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.

#EatMoreArt #vegasfilm #DamShortFilmFestival #BoulderCity #Review #film #Bell

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

#Theatre #TenBites #film #Poetry #VisualArts #vegasdance #EatMoreArt #vegasculture

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

Medusa Underground Film Festival off to a great start for women in film

'Daughters of Northern Darkness'

Launching a new film festival is never easy, and local filmmaker Heidi Moore took on the task of putting together the female-focused Medusa Underground Film Festival almost entirely on her own, willing it into existence based on her own taste in movies and her connections among female experimental filmmakers. That meant that the first-ever event catered to a niche audience, but it also made Medusa into something genuinely unique, a glimpse into the kind of strange, bold and often off-putting movies that don’t usually get programmed at film festivals. In that way, it had a lot in common with the late, lamented (at least by the small number of people who attended it) PollyGrind festival, which was a similarly strange and sometimes inaccessible collection of films reflecting the unique tastes of its creator, Chad Clinton Freeman (who’s since left town).

Over the course of three days, Medusa showcased dozens of short films and one feature, Dylan Mars Greenberg’s ReAgitator: Revenge of the Parody (Greenberg also gave a short musical performance on the festival’s first night at Backstage Bar & Billiards). The idiosyncratic selections included some fairly straightforward genre fare, but also made room for many, many films that were more or less unclassifiable, from a movie produced by Pornhub to a music video for a death metal cover of Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood.” Plenty of the movies were baffling or unpleasant or both, but even the worst offerings were interesting and memorable, worth slogging through for their sheer oddness and audacity.

'Parlour Tricks'

Some of my favorite films at the festival were built around goofy jokes, like the TV-commercial parody Daughters of Northern Darkness, an ad for a “black metal Barbie” that amusingly skewers the stereotypes of the Scandinavian heavy metal genre in the context of an ad for fashion dolls. That’s pretty much the definition of limited appeal, but it made me smile, as did the Australian short The Apocalypse Will Be Automated, in which a group of friends are thwarted in their efforts to flee from zombies by their uncooperative self-driving car. I also enjoyed the wry humor of the stylish Parlour Tricks, a black and white short that starts out as a typical ghost story (complete with séance and ouija board), only to turn absurd when the medium accidentally conjures up the spirit of a dog. Those horror and sci-fi pieces played alongside abstract oddities like Eileen O’Meara’s Panic Attack!, an amusing animated ode to anxiety, which was darkly funny without any genre elements at all.

'The Apocalypse Will Be Automated'

A lot of the heavier, more serious films just came off as obtuse, but the films that sustained a tone of dread could be very unsettling. My favorite among those was Nicole Goode’s Supine, about a lonely taxidermist who picks up a hitchhiker. Goode builds a tender dynamic between her lead characters, which makes the eventual deadly outcome all the more horrifying (if also kind of sweet). Liz Tabish’s To See You, a pastiche of paranoid 1970s thrillers, also succeeds at building emotional tension that pays off with a horrific climax.

'Supine'

The Study room at the Artisan (where the films showed on Saturday and Sunday) looked full with only 15 or so people in the audience, and some screenings had decidedly lower attendance. But any audience at all for an event like this is promising, and among the people who attended, there was a strong sense of solidarity and community, especially for the filmmakers sharing their work in an environment full of supportive women. The important thing is for Medusa and Moore to build on that, to invite more creators to share the kind of weird, alienating, distinctive visions that can only be appreciated at a festival like this. In that sense, Medusa is off to a great start.

'Panic Attack!'

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

MUFF: Medusa Underground Film Festival

Celebrating the art of the female filmmaker, the “Medusa Underground Film Festival” will honor legendary cult cinema actress (more than 250 film credits), writer, producer, and director of the 2016 feature Model Hunger... Ms. Debbie Rochon as part of the inaugural film festival! MUFF will showcase two features, and over 50 short films selected from 11 countries that honor the vision of underground filmmaking art NOW January 11th to 13th 2019!

The first annual “Medusa Underground Film Festival” brings together more than 50 short films to showcase women who are changing the filmmaking landscape around the world! Taking place at the Artisan Hotel Boutique (Artisanhotel.com) in Las Vegas, NV, the “Medusa Underground Film Festival” will feature such events as a huge filmmakers panels, Q&A, workshops, a “Lifetime Achievement” Award, a variety of after parties, networking, an awards ceremony, two feature films, and multiple blocks of short films showcasing the different sides of underground filmmaking.

