Official Selections



The Las Vegas Film Festival is proud to announce the Official Selections of the 2009 Festival.

Documentaries

Man Who Lives With Bears
Saturday, April 11, 8:00 pm - Screen 2
Alaska is home to one of the largest grizzly bear populations on the planet. Humans rarely venture out of the built up areas without a gun. But there is one man who treats such convention with supreme disregard. He lives alone with the bears in one of the most remote parts of the Alaskan wilderness. He has crossed a boundary that few people ever cross, leaving the comfort of modern society for a life in the wild amongst nature's most revered carnivores.

Immokalee U.S.A.
Thursday, April 9, 8:45 pm - Screen 1
Every season, tens of thousands of migrant farmworkers converge on small communities like Immokalee, Florida where they plant and harvest the food that Americans consume. A vast majority of these workers are undocumented, leaving them at the mercy of the large agribusinesses who hire them, the crew leaders who contract them and the landlords and businesses that profit from the seasonal arrival of migrant workers. Their "undocumented" legal status allows for a system of exploitation that leaves workers and their families to endure conditions and wages that rarely meet international human rights standards. Immokalee U.S.A. documents these daily experiences, leading the viewer to examine their own role in the issues migrant workers face in the U.S.A.

Heavy Load
Sunday, April 12, 11:00 am - Screen 1
A band made up of musicians with and without learning disabilities, which makes the bands’ survival a precarious negotiation between two different worlds: on the one hand the institutional timetable of day centres, work placements and social workers; on the other the chaotic slacker life of rehearsal rooms, studios and gigs. Home life and band-life; from invisibility to stardom of a sort and back again.

The Last Word
Thursday, April 9, 2:35 pm - Screen 2
The inevitable story of failure every American has anticipated but hoped would never have to be told. This documentary takes the 'Innocent Man on Texas Death Row' tale to a dark corner feared by all - proving that an innocent man has been executed by the State. Regardless of faith, for or against the death penalty, liberal or conservative The Last Word compels viewers to feel not only the collective pain our societal conscience suffers for executing the innocent but also the individual fear of not knowing what margins of error our judges, jurors and executioners will find acceptable tomorrow.

So You Want Michael Madsen?
Sunday, April 12, 7:35 pm - Screen 1
A documentary the obsession, need and desire to get a name actor for independent and low budget films Interviews with name artists have been compiled including EMMY Winner, Holland Taylor (2 and a Half Men), John Saxon (Enter The Dragon), Paula Jai Parker (Hustle and Flow) and Doug Hutchison (The Green Mile) to mention a few...you will also see footage of JERSEY BOY, Frankie Valli, and UFC Champ, Randy Couture. To bring the documentary full circle, the audience will also follow a quest to get Michael Madsen, the quintessential indy actor, for an interview.

So Right So Smart
Friday, April 11, 11:00 am - Screen 2
As awareness grows about the consequences of environmental disregard, the world is at a pivotal point of change and hope. The sustainability movement is gathering momentum, and the institutions with the farthest reach and the highest stakes - corporations - are taking the lead. Those ahead of the curve already realize that fitting in to natural systems is more advantageous than trying to control them… and that sustainability is the most expansive profit frontier yet to be explored. One business striving for these ideals has an amazing story of leadership and change: Interface Inc. led by Ray Anderson. So Right So Smart is a feature documentary that shows the success of businesses that have begun to take positive steps toward a sustainable future. Those looking to find encouraging news in the midst of our current environmental crisis will be inspired by this story of leadership and hope. Photograph by Jeff Lipsky/CPi.

Fighting Politics
Friday, April 10, 8:15 pm - Screen 2
Fighting Politics is a close look into the fastest growing sport in US history, Mixed Martial Arts. MMA started out as a bloody, gory, anything goes cage fight until politicians had it black balled from all PPV (Pay Per View) Channels. The recent growth has turned the once banned sport into one of the most watched sports in the world. Taking the once looked down upon fighters and turning them into rock star like athletes. Except for one.

