Dave Huffman, best known for his vegan pop-up bakery “Bitchy Vegan Homo” in Cleveland, was selected by the Cleveland Institute of Art this month to be the new director of the Cleveland Cinematheque, the CIA’s arthouse theater.
Being best known for the bakery is a little comical to Huffman. He has a degree in film criticism, curated movies for the film club at Bowling Green State University, and has worked to program series and events with Cleveland Cinemas at the Cedar Lee Theater in Cleveland Heights.
The pandemic closing theaters led to Bitchy Vegan Homo bakery, named after a friend’s playful jab. During lockdown, Huffman also screened movies on a projector in his backyard.
If anything, he’s come full circle in his new position.
“In my e-blast that I sent out for Bitchy Vegan Homo, [the first question] in my FAQ that I put on there was, ‘Are you even qualified for this job?’” Huffman said. “ If you only knew me as the guy that sold brownies and oatmeal cream pies, you might be like, ‘Why is he in charge of this art film institution?’”
For most of the Cinematheque’s existence, it was led by John Ewing, who founded the theater in 1986. Ewing showed many works, both new and historic, from directors around the world that would have otherwise never been screened in Cleveland theaters.
After Ewing retired in 2024, the Cleveland Institute of Art hired Bilgesu Sisman to lead the theatre. Sisman introduced more genre films, including a retrospective of the works of Hong Kong action movie director John Woo. The Cinematheque reached a younger audience under Sisman’s curation, but she left after 22 months.
Sisman’s focus on genre films was Huffman’s “bread and vegan margarine,” he said, but he also wants to show “important works of film history” like Ewing.
“After I get settled in there, [the audience] might see me as a weird hybrid of the two,” Huffman said.
But he’s still going to be himself, viewing films through a “queer eye,” he said. That eye is shown through his favorite film poster, an adult film from the 1970s called “Hot Lunch.” The poster shows a diner waitress lying suggestively lifting a silver dome lid from a plate between her legs, steam rising to form the movie title.
“I think it’s camp. I think it’s tacky. That’s why I like it, and so that’s obviously a very queer perspective on something that is in no way what the marketing team that designed that poster had intended,” Huffman said.
The theatre had films scheduled through the summer before Huffman was hired, so the first full month of Huffman picks won’t be until September. Until then, he has an event at the Cinematheque in June with concessions provided by his bakery (which was scheduled before he applied for the position) to raise money for the theatre. He plans to continue his “side-hustle” albeit with a diminished capacity.
“It’s hard to not be who I am in anything that I do,” he said. “ For the last eight years, I’ve been running a business called Bitchy Vegan Homo. People understand this is my sense of humor, this is who I am, I’m putting it out there.”
On the Cinematheque’s Facebook page, commenters celebrated the pick. In a press release, a CIA vice president said the institution was “very fortunate to have [Huffman] lead.”
“His experience and deep knowledge of film, as well as his strong connection to our Northeast Ohio community, will benefit our current audiences and help attract new ones,” said Malou Monago, Vice President of Institutional Advancement and External Relations. 🔥
Editor’s Note: This article was updated to correct the name of baked good offered by Bitchy Vegan Homo.
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- To learn more about the Cleveland Cinematheque and view its schedule, click here.
- To learn more about Bitchy Vegan Homo, click here.
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