Poland).

 

Spotlight Documentaries:

The Golden Spurtle directed by Constanne Cos (Scotland);

Love+War directed by Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin (United States);

Shadow Scholars directed by Eloise King; Speak. directed by Jennifer Tiexiera (United States);

Suburban Fury directed by Robinson Devor (United States).

 

US Documentaries:

Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp and the Biotech Revoluon directed by Bill Haney (United States);

Dear Mr. President: The Leers of Julia Sand directed by Destry Edwards (United States);

Freeland ~ A Blackwater Story directed by Jusn Harris (United States);

The Heart Of Rock And Roll: A Cleveland Rocks Story directed by Patrick Donovan (United States);

I Was Born This Way directed by Sam Pollard, Daniel Junge (United States);

Join the Club directed by Kip Andersen, Chris O’Connell (United States);

Lithium Rising: The Race for Crical Minerals directed by Samuel George ();

The Pantone Guy directed by Patrick Creadon (United States);

Rising Phoenix: A New Revoluon directed by Sheridan O’Donnell (United Kingdom, United States);

Shuffle directed by Benjamin Flaherty (United States);

This is Pike County directed by Laura Paglin (United States);

Trail Mix directed by Glenn Robert Sweitzer (United States).

 

Short Documentary Films Films which are less than 40 minutes in length.

Local Short Documentaries:

The Art Of Filling Plates directed by Julia Thorndike (United States);

The Eye of Cleveland directed by Jim Koenigsaecker (United States);

Farm To Bed: The Families Behind Naturepedic’s Organic Coon directed by Kyle Loney (United States);

Hiking through Grief directed by Stephen Burks (United States);

I Forgot to Tell You About…The Story of The Cleveland Buckeyes directed by Evelyn Renee Gregory (United States);

Skate Rat Since ’88: The Krisan Svitak Story directed by Danny Mizicko (United States).

 

Short Documentaries:

Amal | Hope directed by Eros Zhao (Israel, United States);

Amy Sillman: To Abstract directed by Ian Forster (United States);

Between Moon Tides directed by Jason Jaacks (United States);

Boda Boda directed by Marc Kusnetz (Uganda);

The Book of George directed by Danny Schmidt (United States);

Breakaway: The Refugee World Cup directed by Jake Siam Solomon (United States);

Breaking Plates directed by Karen Pearlman (Australia, France);

Changing the Film Landscape: The Garre Brown Story directed by Andrew Blike (United States);

The City of God Beneath the River directed by Edmund Teeh Agorhom (Ghana);

Forgotten Routes directed by Varta Arutunian (Armenia, Ukraine, United Kingdom);

George V directed by Dennis Scholl, Dia Kontaxis (United States);

Grit directed by Vanina Feldsztein (United States);

How Fast Can You Eat A Pickled Egg? directed by Daniel England (United Kingdom);

Hustle and Run directed by Jonny Madderson, Jono Stevens (United Kingdom);

Jérôme Delépine, A Vision of Humanity directed by David Tillault, Nicolas Desmarchelier (France);

Just and Perfect directed by Immanuel Mullen (United States);

My Father Was A Butcher directed by Basaan van Schip (Netherlands);

Pastures and Panels directed by Tucker Gragg (United States);

Projecting Protest directed by Thomas Clement (United States);

Ranger of the North directed by Bradley Bethel (United States);

The Survivors directed by Tomasz Słomczyński, Piotr Szymanek (Poland);

They Call Me The Tattoo Witch directed by Lindsay Nyman (Vietnam, United States);

Ukraine Under Fire | A Film About War & Resilience directed by Jordan Campbell (Ukraine, United States);

What The River Knows directed by Diego Riley, Will Buckley (United States);

All The Empty Rooms directed by Joshua Seel (United States).

 

Student Documentaries:

By Name directed by Aiden Black, Jeremiah Badu, Dillon Crane, Michael Drvenkar, Tyler Gedeon, Owen Hoelker, Conall McMahon, Nicholas Schraff (United States);

Magda directed by Ben Hartong (United States);

Mail Myself to You directed by Imogen Pranger (United States);

Placed: The Journey Through Foster Care directed by University of Dayton Media Production Students (United States);

Under the Lights directed by Isabella Douville (United States).

About Chagrin Documentary Film Fesval: Founded in 2010, the Chagrin Documentary Film Fesval has grown into a premier event for documentary filmmakers and enthusiasts. Honoring the memory of David Ponce, the fesval showcases diverse perspecves and untold stories from around the globe, fostering a deeper understanding of our world through the lens of documentary film.