Feast Of The Assumption: The Otero Family Murders
Saturday, April 11, 6:15 pm - Screen 2
Charlie Otero was as happy as any 15 year-old boy growing up, until he came home from school on January 15, 1974. He entered his house and found four members of his family murdered in their Wichita home. Fearing his family's executioner, Charlie moved to New Mexico and roamed the badlands on his motorcycle. Eventually, he landed in prison and learned that the man responsible for the killings was the serial killer, BTK, whose modus operandi was to Bind, Torture and Kill his victims. The films chronicles the beginning of the end of the BTK Strangler mystery and mixes a victim's search for truth and redemption with real-time, unravelling events surrounding the resurfacing, arrest and sentencing of the man who murdered four members of Charlie's family.

Sync Or Swim
Saturday, April 11, 11:00 am - Screen 2
Dive into the world of elite synchronized swimming as dedicated young women compete for spots on the U.S. Synchronized Swimming team and train relentlessly in pursuit of an Olympic medal. Sync or Swim profiles hard-working athletes on a moving journey to fulfill their Olympic dreams. Day after day, these 9 swimmers hone their skills and perfect the split-second timing of their precisely choreographed routines in preparation to face their Olympic competitors. In the midst of their training, they must pull together to support a teammate who attempts to recover from an unthinkable tragedy. Juxtaposing scenes that are intense and emotional, uplifting and mesmerizing, humorous and heart breaking, Sync or Swim offers a candid, intimate look at this misunderstood sport that is so much more than sequins and smiles.

The Green Rush
Sunday, April 12, 4:20 pm - Screen 1
The Green Rush is a documentary film that chronicles the lives of several marijuana farmers in Northern California over an entire outdoor grow season. Featuring exclusive, never-before-seen footage of marijuana cultivation, The Green Rush uncovers the gritty, blue-collar world of this notoriously private and dangerous profession. From DEA fly-bys and the looming threat of prison time, to family hardships, thieves and financial struggles, these farmers face an enormous uphill battle.

Women In Boxes
Friday, April 10, 4:45 pm - Screen 2
A film about the Unsung Hero behind the Magician: the devoted, if not masochistic Magic Assistant who distorts her body into impossible positions while the magician cuts her in pieces, shoots her from a cannon, repeatedly stabs her, sets her ablaze, crushes her, dismembers her, restores her to life with a dramatic Taa Daa...and then takes a center stage bow. Who is the woman who would subject herself to such torture, not to mention, the Magician's Ego? Heretofore sworn to secrecy, this tough yet feminine gang opened their homes, hearts and lives to the filmmakers and revealed the intensity of their lives, their back-breaking workload, and the reasons behind their devotion to this beautful and much-misunderstood art. The women are the magic.

The Other Side of Immigration
Sunday, April 12, 12:55 pm - Screen 2
A film about those who leave the Mexican countryside and those who remain at home. It is about fantasy and sacrifice, global markets and household finances, well-intentioned political goals and their practical limitations, families surviving while divided. “The Other Side of Immigration” demonstrates that migration does not take place in a vacuum; rather it is a phenomenon stimulated by, and which subsequently impacts, seemingly unrelated aspects of political, economic, and social life in Mexico and abroad. Why do so many Mexicans enter the United States illegally? Who leaves and why? What happens to the communities and families they leave behind? Seeking answers to these questions, director Roy Germano went to Mexico to conduct an anonymous survey of nearly 800 randomly-selected households in 10 rural towns. Set against the backdrop of the Mexican countryside and with music from My Morning Jacket and Conor Oberst, “The Other Side of Immigration” provides audiences with a fresh perspective on undocumented Mexican immigration and creative proposals for managing it more effectively.