1/11-13/2019

ARTISAN HOTEL BOUTIQUE

1501 W Sahara Ave, Las Vegas, NV, 89102

TICKETS ****** The “Medusa Underground Film Festival” is excited to add another evening to the incredible festivities with a special “Opening Night” charity party happening at the Backstage Bar & Billiards (Backstagebarlv.com) on Friday, January 11th. Kicking off at 8 PM, with all donations from the opening night event going to the charity Street Teens (Streetteens.org). This opening night party will feature vendors, networking, and more! The “Medusa Underground Film Festival” is proud to announce that the incredible, Los Angeles based, non-profit organization “Women in Media” will be hosting a special networking brunch on Sunday, January 13th at the Thunderbird Boutique Hotel (Thunderbirdhotellasvegas.com). Tickets are $20.00 and include a buffet style meal. “Women in Media” is an advocate for gender balance in the film and entertainment industry; find out more at WomenNmedia.com. “I am beyond excited to have Women in Media hosting our brunch. They have great networking opportunities that every woman in this industry needs to be a part of.” MUFF Festival Founder and Director Heidi Moore The “Medusa Underground Film Festival” will be honoring legendary cult actress and filmmaker Debbie Rochon during the festival ceremonies. Creating a memorable career in drama, science fiction, comedy, cult, horror, and underground cinema for over 35 years, Rochon has been a driving force and a role model for women in the genre. With over 250 credits total, Rochon has shown an underground spirit and drive that has matched her with creators like Lloyd Kaufman, James Gunn, John Russo, Gunnar Hansen, Ron Bonk, James Balsamo, Brian K. Williams, Ryan M. Andrews, Gregory Lamberson, and more. Debbie Rochon will be honored during the weekend with her appearance TBA. “I have been a fan of Debbie Rochon ever since I saw her in Terror Firmer. Her film Model Hunger really spoke to me, and I feel her contribution to the art of underground film has been an inspiration to so many.” - MUFF Festival Founder and Director Heidi Moore

Email Jay Kay to request interviews with Heidi Moore or for any questions at medusauff@gmail.com.

#film #vegasfilm #EatMoreArt #LasVegasArtsandCulture #vegasculture

One last time in 2018...every great story's end is the mark of a new beginning. How can we stART

"I want to sit under my own vine and fig tree, a moment alone in the shade, at home in this nation we've made." There is a "dream of a common language" in the spirit in all of us that hopes to exist peacefully in a place where we feel valued, safe, and connected to something greater than ourselves. Painfully, in a world of difference there is misunderstanding, the ache of loneliness, and a disorienting anxiety from the struggle for survival. Fear of the unknown can feel like an overwhelming obstacle to bridging divides, but artists have learned that it is in the unknown where anything is possible.

Artists dedicate their selves to their work because they discovered the secret art holds to our human survival of the unknown - it's not done by fighting against it, but by working with it. The secret is it only takes a little chance on sharing what you have to offer when someone asks a question, and respecting the offerings of others when you have one yourself. There's a reason why they call it the Golden Rule, because when artists have nothing, speak different languages, and are hiding in bomb shelters no matter where on Earth, it is the treasure that sustains their connection to each other and their ability to collaborate and overcome on the spot. Even in solitude, the artist instinctively works with the environment their partner in a relationship of give and receive

That same spirit is alive and well in Las Vegas, and it offers the hope that has written our American story. Every July that we wake up in the Mojave is a defiance of the impossible, and the result of countless shared visions put into action. How can we continue to build on the best of this legacy of overcoming together in what may seem like impossible times, and with such a diverse population? How can we develop enough understanding to move forward? Art is the human spirit in all of us struggling for survival that transcends language as it sings out for another's answer, and when it reaches us, we feel ourselves reflexively calling back in comfort.

The arts are for everyone's humanity, and in a democracy everyone's art must be respected as expressions of the "mutual cares, labors, and dangers" that President Washington, as an imperfect man and great leader, and as a President/General and humble citizen, trusted the American people to face. Our right to vote is also our obligation to recognize the value in another's voice. The training the arts offer to build a better life for ourselves, our community, and our country is at our fingertips. Whether as a maker or as an audience, we are all creatives in the collaboration. By making local arts a regular part of our lives we can find ways to better speak the same language as our neighbors, kids and parents, and write the next chapter in a colorful voice that resonates with the proudest moments of our contribution to the American story.

SHOW AND TELL

To commit an act of theatre a performer only needs three things - their self to commit an action that expresses a message, a space, and a witness sharing the space to experience the message. We are each the artist in our own lives and the witness to others. Our shared spaces are our homes, our communities, our country...the world. An independent theatre is an essential component of the public square. It requires dozens of individuals with years of training, and weeks of commitment in prep to create. Local artists who are often strangers at first, come together to do it for you every day.

LEAD AND FOLLOW

Dance is the most ancient storytelling device as it passed on the collective memory before the written word, and when you witness or perform it, you write yourself into it's story. Dancers prove that you can trust someone who agrees to catch you when you take a leap of faith, even after only a couple of minutes of rehearsal. Dancers contribute to the lifeblood of our economy, and they give their whole body to the effort.

GIVE AND TAKE

Music is sound organized in time and the Las Vegas valley is a mecca for people who can pick up and play a set in tune with another's heartbeat without conversation. Musicians display a natural gift for consensus which helps them agree in harmony and take turns center stage. Attend a concert and enter a world of endless variety where the people in the room naturally begin to breathe together.

REFLECT AND REVEAL

The story of film making is an American original, and our self-awareness is deepened by the experience we share through fleeting moments of truth captured in time. Today our true Vegas character is reflected by a community of artists dedicated to telling stories that scratch beneath the commercial surface that has long dominated our image from the outside.

