EMAV Review: 15th Annual Dam Short Film Festival was an impressive event

Pictured: 'Tricks'

The 15th annual Dam Short Film Festival was the Boulder City institution’s first without co-founder Lee Lanier, but the leadership team of John LaBonney and Tsvetelina Stefanova pulled off an impressive event without him, drawing in record attendance and proving that DSFF remains the most enjoyable and exciting festival in the Las Vegas area. I made it to nearly all of the programs during the four-day festival, and many were nearly sold out, especially the two Nevada programs and the always popular comedy block. Even the late-night Underground program, featuring movies too risqué for the daytime Boulder City general audience, had a long line of people waiting to be admitted before doors opened.

'The Traffic Separating Device'

There were memorable films in almost every block that I saw, and as LaBonney had touted before the festival began, the selection of documentaries this year was especially strong. I saw some affecting documentaries on serious subjects, but my favorite was the goofy lark “The Traffic Separating Device,” about a street in Stockholm where a metal ramp meant to prevent cars from traveling on a bus-only route causes entertaining havoc. It’s really just 15 minutes of hapless drivers getting flat tires or other damage from the ramp because they failed to read street signs, but director Johan Palmgren turns it into a very funny meditation on municipal improvement.

'Quiet Sundays'

There was also a lot of humor in John Morgan and Rob Hampton’s “Super 8 Daze,” about the directors’ own efforts as kids in the 1970s to replicate Hollywood blockbusters with their Super 8 home-movie cameras. That combination of humor and heart also showed up in Chris Riess and Amy Hill’s “Hula Girl,” about the woman who, with her husband, initially introduced the hula hoop to America (and got no credit for it), as well as in Katie Kemmerer’s “Quiet Sundays” (winner of the award for best student film), about NFL fans in the U.K. Kemmerer does a great job of making NFL fandom seem like something fresh and new, via profiles of some very endearing fans who love a sport that is about as popular in their country as, say, curling is in the U.S.

'Sweetheart Dancers'

The winner for the best Nevada film was another documentary, Ben-Alex Dupris’ “Sweetheart Dancers,” a profile of a gay Native American couple fighting to be accepted into a competition for traditional tribal “sweetheart” dances. It’s a heartwarming and well-crafted piece, one of several standouts among the Nevada films (disclosure: a short that I co-wrote was also featured in the Nevada program).

Other local highlights included the offbeat comedy “Hello Darling,” from former “Absinthe” star Anais Thomassian, and “Tricks,” from UNLV alum Conor Hooper. Thomassian builds an absurdist story around a slightly unhinged character and a variety of oddball situations, recalling the anarchic vibe of her former stage show. And Hooper (along with writer RaQuel Harwick) takes an overly familiar student-film premise and turns it on its head in a clever way.

'Hello Darling'

The comedy program is always a hot ticket, but there was appealing comedy sprinkled throughout the festival, and in the main program, I preferred the dry humor of the brief sketch “Message Erased” (about a woman going through an entire emotional journey while attempting to leave a voicemail message) over some of the broader, more crowd-pleasing offerings. In other programs, the dark comedy “Forget About It” was a particular standout, with its cynical, violent (but sort of sweet) take on a woman’s response to her partner’s admission of cheating.

'Forget About It'

“Five Star Fouad,” starring Dominic West (one of a handful of celebrities who popped up in shorts over the course of the four days), also puts a sunny, upbeat comedic take on a violent subject, with West as a bank robber taking a ride share for his getaway. And the highlight of the Underground program was the surprisingly sensitive BDSM-themed comedy “Platypus,” which had its world premiere at last year’s Nevada Women’s Film Festival.

This was the second year that DSFF featured an official music video program, curated by Stefanova herself (who’s also a member of local band Same Sex Mary), which has been a welcome addition (and showcased work from a number of local musicians). With LaBonney and Stefanova in charge and putting their own stamp on the festival, along with a dedicated crew of support staff and volunteers who return year after year, DSFF is well-positioned to head into its next chapter.