The Inheritance Of War
Saturday, April 11, 11:00 am - Screen 1
Detailing an ongoing fight for justice, The Inheritance of War follows the little-known tale of thousands WW II soldiers who were held as prisoners of war in the Philippines after one of the worst military defeats in United States history. The emotional story of survival and hardship describes nearly-forgotten events like the march of death across the Bataan Peninsula, the “hell ships” that carried prisoners of war to Japan, and harrowing stories of starvation, poor treatment, and harsh conditions experienced when the men were forced to work as slave laborers. Fifty-five years later, some of the now aging soldiers sought justice and recognition for the wrongs committed against them by the now multibillion-dollar Japanese corporations that used them as slave laborers. James Parkinson, a 30-year veteran attorney from Palm Desert, Calif., worked on their case in 1999 as part of a class-action lawsuit. Parkinson now travels to high schools across America, reminding the next generation that the past writes the prologue to the future.

Truth In 24
Thursday, April 9, 4:35 pm - Screen 2
Racing team 'Audi Sport' has become a dynasty winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans five straight years. Threatened by hometown favorite and spoiler, Team Peugeot, Truth in 24 chases the drama of the best pulling out all the stops to attempt to stay on top. Filmed in the sleepy town of Le Mans, France, the documentary goes deep inside the Audi camp to showcase the high tech genius of the engineers and drivers as they fight to win in the world's most grueling racing event. What develops is one of the greats races ever at LeMans as the two camp go back and forth for 24 hours leaving the audience guessing until the end.

Medicinal
Thursday, April 9, 4:50 pm - Screen 1
In 1996, the legalization of medical marijuana won by the citizens of California and the DEA has been at war with the clinics ever since. This is costing the tax payers of California millions of dollars each year. If it is legal, why are they raiding the medicinal clinics? Are they going to make the use of medical marijuana illegal or can they come up with a solution to make this practice work.

Under Our Skin
Thursday, April 9, 11:00 am - Screen 1
A dramatic tale of microbes, medicine and money, this eye-opening film investigates the untold story of Lyme disease, an emerging epidemic larger than AIDS. Each year thousands go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, told that their symptoms are 'all in their head.' Following the stories of patients and physicians as they battle for their lives and livelihoods, the film brings into focus a haunting picture of our health care system and its inability to cope with a silent terror under our skin.

Bedford: The Town They Left Behind
Sunday, April 12, 6:30 pm - Screen 2
“Bedford: The Town They Left Behind” explores these universal issues through the eye of one small Virginia town, and the “boys” of its National Guard unit that “laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom” as the first to land on D-Day in 1944; and, sixty years later, that same unit, with new, fresh young faces, as it is deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. This cross-generational story – at various moments tragic, romantic and inspiring – is a thought-provoking, emotional look at those who go to the battlefronts and those they leave behind.

The Ghost Mountain Experiment
Friday, April 10, 9:00 pm - Screen 1
The true story of the original hippie family. Obsessed with the dream of living a simple back-to-nature lifestyle, eccentric artist and author Marshal South flees civilization with his wife Tanya. For 17 years, they raise a family on a remote, waterless mountaintop, but isolation and betrayal take their toll and ultimately destroy a desert paradise and a marriage.

Stars And Their Guitars
Friday, April 10, 3:40 pm - Screen 1
From factory to showroom, 'Stars and their Guitars: A History of the Electric Guitar' spotlights the development of the most popular instrument on the planet. This 85 min. documentary features four generations of legendary guitar players talking about the instrument they love. Starring Les Paul, B.B. King, Scotty Moore, Bo Diddley, Billy Gibbons, Slash and many many more.

Prom Night In Mississippi
Friday, April 10, 12:35 pm - Screen 1
On April 19, 2008, Charleston High School in Charleston, Mississippi, held it's historic, first-ever integrated Senior Prom, ending a long tradition of segregated, parent-organized White Proms and Black Proms. Academy Award-winning actor, Morgan Freeman, who lives in the community, stimulated this change by paying for the Prom. Some white parents still maintained their White Prom.