DREAM AND DO

Through out the ages, visual artists have innovated with whatever is in arm's reach to create vessels that capture our lights of inspiration and transform them into something tangible to pass on as gifts that keep on giving. Explore the diverse creations of visual artists in our community and you will find work that reflects and honors your identity in it's own unique way.

CARE AND HEAL

The health benefits of the arts are now recognized by researchers around the world, and arts are even offered as prescriptions. Physical and emotional therapies involving the arts provide recovery and coping skills empowering our minds and bodies to relieve stress and develop resilience. From young children, to Veterans and retirees, there is no limit to the people who can thrive with the help of the arts.

COLLABORATE AND CONNECT

A little risk can go a long way toward success in the company of creatives. Find your way in to the world of local arts where everything can become "bigger on the inside."

EDUCATE AND EMPOWER

The power that art provides is equal to the number of individuals who pass on it's messages, techniques and traditions. You can play a meaningful part in helping the arts to thrive and improve lives in ways that are as simple as sharing the good news with anyone who wants to get more out of their community, their public programming, and their hard-earned money.

INVITE AND SHOW UP

We are what we eat. If we want to nourish our nation's or neighborhood's ability to dream, work, and thrive together we need to #EatMoreArt. Your seat at the table awaits.

Pictured from the top: A Public Fit & Cockroach Theatre Company, the Las Vegas Valley Theatre Awards (Vogue Robinson, poet), Contemporary West Dance Theatre (Bernard Gaddis), Sin City Opera, film maker Shahab Zargari, Visual Artist Gig Depio.

Sarah O'Connell is the Executive Director of Eat More Art Vegas and the Las Vegas Valley Theatre Awards as well as the Artistic Director of The Asylum Theatre in Las Vegas. sarahoconnelldirector.com

#OConnell #Theatre #Music #Dance #Poetry #film #VisualArts

EMAV 10 Bites: Michael Davies, Artist & Stagehand

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?

I work with Acrylic, Colored Pencil. Lino Block Prints, Kinetic, Assemblage Sculptures, murals.

Why do you do it?

I am always working on an art project, it is not unusual for me to have several projects going at the same time.

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

The show Mystere has recently put some of my images in the show, I truly enjoy seeing my images on a big screen.

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

I have been a stagehand for over 40 years, I have set up entertainment events. At this time I work for Treasure Island for the show Mystere, I started doing lighting, now I'm in charge of atmospherics for the show..

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

My sculptures have gotten lots of interest, and especially from people that didn't think they liked art. People have said "I don't normally like art, but I like your sculptures.

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

I would like a working art gallery with local entertainment, dance recitals, always some entertainment or juried shows

Name something you love about Las Vegas, and why.

I love that I have a job that gives me the income to make my art.

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

be original

What superpower would you have and why?

I would like to have the ability to fly.

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

I'm thinking about doing a pop up gallery or Art entertainment events with a local celebrities to name a few

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

Keep up with Michael Davies here SloMotionArts.artspan.com

Twitter: @mbdc2

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

#Theatre #TenBites #film #Poetry #VisualArts

EMAV 10 Bites: Monera Mason, Art Evangelizer

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?

I adore performative work, pranks, creative destruction, set building, art slut, and writer of words and worlds.

Why do you do it?

I can't not do it.

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

Faking Banksy's, building cults, Imaging mythology, connecting people. I love it all. . .

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

I am currently the Southern Nevada face of Nevada Volunteers whose mission is to increase volunteerism in the state.

What is an Arts experience that you will never forget?

The fake Banksy's fooled [my friend] Paco which made my year. I love the small interactions where your audience has learned something from your work.

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

Work. . . .Sleep . . . Art. Those are the modes that move me. Oh yeah I forget I am a parent but frankly that is merely a longitudinal art project I am deploying on the community.

Name something you love about Las Vegas, and why.

I adore this city so much. The community is supportive and kind. The work is getting better and better. I love how small it feels sometimes and how international at other times.

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

You are not productive when you date and your work suffers. Its hard but true

What superpower would you have and why?

I would like to live for 200 years or so. There is so much I want to get better at that without a few lifetimes it is not going to happen.

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

I am looking forward to more Radar, Meow Wolf, Kind Haven, next years immersive season by Majestic, deeper Core Conversations, remodeled Public Fit. Can we just say I am pretty damn excited about everything that our future holds! I want to support it, be part of it, adore it, fall in love with our community, evangalize it, and mostly co-create it. Let's do this Vegas!!!

Find some of the places mentioned and DIG IN with our #EatMoreArt Vegas Arts & Culture Directory!

Keep up with Monera Mason here www.demiurgic.space

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

#Theatre #TenBites #film #Poetry

EMAV 10 Bites: Shahab Zargari, Filmmaker

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 art do you create?

I tell stories through photos and videos.

Why do you do it?

Because it is what I am the best at.

What’s your favorite production/performance so far?

