|
Festival Celebrates 5th Anniversary
Horror on Friday the
13th and Romance on Valentine’s Day
Special Showcase
Features the Work of Jay Rosenblatt
Kurt Kuene’s Thematic
Shorts Screened Together for First Time
Festival runs
February 11th -14th, 2009 in Boulder City, Nevada
It’s once again time
to step into Festival mood for Boulder City’s unique screenings of Short
films covering many genres. Shorts, which must be less than 40 minutes
running time are on average 5-15 minutes, entertaining even the most
restless of filmgoers.
In these times, the
$50 full-boat price is a true bargain. For diehards, get a room in town
for the weekend, as attempting to screen all 124 entries is challenging
to even the most rested and well fed of Festival attendees. Small town
style, everything is within easy walking distance of Nevada Hiway and
Arizona St, downtown Boulder City. There is no better get-away-treat for
film buffs than the Festival:
http://www.boulderdamhotel.com
http://www.haciendaonline.com
http://www.sandsmotelbouldercity.com
Catch a day, an
evening, one screening ($5)…just treat yourself some time during the
weekend to the most concise, and often, the most relevant films
circulating today. Information on highlights and schedule follow below.
DSFF Information
http://www.damshortfilm.org
The Dam Short Film
Festival was created by the Dam Short Film Society, a non-profit Nevada
corporation founded by Lee and Anita Lanier. The Society is composed of
a board of directors, and is currently a non-membership organization.
Lee Lanier, Ken Cioe, Kae Pohe, Nicky Collins, and Kirk Buckendorf
presently make up the board.
DSFF News on Change
In March of 2009, Lee
Lanier will transition from day to day operations to functioning as the
Society’s Executive Director. At the same time, Assistant Director
Charlene Brewer will take over the day to day operations in March, as
its new Festival Director.
Recently, we
interviewed Lee and Charlene at the Boulder Dam Brewing Company, where
the Mixer will be held on February 12th.
http://www.boulderdambrewing.com
453 Nevada HiWay, Boulder City, Nevada 89005
Lanier explained how
the transition will take place at the beginning of the Society’s fiscal
year, March 1st. Lee and Anita are now splitting their time between
Boulder City and Southern California to allow pursuit of their artistic
interests in both locales. In a very relaxed mood, Lee shared what he is
doing in his art and how he will maintain both lifestyles of small town
and big city, private art and career work in the animation hub of the
world. Be sure and visit with him during the Festival for his
exceptional insights on Festivals, career animation and all his other
interests.
We will miss Lee in
the day to day operations. He has been the foundation and go-to guy for
everyone all these years. Continuing on as the Executive Director,
Lanier will still be involved in the programs each year. He enjoys
viewing all the entries and arranging the thematic segments. His choice
of filmmaker Jay Rosenblatt for a special segment (see below) was due to
“his unique, distinctive body of work…I really appreciate what he is
doing”.
Our new go-to person
will be Charlene Brewer, an engaging young career artist from the
Southern California commercial production milieu. We are fortunate her
Father recently lived in Boulder City, as she has been in and out of the
area for years, with a special appreciation of the Boulder City small
town value. “I’m very happy to be asked to the Festival.” Brewer
successfully looked into the possibilities with the DSFF due to a
suggestion by DSFF Board Member Nicky Collins, with whom she also
volunteered in Boulder City’s Red Mountain Chorale.
“Our 5th anniversary
should prove to be our best year yet,” Lanier noted. “Not only are we
again in the historic Boulder Theatre, but we’re screening 124 short
films.”
Charlene added, “Our
5th anniversary line-up is a fantastic example of the best of these
short films.”
Both Lanier and
Brewer serve on the DSFF Board of Directors.
Special Segments
The festival will
feature a “Rent-A-Person Quadralogy” on Thursday, February 12th , at
4:30 pm. “Rent-a-Person” is one of the most popular shorts to ever
screen at the DSFF. Quadralogy director Kurt Kuenne is an award-winning
filmmaker and composer of both fiction and documentary films. Mr.