The Pain Behind The Badge
Saturday, April 11, 5:40 pm - Screen 1
Police Officers struggle with associated stress and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Two of the three nearly commit suicide as a result of that stress. All three sought treatment and recovered.



Features

Teplitz: The Tyranny Of Paradox
Thursday, April 9, 1:00 pm - Screen 1
A darkly comic, sci-fi adventure which tells the story of Paxton Teplitz, a young  man who joins an organization of metaphysical travelers to learn the truth about his shrouded past.

Like Dandelion Dust
Friday, April 10, 6:20 pm - Screen 2
Karen Kingsbury's "Like Dandelion Dust", based on the best-selling novel, is a compelling drama that explores the different meanings of being a parent through the grittily realistic lives of the struggling, blue-collar Porter's, and the privileged Campbell family. Their lives intersect, intertwine and collide, all for the love of a little boy. This film is wonderfully acted, bravely exposing the humanity in each character and reminding us that we each have the potential to be the best and worst versions of ourselves at any time.

Blood River
Sunday, April 12, 5:35 pm - Screen 1
Watch out when you’re on the road, because you never know who you might run into. That’s something a man and his pregnant girlfriend should also bear in mind when they set out on a route called ‘blood river’. It is here that they encounter a hitchhiker who recites Bible verses, but... is he a friend or foe? Is this hitchhiker the villain or is there something dark hidden behind the placid couple? Blood River achieves the impossible: to transmit claustrophobia in one of the most wide open spaces in the United States. Like Surveillance, another road movie marked by terror, it is tinged with warm, saturated colors burnt by the desert sun. Nothing is what is seems here except fear.

How To Be
(MORE SHOWTIMES ADDED!)
Friday, April 10, 7:20 pm - Screen 1
Friday, April 10, 10:00 pm - Screen 2
Saturday, April 11, 10:00 pm - Screen 2
A wry comedy about Art, a frustrated musician, undergoing what he sees as a quarter life crisis. This is not helped when his girlfriend dumps him and he has to move back in with his middle class parents, who are far from thrilled with the idea. Art's only friend, agoraphobic Ronny, has his own problems. Holed up in a London flat in a daze of nitrous oxide and electro music, Ronny wants to start a band with Art and happy-go-lucky friend Nikki, but only if it involves going no further afield than the flat's roof garden. Art discovers self-help guru, Dr Levi Ellington, author of 'It's Not Your Fault'. Using inheritance money, Art pays for Dr Ellington to move in with him and his parents becoming Art's full-time life coach, shadowing him wherever he goes. How To Be stars Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen - Twilight and Cedric Diggory - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) and Rebecca Pidgeon (State and Main, The Heist, Redbelt).

The Moon and Other Lovers
Thursday, April 9, 2:40 pm - Screen 2
The Moon and Other Lovers narrates the story of Hanna, a woman who will not take life's set backs and knock-downs sitting down. Instead, she takes them in her stride, picks herself up and marches onward. This is a woman who continually draws new courage from her inexhaustible will to live. Whatever losses and uncertainties come her way, she remains true to herself.

The Map Reader
Saturday, April 11, 7:50 pm - Screen 1
Sixteen-year-old Michael escapes the realities of his small-town New Zealand life by immersing himself within a world of maps. Yet his seemingly-happy isolation is broken by the serendipitous arrival of two young women into his life. Mary is twenty and blind from birth, on the verge of voyaging into the world on her own. Alison is Michael’s peer, whose grace betrays darker secrets. Suspended beside it all is Michael’s single mother Amelia, who cherishes her son, while simultaneously pushing him away.

God's Ears
Thursday, April 9, 6:35 pm - Screen 1
Noah Connelly (Michael Worth) is a boxer with a tireless opponent: Autism. Living a life unnoticed in the city of Oakland, he by chance crosses paths with a fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants exotic dancer named Alexia (Margot Farley). Her transient approach to men creates a new dilema for her as she meets Noah and watches his unique way of relating to the world. This chance meeting opens up an unexpected door for both as they find themselves becoming strangely atracted to each other. After encouragement from the owner of the gym (John Saxon) where he cleans the floors, Noah will go with Alexia on a journey to meet his family that will take her from the safety of her bubble and deeper into a world that will challenge her heart and mind.