It's hard because I truly love almost everything I've been a part of, so I will say most recently my new short My Name is Art.

What jobs have you done other than being an artist?

In college I worked at a Bank, I sold cars for 6 months, and I sold timeshares when I first moved to Vegas (8 months) mainly because it was 2008 and no one else was hiring. From 2008-2013 I ran one of Las Vegas' first boutique ad agencies called Assurance Advertising until we sold it to a local startup.

What memorable responses have you had to your work?

My directorial debut was an official selection at San Diego Comic Con 2016. I was humbled and shocked, and oh so happy to be screening at the largest geek fest in the world.

What would you be doing if you weren't performing your art?

Scheming ways to create art.

Name something you love about Las Vegas, and why.

I love the nature. The hiking. The underground art and music scenes.

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

Be patient.

What superpower would you have and why?

I would love Wolverine's healing factor. That way my body, my teeth, my head would be immune to sickness and deterioration!

Any future projects?

Always. You can keep in the loop with me on Twitter/Instagram to see what I'm working on next.

Keep up with Shahab's latest projects by visiting his site www.shahabzargari.net

and follow him on social @shahabzargari

Are you a local artist of any discipline? Do you work with a company as a designer, stagehand or administrative staff? 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

#Theatre #TenBites #film

EMAV Film Review: 'Dealer' a strong calling card for local talents ★★★☆☆

★★★☆☆ - Satisfying

A sort of all-star jam of notable local filmmakers, the omnibus feature “Dealer” showcases contributions from five Las Vegas filmmakers and/or filmmaking teams: Lundon Boyd, Jeremy Cloe, Mike and Jerry Thompson, Ryan and Cody LeBoeuf, and Adam Zielinski. First premiered at the Las Vegas Film Festival in 2016, the movie is finally being released to the public this week on VOD from Amazon and in a limited theatrical run in LA. Although it’s been in limbo for a couple of years, “Dealer” remains a strong calling card for local talents, who display some of their greatest strengths in their individual segments.

Boyd writes, directs and stars in the movie’s wraparound segments, which establish his character Kelly as an aimless slacker, bored with his job as a casino card dealer and frustrated with a life that he feels is going nowhere. Kelly gets an unexpected jolt when he arrives home to discover his roommate Trevor (Chris Russell) covered in blood, and Trevor’s mysterious boss Mr. X (indie film staple Pat Healy) informs Kelly that he’ll be taking over Trevor’s drug-delivery route, whether he likes it or not.

From there, Kelly heads out on four different misadventures in criminal activity, over the course of a single 24-hour period. Although each segment is written and directed by a different team, Boyd holds the entire movie together as Kelly, returning as filmmaker for a mid-movie interlude and for the wrap-up at the end. Even when Boyd isn’t the one behind the camera, he makes sure that Kelly is the same overwhelmed, confused yet strangely affable guy, and he conveys a sense of character development over the course of the disparate segments.

Maybe it’s a little tough to believe that Kelly could go through all of these experiences in a single day (or at least manage to do so without dying and/or going insane), but the movie takes on a surreal, sometimes dreamlike tone that indicates not everything is meant to be taken literally. That’s especially evident in the middle two segments, from the Thompsons and the LeBoeufs, in which Kelly experiences inexplicable misadventures with some extremely odd characters.

The Thompsons pair Kelly up with a disturbingly cheerful henchman known only as What’s His Name (played by Mike Thompson) for a darkly funny descent into an absurdist murder plot, with a surprising amount of pun-based humor. Mike Thompson is hilarious as the stone-cold killer who really, really loves wordplay, and he has a great dynamic with Boyd.

The LeBoeufs get into even stranger territory, as Kelly makes a delivery at a swanky hotel (shot at the Artisan) to a mysterious Romanian man who’s storing a giant eel in his bathtub. This segment is the most impressionistic and bizarre stretch in the movie, and it’s also the one that would work the best as its own standalone short film (it’s no surprise that the movie requires another connecting segment from Boyd to get Kelly back on track for the final delivery).

Cloe’s and Zielinski’s segments are more straightforward, with Cloe creating a sweet (but sometimes clunky) comedy about Kelly connecting with an optimistic young woman who’s just getting her life together, and Zielinski coming up with a fast-paced action piece that teams Kelly up with a reckless undercover cop (Luke Jones). Both of these segments are solid and watchable, but they don’t exhibit the same creativity and distinctiveness as the contributions from the Thompsons and the LeBoeufs.

The overall package has the balance of a good shorts program at a film festival (and “Dealer” in fact played at Boulder City’s Dam Short Film Festival in 2017), while also offering a mostly satisfactory wrap-up in Boyd’s concluding segment. All of the filmmakers involved have worked on other projects since “Dealer” was completed, but now that it’s available to a wider audience, it should provide a good boost for some deserving talents.

“Dealer” is available for digital rental or purchase via Amazon Video. It opens November 3 at the Ahrya Fine Arts by Laemmle in Los Angeles.

