Back for its 12th year, the Nevada Women’s Film Festival returns to UNLV March 19-22. It includes 72 features, documentaries and shorts, both live-action and animated, directed by and starring a diverse array of inventive women filmmakers. Here are just a few of the highlights we’re excited to see.
Hollywood Post 43’s Last Stand (March 19, 3 p.m.) No film festival is complete without a zombie thriller. Brenda Garcia, Simone Lara, Lana Ford and Gwyn Laree star as the members of the Auxiliary, who repel the zombie hordes while simultaneously selling 207 raffle tickets. And on one day’s notice!
Sunny Yard (March 19, 8:05 p.m.) The tagline for this local film promises much: “You will laugh, you will cry, people will die.” Director Trina Colon’s comedy/thriller film debut follows a petty theft that escalates into something much more dark, dangerous and strangely redemptive, set against the sunbaked backdrop of a city junkyard.
Try Your Luck (March 20, 11 a.m.) Elevator goin’ off! In this creepy, surreal thriller from Brazil, director Guenia Lemos explores domestic violence through the eyes of a young woman (Caroline Roehrig) trapped in a terrifying elevator that can only be controlled through the roll of a die.
The Heart Exhibit (March 20, 1 p.m.) Directors Joffea Burgos and Zoe Malen, of GoodKid film collective, tell a lyrical story of an artist who opens herself up with an expressive, symbolic exhibit … and pays a price for her vulnerability when her art meets public scrutiny.
Anxiety Club (March 20, 7:40 p.m.) Wendy Lobel’s documentary exploration of mental health is conducted through an unexpected, but appropriate lens: stand-up. Tiffany Jenkins, Joe List, Marc Maron, Aparna Nancherla, Mark Normand, Eva Victor and erstwhile Las Vegan Baron Vaughn talk about the complex and vital relationship between comedy and anxiety.
Lesbians in Boystown (March 21, 11 a.m.) The lesbian bars, cafes and bookstores that once proliferated throughout America’s first “gay city,” West Hollywood, have dwindled. Betsy Kalin’s documentary explores the effect the loss of women-identified spaces has had on West Hollywood’s lesbian and queer community, and how that community now fights to cohere.
Lolly Dagger Eats Sponge Cake (March 21, 6:40 p.m.) Lolly Dagger is writing a play. Lolly Dagger is trying to figure out why someone would tag a wall with “Lolly Dagger eats sponge cake.” And oh yeah, Lolly Dagger has a stalker, which will likely make the playwriting and tag-figuring much more difficult. Melissa Brown, Ruliko Cronin and Felicity Annalyce star in this dark comedy, filmed in Green Valley.
Catalogue of Noses (March 22, 1:4o p.m.) Josie Andrews’ musical comedy about a Jewish teen actor’s rhinoplasty features songs inspired by Fiddler on the Roof, a heartfelt message about cultural assimilation and, spoiler alert, an entire team of dancing noses.
NEVADA WOMEN’S FILM FESTIVAL March 19-22, showtimes vary, $12-$50. UNLV, nwffest.com.
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