Paper Dolls
Sunday, April 12, 11:00 am - Screen 2
“Paper Dolls” is a smart and terrifying psychological thriller set near the beautiful landscape of Glacier National Park. Two high school friends, Travis and Nate, on a road trip to Canada, are attacked by vicious Sasquatch-like creatures. When Nate is stolen into the woods, Travis will stop at nothing to get him back. Travis recruits Nate’s older brother, Chris, to bring an arsenal and wage a war against these monsters in an effort to retrieve Nate.

Rounds
Saturday, April 11, 3:45 pm - Screen 1
Friendships are what defines people. Rounds follows Jensen, Terry and WIll the best of friends, on the journey to find the thing we all look for...seeking out our path and finding love along the way. All questioning the choices they make and what is most important. Jealousy,forgiveness and regret will battle all three as they face to discover the only real thing in life..Friendship.

Broken Windows
Saturday, April 11, 4:20 pm - Screen 2
Four women, brought together by chance, are about to find out that in three days everything can change. Sara is a photographer who has lost sight of her creativity. Amy has lost the love of her life and is suddenly vulnerable and alone. Katie is an actress at a crossroad with her career, as well as her relationship. And Beth is a psychologist without any insight into her own problems. These women ultimately realize that only through love, laughter and connections with others can they truly find happiness.

Summerhood
Thursday, April 9, 6:25 pm - Screen 2
Narrated by John Cusack, this serrated sendoff on childhood is a heartfelt coming-of-age comedy that observes an inverse relationship between ones level of stress and the ability to grow pubic hair. Does camp feel like prison? Asks this summer saga of four best friends who hate each other. Young Fetus (think Woody Allen at 10), struggles for status while confused by his first summer love. Abandoned by friends, rejected by love, and confined, Fetus risks summers without sunlight for romance and glory. Former DreamWorks and Disney animator Jacob Medjuck abandons all polite expectations writing for and directing his child actors, as if the characters of South Park and Charlie Brown had a school play. Be forewarned—this tuneful nostalgic joyride 'featuring' your children is in no way 'for' your children.

W.C.
Friday, April 10, 11:00 am - Screen 1
W.C. centers on the trials and tribulations of two toilet attendants as they deal with argumentative customers, an interfering bar manager, hapless losers and grimy toilets. Jacks' dad had him arrested when his gambling got out of hand and he dipped his hand in the cash register of the family bar once too often. Just out of prison, he is told that the toilet attendant's job has just become vacant.. Katya, who works in the girls' toilet, is given the task of showing him the ropes. Jack and Katya are both trapped in their jobs. Jack, because of his debt to his family; Katya, on account of her illegal status. Slowly Jack and Katya begin to build a friendship.

A Jersey Christmas
Sunday, April 12, 4:45 pm - Screen 2
A ragtag group of store clerks get stuck working until midnight on Christmas Eve at Xmas-orama, a shabby Christmas shop in a blue-collar New Jersey town. The store is run by Mike Malcolm, a shady, degenerate gambler whose debts suddenly catch up with him in the form of two thugs who have come to collect what they are owed. Mike flees to the nearest card game to try and win enough money to keep his 'creditors' from breaking his legs, or worse. Alone in the store on this busy night of quirky last minute shoppers, the diverse, mostly non-Christian employee's struggle with their 'outsider' relationship to Christmas. While waiting for Mike's return, and more importantly their paychecks, the eccentric clerks reveal their individual religious pride, misunderstanding, jealousy, and secret love of the spirit of Christmas.