#film #Bell #Review

EMAV Review: Sin City Horror Fest 2018

For its second year, the Sin City Horror Fest moved from Downtown’s Eclipse Theaters to the Brenden Theatres at the Palms, attracting a relatively small but devoted audience of horror fans. Thanks to the dedication of its founders (local filmmakers Drew Marvick, Mike Lenzini, Justin Bergonzoni and Darren Flores), the festival is on its way to becoming a local institution, with a third year already planned. The gregarious and prodigiously bearded Marvick was on hand to introduce every feature film and shorts block, and his enthusiasm for the material was infectious, even at screenings with only a handful of people in attendance.

As a genre, horror has a lot of range, and the feature selections included the surreal drama The God Inside My Ear and the cult-movie documentary Survival of the Film Freaks (with Vegas locals William Powell of the Sci Fi Center and filmmaker Jimmie Gonzalez among the interviewees), in addition to more traditional horror offerings. My favorite features at this year’s festival provide solid variations on familiar horror formats, though, with worthwhile takes on found footage (The Lost Footage of Leah Sullivan) and ’80s-style supernatural spooks (The Night Sitter). Within predictable, well-worn frameworks, both movies deliver interesting, appealing characters, engaging stories and effective scares.

Lost Footage follows the found-footage template exactly, presented as the unedited footage captured by the title character (Anna Stromberg), a college student working on a school project about an unsolved murder in a small town. Could there be something supernatural lurking in the now-abandoned house where an entire family was brutally mutilated? Obviously yes, and the movie never really pretends otherwise, setting Leah and her affable cop love interest (played by director Burt Grinstead) up for certain death by the end. But Grinstead is much more rigorous about the found footage concept than the filmmakers behind the many, many other lazy takes on the format can be, and there’s a believably naturalistic quality to the performances.

The Night Sitter is a fun throwback-style horror-comedy about a small-time thief posing as a babysitter who ends up having to fight supernatural forces at the house she's attempting to rob. It’s silly and full of plot holes, but also stylish and quite entertaining, with impressive special effects and charming performances all around, especially from lead actress Elyse Dufour, who makes her fake-babysitter grifter into a heroine worth rooting for. Like a lot of current indie horror movies (including several shorts and features at SCHF), Sitter pays homage to the ’80s horror golden age, but it never panders to the audience, and its references exist to serve the plot and characters, not the other way around.

Among the shorts, there were perhaps too many films that got that balance wrong, but there was still plenty to like in the five shorts blocks, with even more stylistic diversity than in the features. I was especially impressed with a couple of shorts that deal with what happens after the end of the zombie apocalypse, when people attempt to return to some kind of normalcy. Honeymoon explores how a cured zombie repairs her marriage, and Riley Was Here depicts two broken people deliberately activating the zombie virus in order to forge a connection.

Other shorts that stood out include the award-winning Smiley Death Face, a clever, nearly dialogue-free film that manages to make emojis scary; the eerie Baghead, which turns a reunion with dead loved ones into a grim revenge story; the goofy post-apocalyptic stop-motion animated comedy Hammer Down; the dreamlike VHS-inspired sci-fi/horror piece The Chairman; and the darkly comedic demon-summoning tale Stay.

This year’s festival also hosted a screening of John Carpenter’s original 1978 Halloween, to coincide with the release of the new sequel, and Marvick hopes that settling into the new venue will allow next year’s SCHF to recruit more special guests and schedule more retrospectives. There’s lots of potential in a Vegas horror festival, and SCHF is clearly just getting started.

#Bell #film #Review

EMAV Review: The 2018 Laughlin Film Festival

After seven years, the Laughlin International Film Festival has established itself as a well-run, filmmaker-friendly event, creating an indie film oasis in an unlikely location. This year’s festival featured four days of screenings across three auditoriums at the Stadium 9 Cinemas inside the Laughlin Outlet Center, along with mixers, presentations and an awards ceremony honoring the best of the fest. For my first visit to the festival, I made it for two of the four days, but I did my best to see as much as possible, including features, shorts and documentaries.

I arrived just in time for the documentary feature Cracking Aces: A Woman’s Place at the Table, which features plenty of Las Vegas footage in its chronicle of women breaking into the male-dominated world of professional poker. Director H. James Gilmore and producer Tracy Halcomb (both academics) talk to a range of female poker luminaries, most of whom have fascinating stories, especially those who started playing in the ’70s and ’80s when casinos, card rooms and tournaments were even less welcoming than they are now. Halcomb was on hand to talk about the serendipitous meeting between her and Gilmore and two of the film’s subjects at a Benihana in Las Vegas, which provided the impetus for the movie.

Even at just 65 minutes, Cracking Aces gets a little thin, with its repetitive series of talking-head interviews and minimal gameplay footage (Halcomb talked about the difficulties of shooting at the ESPN-controlled World Series of Poker). Still, the subjects are all charismatic and lively, and their accomplishments are clear. Cracking Aces probably doesn’t warrant a full theatrical release, but it would be a great fit for PBS (especially in Las Vegas).