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EMAV 10 Bites: Heather Anne Chamberlain, Performer

In every neighborhood, there is someone who makes the Arts a part of their life, and our community. You'd be surprised to discover how many different people use the arts to improve the quality of life in our hometown. EAT MORE ART! VEGAS will feature them regularly in our series "10 Bites."

What kinds of art do you enjoy, create, or perform in?

Now that I'm back in Las Vegas, I really want to dig back into movement-based theatre and dance-theatre. I'm a classically trained ballet and Graham-based dancer. Live performance of all disciplines are what make my heart sing. In one word: theatre. However, I've worn every hat from stage carpenter/scenic painter (which inspired my need to create visual art, the first piece being a sculpture made entirely of pointe shoes and ballet slippers from the top dancers of NYC) to Off-Broadway vocalist to self-producing my own creations Off Off Bway and in indie venues around NYC to dancing with independent ballet companies in NYC to directing Off Broadway, Executive Producer of other's original plays Off Broadway.

Why do you do it?

Because not doing it, and God knows I've tried "not doing it" for the sake of my sanity and finances, but, not doing it makes me a sad girl indeed.

What’s your favorite production/performance experience so far?

Hands down, nothing will ever compare to the experience, many years ago, of playing a ballet-dancing pigtail-wearing horse in the Insurgo Theatre Movement's production of 'Cannibal! The Musical' here in Vegas. More up to date: 'Incognito' by Nick Payne produced by A Public Fit Theatre and Cockroach Theatre, for a few reasons. The acting and stage direction were beyond inspiring. Also, this being the first play I've seen since moving back to Vegas from NYC, I am so thrilled to see such high-level work being so supported in our community.

What jobs have you done other than being an artist, or what do you do when you are "at work?"

Lots and lots of writing, ghost writing for bloggers and as a credited writer, reviewing theatre and dance in New York City for Stage Buddy Magazine. With a lot of waitressing and bartending thrown in that mix.

What is an Arts experience that you will never forget or a memorable response to your work?

"Wow. That shit was crazy." - a patron I overheard after seeing the Off-Broadway play I directed, 'Bubbleheads,' by Darcy Sternberg for Theatre for the New City.

What would you be doing if you weren't performing, creating, or enjoying the Arts in Las Vegas?

Easy. I'd be a deep sea explorer living on a crickety, candle-lit pirate ship, docked in warm, crystal blue waters. I've already looked into it for myself.

Name something you love about Las Vegas, and why.

I love that Las Vegas fully embraces, even stands for, the idea of "MORE!" I always want 'more,' and am rarely satisfied with 'enough.' That idea extends right to the theatre scene here. There's not really a start or end to a season here. It just keeps going and going and producers just keep pouring out more and more work. It fits my nature.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

Don't take anything personally. If someone rolls their eyes or furrows their brow at your work, it's not up to you to explain, fix or bend it to their liking. Make what your heart MUST make and stand by your work with dignity.

What superpower would you have and why?

To enter into any society and blend in like a native. I'd be able to speak the language, cook the cuisine, understand all cultural nuances and make close friends all over the world. The last of which I'm grateful to have accomplished, thanks to bridging power of art.

Any future projects or events that you're looking forward to?

I’m collaborating with local performance-artist Sean Craig Stuart and musician Joe Bonasorte (formerly of ‘The Bronx Wanderers’ at Bally’s) to create pieces of original dance theatre incorporating modern ballet, circus, burlesque and straight theatre. Our goal is to launch as a company of 10-12 performers.

DIG IN with our #EatMoreArt Vegas Arts & Culture Directory!

Are you a local artist of any discipline? Do you work with a company as a designer, stagehand or administrative staff? Do you love to experience it as the audience? We'd love to get your 10 Bites to share. Fill out a form here, and you might be featured in a post!