Remarkable Power
Thursday, April 9, 11:00 am - Screen 2
Starring Kevin Nealon - Saturday Night Live. With the plug about to be pulled on his late night talk show after a fifteen year run, and his wife engaged in a steamy affair with a pro baseball star, host Jack West is desperate - to keep aflame his fading celebrity, and avenge the misdeeds of his adulterous spouse. With the clock ticking, Jack concocts the mother of all media stunts, killing two birds with one unforgettable stone on the road to redemption. The scheme entangles an eclectic collection of colorful locals navigating their way through unpredictable twists and turns. A plump private eye teams with a macabre webmistress to investigate the strange disappearance of a dead body. A glassy-eyed cheddar head falls prey to a phony get-rich-quick guru. Imperiled actors embark on a quest for a fresh corpse. Cops in costume, a peculiar special effects make-up team, porn stars with dreams of stardom, a Jewish drug lord with very large brothers, Russian mobsters and others converge in this unique roller-coaster ride of comedy, mystery, murder and mayhem through the underbelly of modern day Sodom and Gomorrah.

Music Videos

Future Kings of Spain - Syndicate
Thursday, April 9, 12:45 pm - Screen 2
"Syndicate" is a visually riveting music video for the Dublin based band, "Future Kings of Spain." The piece cleverly illuminates the band's dark humor and self-effacing style, blending song and video to create a pulsing & compelling whole.


Rockchild - Winded
Friday, April 10, 5:20 pm - Screen 1
'Winded' is a music video for the rock band Rockchild that tells the story of a frustrated relationship where the guy is not sure if he wants to stay with the girl, given her various flaws and offenses, but expresses uncertainty about the relationship that is unresolved in the song and in the story. Using the themes of night and day to represent the emotional chaos expressed in the song, the 'Winded' video explores a common point in many relationships where a decision must be made: Does the good outweigh the bad?

Visa - Breakout The Violins
Friday, April 10, 12:50 pm - Screen 2
VISA's “Breakout the Violins” is a mysterious, visually astonishing piece that is rich in detail, featuring a unique blend of gorgeous, yet bizarre costumes, intricate sets and choreographed dance numbers. The story centers around a vaudevillian, circus-like show set up by a troupe of vagabonds (played by members of the band VISA) alongside a cast of supporting characters (featuring members from Lucent Dossier Vaudeville Cirque). The music video presents an indulgent feast for the eyes while depicting farce, romance, satire, comedy and rock & roll; filled with artistic, sexy and outlandish visuals... the tongue (planted firmly) in the cheek.

Lazertag - Silver State
Thursday, April 9, 2:55 pm - Screen 1
Lazertag is a two man band from San Francisco working on self-releasing their first album, and in March they decided to drive 2000 miles to perform at South-by-Southwest without any gigs lined up at the festival. The video documents their journey to play in any capacity they could, mostly ending up in truck beds and car trunks. It is a testament to the struggle of a band trying to get their music heard.

Nevada Films

Barn Dance
Thursday, April 9, 8:30 pm - Screen 2
A love-struck wheelchair-bound young man questions his faith when his prayers aren't answered. When presented with the opportunity to get up and walk, he has to decide between remaining true to his beliefs and submitting to evil.

Blind Tiger
Thursday, April 9, 8:30 pm - Screen 2
A homage to 1940's noir/detective films.






Selling Out
Thursday, April 9, 8:30 pm - Screen 2
Selling Out is a mocumentary about Las Vegas biographer George Toronto who is trying to sell his latest book about the wealthiest casino owner in 'Sin City'. Up against money, his psychiatrist and a crazy UFO cult, George finds the book stands no chance of ever being read. 'Selling Out' asks the question, why do people believe the insane things they choose to?

The Devil's Backpack
Thursday, April 9, 8:30 pm - Screen 2
When Evil Rises, it takes many forms. The darkness within will overcome and will not go away, no matter what. This is a film about the devil's soul collector and how it can take control and drive a person to insanity.

