Assorted ramblings from the world of entertainment:

• The 49th Cleveland International Film Festival gets underway next week at Playhouse Square.

This year’s festival will show more than 300 films representing 60 countries and selected from more than 3,500 submissions.

The opening night offering is “For Worse,” which is the screenwriting and directing debut of Amy Landecker, who starred in the Amazon series “Transparent” and whose film credits include “Dan in Real Life” and “A Serious Man.”

She plays a newly divorced sober mom who falls off the wagon when she goes to a wedding with a much younger date and falls into the recently divorced father of the bride, played by Bradley Whitford (“The West Wing”). The film also features Nico Hiraga, Missi Pyle, Gaby Hoffman, Ken Marino, Simon Helberg and Paul Adelstein.

Landecker, Pyle and producer James Portolese will attend and participate in a post-film Q&A. Many of the films shown at the festival will be accompanied by their directors, producers or other contributors. This year’s Groundbreaker Award, recognizing filmmakers of color who are pioneers in their field and whose work addresses themes of racial equity and social justice, goes to Contessa Gayles.

Her documentary feature, “Songs from the Hole,” premiered at the SXSW 2024, where it won the audience award in the vision category, and her documentary short, “The Debutantes,” premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival. Both will screen at CIFF.

This year’s DReam Maker Award, given to an LGBTQ+ filmmaker, is Kimberly Reed, whose “Dark Money” played at CIFF seven years ago after winning awards at the Sundance Film Festival. It was named one of the “66 Best Documentaries of All Time” by Vogue magazine. She’ll be represented by her latest documentary, “I’m Your Venus,” which looks at the life and unsolved murder of Venus Xtravaganza, who was featured in the 1991 documentary “Paris Is Burning” and murdered before its release.

Each year the festival includes Sidebars programs, a curated collection of films grouped by subject matter. The Sidebars topics this year include: After Hours, Arab Cinema, Black Cinema, Comedies, Family Films, Film is Art, Indigenous Cinema, Jewish Cinema, Latinx & Hispanic Cinema, Music Movies, Parability Cinema, Queer Cinema, Teen-Friendly Cinema and Women of the World.

The festival runs through April 5. A complete list of films and times can be found at clevelandfilm.org. Tickets are available online and by calling 877-304-FILM.

And for those who don’t want to drive to Cleveland, many of the offerings can be viewed in the comfort of one’s home from April 6 to 13 through CIFF Streams program with details on the website.

• Musicians and those interested in working in the music business will gather next week in Athens for Ohio University’s annual Music Industry Summit.

There are plenty of parties and concerts for those who attend the event in person from Tuesday through March 27, and registration is free for students, faculty / staff at any educational institution and OU alumni (some concerts and special events require a ticket for an additional fee). The cost for everyone else is $75 for those registering in advance by Sunday and $100 for day-of registration.

For those who can’t make the drive south, many of the mainstage events on Wednesday and March 27 can be livestreamed for free. Some of the guest speakers include performers Charles Wesley Godwin, DJ Premier, Julien Baker, TORRES and more than 60 other artists and industry professionals.

Go to.ohio.edu/music-industry-summit to register, to livestream and/or to see a full schedule of events.

Andy Gray is the entertainment editor of Ticket. Write to him at agray@tribtoday.com