Film Screening: The Fits 10th Anniversary from Cindependent Film Festival

Event Timeline

6pm to 7pm - Social hour in the CAC basement lobby with bar and concessions.

7pm - Film.

The Fits (2015)

Shot and set in Cincinnati, Anna Rose Holmer's directorial debut, The Fits, debuted at the 2015 Venice Film Festival, and is one of the most critically esteemed films ever to come out of Cincinnati. The film garnered a Best First Feature nomination for Holmer at the 2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards and has remarkable 90 rating on the film review aggregator, Metacritic.

Synopsis: Toni trains as a boxer with her brother at a community center in Cincinnati’s West End, but becomes fascinated by the dance team that also practices there. Enamored by their strength and confidence, Toni eventually joins the group, eagerly absorbing routines, mastering drills, and even piercing her own ears to fit in. As she discovers the joys of dance and of female camaraderie, she grapples with her individual identity amid her newly defined social sphere.

Shortly after Toni joins the team, the captain faints during practice. By the end of the week, most of the girls on the team suffer from episodes of fainting, swooning, moaning, and shaking in a seemingly uncontrollable catharsis. Soon, however, the girls on the team embrace these mysterious spasms, transforming them into a rite of passage. Toni fears “the fits” but is equally afraid of losing her place just as she’s found her footing. Caught between her need for control and her desire for acceptance, Toni must decide how far she will go to embody her new ideals.

About CindeSpotlight

Each September, Cindependent is proud to shine a spotlight on undiscovered and rising talent from across the country and the globe. And as a festival, we're especially proud to celebrate the brilliant independent filmmakers who live and work in the greater Cincinnati area. The Cindependent Spotlight series will carry that celebratory spirit across the calendar year, with 9 handpicked repertory film screenings and 4 special programs running from March to December in the black box theater at the Contemporary Arts Center.

The repertory lineup features the debut films from auteur directors, Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love and Basketball), Tim Burton (Pee Wee's Big Adventure), Sofia Coppola (The Virgin Suicides), Anna Rose Holmer (The Fits), and Brad Bird (The Iron Giant), alongside some true star making turns by the Queen City herself in films by John Huston (The Asphalt Jungle), John Sayles (Eight Men Out), Larry Yust (Homebodies), and William Wyler (The Best Years of Our Lives). The special programs include a first of its kind Dance Film program curated by local filmmaker and Cindependent alum, Cat Rider, in August, and a Cindependent 2025 Best of Fest program in October.

Cindependent Spotlight events will feature community partners, special guests, and unlimited opportunities to learn from and connect with industry professionals and film enthusiasts. Cindependent is set apart by our dedication to recognizing and elevating the freshest new voices in independent filmmaking and by our commitment to uplifting the Cincinnati film community in all of its many facets. We are excited to share this stirring program of breakthrough film as we continue to build together as a community.

Visit www.cindependentfilmfest.org to see more of our work.

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