If you are still reeling from the absence of the Cleveland International Film Festival and can’t wait until next March to get your film festival fix, then the Ohio Independent Film Festival may be just the solution. Started in 1993 by the Cleveland based non-profit organization Independent Pictures, the festival has been known for its screening of edgier films that have fallen off the radar of the typical mainstream fare. The small but consistently intriguing festival will take place May 18 through May 21 at both the Beachland Ballroom (15711 Waterloo Road) and Arts Collinwood (15605 Waterloo Rd) in the Waterloo Arts District and will feature a slew of shorts from around the globe (including Vincent Gallo’s “Honey Bunny”) along with three feature length films. Below is the feature-length film line-up: “Close Up” Director Jose Cruz states that his “main objective with Close-Up is to tell a small dramatic story,about hope, forgiveness and one’s desire to continue dreaming. A story I can place the audience in the middle of and have them relate to the characters, who have no names, and the situations on screen.  In the end, if the audience stands up and cheers for the underdog, I know I have succeeded.” Close Up screens at Beachland Ballroom on Wednesday, May 18 at 9PM.  Stay after the film for a special Q & A and reception with director Jose Cruz. “Breaking Through The Clouds: The First Women’s Air Derby” In August of 1929 , twenty women pulled on britches , snapped on goggles and climbed into their cockpits to race across the country.  It was the first women’s national air derby.  There was a media darling, including Amelia Earheart, a Hollywood starlet , and the unforgettable foul mouthed  wife of a preacher.Together , these women were flying in  the face of anyone , who believed women belonged on the ground.  .Breaking Through The Clouds is a documentary  that tells their story. The film also includes Cleveland pilot, Blanche Noyes. Director /producer  Heather Taylor will attend the film for it’s Cleveland premiere at 7 PM on May 19 at the Beachland Ballroom. “Currency” Currency weaves together a tapestry of stories as several lives are observed over the course of eighty years. A writer asks why we live. A child asks why we die. Mobsters ask why life has value. An old woman asks why we are alone. A scientist asks why there is anything at all.The film will screen at Arts Collinwood at 9 PM on Friday, May 20. Tickets for all screenings are $10 and can be purchased online at www.ticketweb.com.