CHECK OUT OUR 10 BITES FEATURE GALLERY HERE

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EMAV Film: Las Vegas Jewish Film Festival is a welcome showcase of Jewish culture

Still from 'Working Woman'

As the longest-running film festival in Nevada, the Las Vegas Jewish Film Festival has years of history and a vibrant, supportive community to draw on, which allowed festival founder and director Joshua Abbey to make every screening at this year’s festival free to attend. Although the festival program has slimmed down in recent years (this year’s schedule had only eight feature films, spread out over nearly three weeks), Abbey still has impeccable taste, and he’s developed an impressive ability to program challenging and innovative films that also cater to the interests of the festival’s sponsors.

At LVJFF, that means there will always be movies about the Holocaust, and this year was no exception. But documentary “Who Will Write Our History,” which has been collecting accolades at multiple film festivals over the last few months, has more to offer than some of the drily educational documentaries that LVJFF has programmed in the past. Not that it isn’t educational, but it’s more than just a collection of talking heads and archival footage, and it focuses on an aspect of Holocaust history that hasn’t already been picked over in dozens of other movies.

Namely, that’s the preservation project led by Emanuel Ringelblum in the Warsaw Ghetto, documenting everyday lives of Polish Jews during the Nazi occupation. Director Roberta Grossman mingles the traditional scholar interviews with narration taken directly from eyewitness accounts and re-enactments of the events they describe. Those re-enactments can be a little stiff, but they give the story greater urgency, and enlisting a couple of talented, well-known actors (Adrien Brody and Joan Allen) as the main narrators lends a bit of sophistication to the presentation.

Of the eight features in this year’s festival, seven were documentaries, and providing a bit of information about a lesser-known part of Jewish culture or history is a reliable way for the festival to entice patrons. That was the function of the amusing (but frustratingly superficial) documentary “Shalom Bollywood,” about Jewish performers in the early days of India’s film industry, but I preferred the more oblique approach of opening-night film “The Museum,” an impressionistic portrait of the Israel Museum directed by Ran Tal. Tal strings together vignettes about various exhibits and employees at the massive history and art museum in Jerusalem, turning what could have been a bland promotional video into a lyrical meditation on Israeli and Jewish identity.

Director Alan Berliner also takes an impressionistic approach to his 2012 documentary “First Cousin Once Removed,” which showed at a program sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association of Southern Nevada. A record of the declining years in the life of Berliner’s cousin, renowned poet Edwin Honig, “First Cousin” is an often heartbreaking chronicle of Alzheimer’s, but Berliner’s use of non-linear editing and elliptical meditations built around Honig’s own decaying recollections ensure that the movie is a personal artistic statement rather than a tearjerking public service announcement.

Moment from 'The Museum'

The only narrative film in this year’s festival, the Israeli sexual harassment drama “Working Woman,” occasionally comes close to public service announcement territory, and the trajectory of its main character, a wife and mother heading back to work to support her family while her husband opens a restaurant, is fairly predictable as soon as she starts working for an overly familiar older man. Even if the progression from inappropriate comments to full-on sexual assault is easy to see coming, director Michal Aviad handles the subject with sensitivity and takes the time to build fully realized lead characters (including the harasser himself), and star Liron Ben-Shlush makes for a sympathetic, assertive protagonist.

'Working Woman'

The festival closed with the hourlong documentary “Balabustas,” directed by Abbey himself, which is set to be available soon for free on YouTube. The collection of interviews with various influential Jewish women in Las Vegas is more valuable as local history than as cinema, chronicling the growth of the city alongside the growth of its (initially tiny) Jewish community. Originally shot in 2005, the interviews themselves are fairly rudimentary, interspersed with some vintage photos, and there isn’t much connecting material to unite the film as a whole. Still, the packed screening was a rallying point for the local Jewish community, and after 18 years, the festival itself serves the same purpose, providing a welcome showcase of Jewish culture for anyone interested in exploring it.

#Bell #film #vegasfilm #EatMoreArt #vegasculture #Review