The four narrative features I saw were a bit more uneven, although I was impressed with some of their ambitions, especially on such limited resources. Oliver Cane’s Eyes and Prize follows four ordinary people who believe they’ve been selected for a reality show, but soon discover that the apartment full of cameras where they’re sequestered is more of a prison than a TV studio. Cane so effectively captures the inanity of reality-TV conversations that a lot of the early part of the movie is a chore to watch, but he eventually builds some tension and desperation as the situation gets worse for the characters.

He also engages in an impressive if not necessarily effective formalist experiment, opening with a 16-minute long take and making each successive shot a little shorter, until a barrage of ultra-quick cuts at the end. It’s a logistical challenge (as Cane talked about in the post-film Q&A) that doesn’t always benefit the narrative, but just pulling it off at all is an accomplishment.

Michael Boccalini and Che Grant’s mockumentary Love Possibly also engages in some interesting formal experimentation, although it’s a mostly straightforward comedy about a lonely, awkward Londoner who decides to connect with an Eastern European mail order bride in order to find love. Boccalini and Grant have more compassion for their protagonist than the makers of a broader comedy would, and they get intermittently amusing results out of his obsession with romantic comedies. At times, the movie seems torn between earnest romance and snarky mockery, but it’s generally good-natured and pleasant.

Cane, Boccalini and Grant, along with Love Possibly star Steve Hodgetts, all traveled to the festival from the U.K., demonstrating LIFF’s wide-reaching appeal and the way the organizers welcome and accommodate filmmakers. Closer to home, there was a program showcasing work from Bullhead City-based filmmaker Brian Lee Brown (Bullhead City, Arizona, is just across the Colorado River from Laughlin), and Vegas-based composer David Rosen had his music video Artificial in multiple shorts programs.

Artificial, directed by Ben Yonker, was a highlight of the shorts that I saw, with a clever and creepy depiction of a woman’s relationship with her homemade boyfriend doll. I also liked Scott Ballard’s North & Nowhere, a sweet and understated story about a woman breaking her terminally ill dad out of a nursing home for one last joy ride, which was the bright spot in an otherwise dismal program of shorts focused on social issues.

Even if I didn’t love everything I saw, I still had a very rewarding time at LIFF, which was just as welcoming to me as a journalist and critic as it is to the various filmmakers (I had a lively discussion with the Love Possibly crew about the goals of film criticism). Some of the screenings were sparsely attended, but the audience was always enthusiastic and engaged. On Friday night, there was a Keith Urban concert just across the parking lot from the movie theater at the Laughlin Event Center, but nothing distracted the festival organizers, volunteers and attendees from their celebration of independent filmmaking. That’s refreshing to find in a town of any size.

#Bell #film #Review

EMAV Film: 'The Beast' ★★★½

★★★½☆ - Satisfying

The debut feature from longtime local filmmakers (and brothers) Ryan and Cody LeBoeuf was one of the highlights of the 2016 Las Vegas Film Festival, so it was disappointing that the festival initially seemed like the last anyone would hear from the movie that at the time was titled “Rabbit Days.” Now two years later, the movie is finally available to the general public, under a new, more generic title (“The Beast”) but with the same delightfully surreal and twisted content. It’s one of the best feature films ever created by locals, and it deserves much wider recognition than it’s had thus far.

The LeBoeufs have been making impressively weird and fascinating short films since their days as UNLV students, and “The Beast” is a more expansive version of the kind of work they’ve previously done on a smaller scale. It opens with what could be a self-contained short film (and was, in a slightly different form, before the feature was completed), as an old man (Michael Elliot) investigates something mysterious outside his front door, but can’t make out what’s lurking in the shadows. It’s a wordless, eerie sequence whose connection to the rest of the movie isn’t entirely clear, but establishes the unsettling tone of the events that follow.

In another remote location (possibly in the same wilderness, although like much of what unfolds in the movie, that’s never explained), eccentric theater director and ousted university professor Auguste Porter (Clarence Gilyard) has gathered together three loosely connected associates, all under false pretenses. To architect Jim Perkins (Kynan Dias), he’s teased a business deal and the chance to meet a potential benefactor; to fellow professor William Moore (Lundon Boyd), he’s offered a chance to win money playing darts; and to actor Andrew Booth (James Winter), he’s promised an after party for the bizarre one-man play that Auguste wrote and directed and Andrew starred in.

Exactly why all three men have been summoned is left unsaid, but Auguste seems to have grudges against all of them, expressed in one gloriously nonsensical line (“Which one of you sons of bitches took my jet ski?”) that turns out to be surprisingly literal later on. Auguste holds them all captive in his isolated, empty lodge, where he offers them alcohol and carrots (with full leafy tops, like something Bugs Bunny would munch on) and warns them about “the beast,” some sort of monster that he claims to have captured and imprisoned—at least until it suddenly escaped, now roaming the surrounding wilderness.

