Is there a general theme to the films in CineVegas this year?
There's a vague theme. Having done this for two prior festivals, I've tried to take the type of films that I gauged have done well here in the past, that people have come out for. Las Vegas is such a dynamic city with so much going on all of the time, you have to look for films that pop out, that have a little edge to them. So that's sort of a loose theme of what we have at this year's festival. We've got some really exciting new films that I think are really going to make a mark in the film world. We've got some great world premieres this year. On the other hand, having programmed festivals aslong as I have, the one thing you do have to have, you have to have a bit of balance, as well, because for every filmgoer that we want to bring to the festival, we want to have something for everyone. But that said, we definitely are sort of maybe slanted a little more toward younger crowds, hoping to tap into the Palms right now is so hot, as far as a destination place for a lot of young Hollywood, club kids and stuff, so we want to have some films that can appeal to them, as well.
Have you seen any growth in notoriety with the festival?
I would say in the last three years, there's been an enormous growth in terms of awareness of the festival, especially in the film community. I think now it's very much thought of as a yearly stop for acquisitions people and filmmakers are starting to look at it as a premiere US festival to have their films played at. There are many folds within a film festival. Primarily it's a venue for film lovers to come and see brand new films, and oftentimes films that they otherwise never could see. But from a filmmaker's perspective, it is a great way of presenting the film to both an audience and the film industry. Acquisitions people come to film festivals looking to buy films to then distribute. Journalists come. One of the key things a festival can do for a film is have a number of critics and journalists see it so that maybe they can champion a film too and try to help find it distribution.
So the fact that a lot of the films that are going to be shown don't have distributors is indicative of that?
Yeah, exactly. That's why our world premieres this year, they're all seeking distribution. It'll be the first time the film community has seen them. I think that's one of the ways the festival can grow, is by having these films get acquired here at the festival, so then it will be thought of as a real discovery festival.
How does CineVegas compare to Sundance?
Sundance is definitely the premier discovery festival in the world, really, right now. Cannes is, of course, bigger but they do mostly big auteur films and studio films and stuff. So as far as new films, Sundance is it right now. We're sort of modeling CineVegas a little bit on that model that has Sundance has done, but I think that we can do more things than what Sundance has done simply by our resources here in Las Vegas. Las Vegas is built for events and for accommodating as many people as you want, so I think because of the venues we have here and the capacity to bring in and host the biggest and the smallest of films, there's no limit to who big we can go with this.
How many films did you have to watch for CineVegas?
Oh, hundreds. Over the course of the year, I probably see about 400 feature films and then about 1,000 short films, so the majority of my year is spent doing that. Luckily, that's my passion. When I first got into being a programmer, I thought I was picking out the good films from the bad films, but what I learned early on is that you really have to actually look for the good in every film and then put together the program like pieces of a puzzle. You want diversity, both aesthetically and thematically. You look for something good in every film, otherwise you just think, "Wow, I'm just wasting my time."
And eating a lot of popcorn.
That's right, absolutely. The trick is not to get too bloated.
What are the don't-miss films this year?
There's one film in particular that I think is one of the most amazing films I've seen in quite awhile called Mitchellville. It's the type of film, it's so smart, and it's such a beautifully made film, it's a real film purist's film. It was shot on 35, finished on 35. He's a really amazing filmmaker that is going to go on to do a lot of great things. There's this film, Malachance, that this Mexican director made. It's shot partly in New Orleans, partly in New York. It's a really cool, gritty kind of film that kind of reminds me of Mean Streets. That one, and I think a good Vegas film is Luck, which is set in the '70s when there was a big, real-life hockey series between the Canadians and the Russians that was a huge event in Canada. It follows this down-on-his luck guy who starts betting on that series, and he's so frustrated with the world, he starts betting on the Russians, and then they start winning, even though they were big underdogs, and then his life starts getting way out of control. It's a really cool film that's got Sarah Polley in it who's an amazing actress, and she'll be coming down to the festival because she's on our jury, as well.
Are you involved with the parties?
I am, definitely. We've got some great parties lined up this year. When we were talking about the difference between Vegas and other film festivals, that's the one area where we can really set ourselves apart. It's the party capital of the world. We embrace that notion at the festival and try to put on really spectacular bashes for these filmmakers and film-lovers who come to check them out. One of my avorites these past couple years, and we're doing it again this year, is the It's Vegas, Baby party, where we take many of the entertainers from the Strip and have them do impromptu performances in a venue with all the filmmakers around, all the actors. It's created a really great, real Vegas atmosphere that the filmmakers who have come to the festival have really loved.
Is that one open to the public?
It's open to passes, so if you buy a pass to the festival, you can come.