Kuenne will be traveling from Los Angeles for a Q&A. The quadralogy will
screen “Rent-a-Person” in addition to its 3 sequels, one of which is
“Validation”, which screened at the 2008 DSFF to a delighted audience.
Kuene’s ability to communicate volumes of emotion in these Shorts is
astonishing, in the least. He shoots in black and white, perfectly
reflecting the polished, spot on scripting and framing. Capturing simple
situations in simple surroundings, the theme wafts from one to the next
in a mesmerizing set of four Shorts.
In addition, the
festival is thrilled to present a special showcase for filmmaker Jay
Rosenblatt. On Thursday, February 12th at 7 pm, “A Documentary Life”
will share 6 of Mr. Rosenblatt’s short films. Making films since 1980,
Mr. Rosenblatt is a recipient of both the Guggenheim and Rockefeller
Fellowships. His films have won over one hundred awards and have
screened throughout the world. Mr. Rosenblatt's films explore the
emotional and psychological cores of average people and are constructed
from found footage and original videography. Rosenblatt will be
traveling from San Francisco for a Q&A.
Mr. Brooklyn
4 Minutes Still
Noon
Night Club Story
Super Glue
Stolen Youth
Since the festival
overlaps Friday the 13th and Valentine’s Day, two special programs have
been added. On Friday the 13th at 11:30 pm, a “Scream if You Can”
horror program will be unleashed.
On Saturday, February
14th at 4:15 pm, Valentine’s Day will be celebrated with a “Love &
Romance” program. The first 20 ticket-holding couples to arrive will
receive a free box of valentine’s chocolates.
Local filmmakers are
also highlighted by two programs. The “Nevada Filmmakers” showcase will
occur Friday, February 13th at 9:00 pm and will screen 7 films from
up-and-coming Las Vegas filmmakers. The “Best of Ai” Showcase will take
place Wednesday, February 11th at 6:00 pm and will show off the student
and faculty work from the Art Institute of Las Vegas.
Mixers, Speakers
Panels, Swag and Red Carpets
In honor of the
festival’s 5th anniversary, a “5th Dam Festival” Mixer will be held on
Thursday, February 12th at 5:30 pm. The first 50 guests to the fiesta
will receive a free ticket to any program. The location of the fiesta
will be announced in mid-January.
Other events and
venues, such as the Filmmaker Reception, Filmmaker/Press Lounge, and
Film Market, will be held at the Boulder Dam Hotel at 1305 Arizona
Street, Boulder City, NV 89005.
http://www.boulderdamhotel.com
For a third year, the
festival will include a Film Market, where over 900 short films will be
available for check out and viewing.
Want to remember the
good times at last year's festival? Want to help spread the word? Buy
fine DSFF swag at the festival or on the web site with a credit card or
PayPal. The festival is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, so purchases
are tax free.
Festival Schedule
The DSFF Website is:
http://www.damshortfilm.org
http://www.damshortfilm.org/2009/schedule.htm
The festival takes
place in downtown Boulder City over four days. Categories include
Drama, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Horror, Documentary, Animation, Student, and
Nevada Filmmaker. The short films are grouped into 22 different
programs.
Tickets to each film
program or showcase are $5 and may be purchased at the door during the
event. 4-Day Passes are also available for $50. All screenings will
occur at the Boulder Theatre at 1225 Arizona Street, Boulder City, NV
89005.
The 400-seat Boulder
Theatre was once Boulder City's movie house. Built in 1931, for years it
was the only air-conditioned building in the area. In 1999,
actor/musician Desi Arnaz Jr. and his wife Amy purchased the facility.
The historic structure has since been restored and serves as the home of
the Boulder City Ballet Company.
The Boulder Dam Hotel
was built in 1933 to accommodate visiting government and corporate
project managers supervising the building of Hoover Dam. The hotel
quickly gained a worldwide reputation as a steady flow of dignitaries
and celebrities checked in. Famous guests have included Bette Davis,
Will Rogers, Boris Karloff, James Cagney, Henry Fonda, and Howard
Hughes. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places in
1982.
http://www.boulderdamhotel.com
CONTACT:
http://www.damshortfilm.org
Charlene Brewer
Festival Office:
(702) 293-4848 |