What is the beast? Is it even real? What are Auguste’s motives? Whose house is this? What is Auguste’s relationship to the old couple in the attic? Who, in fact, took his jet ski? Anybody looking for answers to these questions will end up disappointed, but the LeBoeufs are far more interested in creating striking moments than in answering basic plot questions. In that way, “The Beast” is a total success, with an atmosphere of mounting dread and a playful sense of humor, both embodied in Gilyard’s fantastic, mesmerizing lead performance.

A longtime UNLV theater professor (Nevada Conservatory Theatre and UNLV FILM) and a veteran character actor, Gilyard spent multiple seasons on wholesome TV series “Matlock” and “Walker: Texas Ranger,” so his performance here is a delightful surprise. Auguste is devious and volatile, but always entertaining to watch. In flashbacks that establish how he lured each of his three guests to the lodge, he’s dressed in what looks like a flannel shirt, a tweed blazer and a pair of khaki shorts, and Gilyard pulls off that outfit with the same confidence as if he were wearing a perfectly tailored suit.

Local film staple Boyd is also very good as the most outspoken of Auguste’s guests, and the LeBoeufs make effective use of their entire cast, playing to each performer’s strengths (fellow filmmaker and UNLV professor David Schmoeller never speaks, but still has a pivotal role and a disconcerting presence). The production values are sparse but never unsophisticated, with simple elements like a pair of antlers or an old-fashioned rotary phone conveying just the right amount of creepiness and mystery. The movie has a dreamlike, David Lynchian quality that grows in intensity over the course of its brief running time. By the end, the viewer may be as baffled as the old man in the opening sequence—and just as haunted by what they’ve seen (or think they’ve seen).

“The Beast” is available for digital rental or purchase via Amazon Video.

#NCT #film #Theatre #UNLV #Bell #Review

Pics from the 5th Annual Las Vegas Valley Theatre Awards #showUP

Las Vegas Theatre Lovers #showUP for the Arts and the community they serve.

Thank you to our production team, presenters and performers for helping us celebrate the invaluable contribution of local Performing Artists!

Click here to download pics from the event.

Thank you to Jilliene Jaeger

for the fabulous images!

#EatMoreArt

#ValleyAwards #ValleyRecommended #Theatre #Poetry #Dance #Music #film

EatMoreArtVegas.com a new home for local, independent Film coverage

Two and a half years ago, EatMoreArtVegas.com was founded to continue the coverage of the local Las Vegas performing arts community to address the lack of local Arts coverage in mainstream outlets. In 2018, the same cutbacks once reserved for Theatre, Dance and Classical Music have fallen upon local Las Vegas film scene. EAT MORE ART! Vegas is here once again to answer the call with the addition of Josh Bell to our reviewing roster.

Josh is a local freelance writer and movie/TV critic, and a longtime contributor to Las Vegas Weekly, and we ask you to join us is welcoming him to the team! You can enjoy his first piece about the Las Vegas Film Festival here.

Some may ask, "Why film when your mission was live performance?" The answer is simple: many of the same members of the "Live Production" community create for the camera as well. As the film scene has grown, the coverage has shrunk, and our goal is to find as many ways to give local artists and the public audience a place to sit at our "Arts Community Table."

Are you a local Las Vegas filmmaker with screenings to promote and news to share?

GET THE SCREENING LISTING SUBMISSION LINK HERE

We do not post audition info, but we share news and listing information. To post audition info, or other gig listings, join our EAT MORE ART VEGAS OPPORTUNITES/AUDITIONS group on Facebook, and post away!

Questions? Send us a message via our contact page.

#Theatre #film #Dance #Music #Listing #ValleyAwards #ValleyRecommended

EMAV Review: Las Vegas Film Festival looks to be in good hands

When the Las Vegas Film Festival organizers announced former CineVegas programmer Mike Plante as their “Captain of Strategy” earlier this year, they were obviously making a serious commitment: Nearly every selection I saw at this year’s festival seemed like a clear reflection of Plante’s taste, honed not only over the years he spent working with CineVegas programming director Trevor Groth before that festival’s untimely demise in 2009, but also the 17 years he’s spent working on programming for the Sundance Film Festival (where he’s currently senior programmer for short films).

Plante’s involvement meant that almost all of the features in this year’s LVFF (held once again at the Brenden Theaters inside the Palms) were genuine festival favorites, acclaimed at major film events including Sundance, South by Southwest and Tribeca. That’s a great sign for the overall quality of the festival’s offerings, although it also means that there weren’t any unique discoveries at this year’s event. My two favorite features, David and Nathan Zellner’s deadpan Western Damsel and Bing Liu’s affecting personal documentary "Minding the Gap, will both be available soon to general audiences (albeit almost certainly not in theaters in Las Vegas).

The Zellners have a long association with CineVegas and LVFF, so there’s a certain amount of pride in bringing their biggest production to date (starring Robert Pattinson and Mia Wasikowska) to the festival. And while the Zellners may have a bigger budget and some recognizable stars this time around, they stick to their oddball style, with a bone-dry sense of humor, abrasive characters and long, slow scenes often full of silence.

That may make Damsel sound like a chore (and indeed about a third of the tiny audience at the Wednesday-night screening I attended walked out during the movie), but if you’re on the Zellners’ wavelength, it’s hilarious and engaging, with an off-kilter, unpredictable storyline that features Pattinson and Wasikowska as alternating protagonists. The Zellners subvert familiar devices of Westerns, beginning with Pattinson as a noble cowboy out to rescue his beloved from kidnappers, and letting the story spiral delightfully out of control from there.

Minding the Gap, which has been racking up awards at festivals since its premiere at Sundance in January, is a lyrical coming-of-age story focused on director Liu and two of his close friends, working-class teen skateboarders in rundown Rockford, Illinois. Over a period of years, Liu gathered footage of his friends skating, hanging out and struggling to figure out their lives, in a movie that starts like a breezy skate video and eventually deepens into an examination of class, race, domestic abuse and toxic masculinity. Although he gives more screen time to his friends, Liu also turns the camera on himself, and in all cases he never shies away from confronting tough, painful issues. The result is a movie that is as heartbreaking as it is hopeful.

Also heartbreaking, but in a more inscrutable way, is Christina Choe’s debut feature Nancy, starring

Andrea Riseborough as the title character, a lonely, depressed woman who also appears to be a pathological liar. When Nancy tells an older couple (played by Steve Buscemi and J. Smith-Cameron) that she’s their long-lost daughter who was kidnapped 30 years earlier, it’s not clear whether she’s just conning them or is essentially conning herself too. The ambiguity gets a bit tiresome, especially since so much is left unresolved, but the performances (particularly from Riseborough and Buscemi) are all very strong, and the movie mostly works as a character study of a character who doesn’t even understand herself.

It was a bit disappointing that Plante and the other programmers didn’t include any local features in the lineup this year (after a high of five Vegas-connected features in the 2016 program, and two last year), but the third of three shorts program showcased work from a number of talented locals (and former locals), including Charles Cantrell, Chris McInroy and Jake Pepito.

Cantrell’s Yule Tidings is an absurd, madcap comedy about two friends attempting to throw a Christmas party, thwarted by their possibly Satan-worshiping next-door neighbors. McInroy’s We Summoned a Demon (which previously played at the Dam Short Film Festival and the Sin City Horror Fest) is an equally absurd comedy, with copious gore, about two friends accidentally conjuring up a denizen of the underworld. And recent UNLV grad Pepito’s Thrifters is a gentler comedy about two thrift store-obsessed friends whose dedication to shopping efficiency eventually comes between them.

Among the non-local shorts, highlights included the very funny Pink Trailer, from writer-stars Macey Isaacs and Jenny Leiferman, about two friends house-sitting for one’s vacationing grandmother, in a mobile home suffocating in cute decorations; Don’t Be a Hero, starring Missi Pyle as an aimless woman working a dead-end retail job and living with her mother, while leading a secret double life as a bank robber; and Nevada, a poignant stop-motion animated drama about a couple’s pregnancy scare while on vacation.

This year’s festival felt more focused, streamlining the feature selections under Plante’s direction and trimming the number of shorts (which have been a festival strength in recent years). Turnout at many of the screenings I attended was small, but the crowds grew over the weekend, and when I saw Plante on the afternoon of the last day of the festival, he was off to talk strategy for next year with festival president Milo Kostelecky. LVFF has pretty much always been an event in transition, and this year was no exception. The future direction of the festival looks to be in good hands.

#Bell #film #LVFF #Review

Get your tickets for the 5th Annual Valley Theatre Awards today!

There is a lot to celebrate about the 2017/2018 Las Vegas Theatre Season, and it's almost time to come together and do just that! The Las Vegas Valley Theatre Awards program was founded in 2013, in order to help the community identify and promote the best of locally-produced Las Vegas theatre. The Valley Awards were acquired by EatMoreArtVegas.com in 2017, and we are pleased to celebrate the whole local theatre community along with this year's nominees!

The Las Vegas Valley Theatre Awards show, honoring 22 categories of achievement, will take place at 7pm on Tuesday, July 16th at The Starbright Theatre in Sun City Summerlin, and is open to the public. Tickets to the event are $18, plus a $1.62 ticket service fee for general admission, or with a $2 off discount for EatMoreArtVegas.com subscribers. (Check your inbox for our email sent b 6/11-12/18) Doors are open at 6:30 for pre-show cocktails. All ages welcome, no-host bar. Get your tickets here today!

See the list of nominees here!

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Directions to the Starbright Theatre:

From the 215:

Take the 215 to the Lake Mead Blvd. exit. Go east to Thomas W. Ryan Blvd. and turn right. Turn right again at the first street, Grand Cypress Avenue. Turn left into the parking lot. The Starbright Theatre is in the Pinnacle Community Center.

From the Summerlin Pkwy:

Take the Anasazi Road exit and go north. Turn left on Thomas W. Ryan Blvd. and proceed up the hill. Turn left on Grand Cypress Avenue. The Starbright Theatre is in the Pinnacle Community Center.

#Announcement #Dance #Theatre #ValleyAwards #ValleyRecommended #StarbrightTheatre #SunCity #summerlin #film