Growing Up Vegas
Thursday, April 9, 8:30 pm - Screen 2
Taylor, an isolated, withdrawn tomboy hangs out at the casino where her single mom, Lizzy, works as a cocktail waitress. There Taylor meets Tony, a lovable, washed-up Elvis Impersonator who takes her under his wing, offering to tutor Taylor in math - a subject she's failing miserably. As their relationship progresses, Taylor develops an unhealthy infatuation with Tony. But what are Tony's true intentions? Is he using Taylor to get to her mom, whom he is secretly smitten with?

Jawbone
Thursday, April 9, 12:45 pm - Screen 2
A former special forces soldier who witnessed an illicit deal between a drug cartel and the U.S. military tries to inform a journalist two years after the fact while on the run from the cartel.

Short Films

El Mosta'mara
Saturday, April 11, 12:45 pm - Screen 2
In Egypt's last Leper Colony, the fates of the least fortunate of society meet. Their ill-perceived ailment has made people afraid, turning them into outsiders. Badaa, a 50 year old woman, has suffered severe disfigurement due to Leprosy, yet she manages to work as a garbage collector, besides being a single mother raising four children. Her story is just one of the voices from the Abu Zaabal Leper Colony.

Gio
Friday, April 10, 5:20 pm - Screen 1
Based on true events during World War II. Two old men who haven't seen each other for a long time, meet in a park. One must tell the other a secret...



Brooklyn
Saturday, April 11, 2:00 pm - Screen 1
A short story love song about the greatest borough in the world.

Sanguine
Saturday, April 11, 12:45 pm - Screen 2
After escaping a lethal pandemic, a family of isolated survivors find themselves struggling with the sudden disappearance of their eldest son. When word of his possible infection reaches them, the Father must choose between abandoning him in the wilderness or unleashing the virus on his whole family.

Manana
Sunday, April 12, 2:45 pm - Screen 2
Tomás doesn’t know that tonight will change his life.Maybe tomorrow won’t be like just another day.

I'm Not Matt Damon
Friday, April 10, 12:50 pm - Screen 2
Paul bears a striking resemblance to Matt Damon. Depending on the day of the week, he is rejected from nearly every audition; because he looks either too much or not enough like Matt Damon. Ten days ago, Paul auditioned for Richard Goldberg and Abby Fischer, two of the largest producers in town. The breakthrough role of a German soldier, in their WWII epic, could potentially launch his career. Today, Abby requested him…and his prompt delivery skills to take an “important package” to her production partner’s home. While Paul realizes his real purpose there, Abby recognizes him, and reveals he is seriously being considered for the role. Her important package must be delivered on time, and since Paul would be doing her a favor, if he can get this package, to Richard, before 5pm, she will get him the role. The problem: He has twenty minutes to drive five miles in rush hour traffic.

Beautiful Hills Of Brooklyn
Friday, April 10, 5:20 pm - Screen 1
Based on the diary written by 80-year-old Jessie Singer Sylvester between 1976 and1978, we enter an ordinary life full of undiscovered riches. As she struggles to make ends meet and reaches out to better herself, Jessie faces the growing violence in her neighborhood and the realization that she is finally and completely alone. The words of the Walt Whitman poem, “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry,” run through the film as Jessie’s strength and resilience carry her to the next chapter of her life.

House Of Wong
Saturday, April 11, 2:00 pm - Screen 1
As he does most summers, Bobby is spending his time working in his Uncle's Chinese restaurant. This summer he is ready to be a cook, but his traditional Uncle will not have it and makes him a bus boy, again. At home Bobby is forced to be surrogate parent to his little brother, Lolo, because their mother, a bohemian artist type, is too self-absorbed and has all but abandoned them. Bobby loves all aspects of cooking and finds the restaurant kitchen the most exciting. He spends as much time there as possible idolizing the cooks and the jazz music they listen to. His passion for food also finds him at the market a lot, were he notices a young girl who works there, but he does not have the nerve to speak to her. As the summer goes on the restaurant is struggling, his Uncle becomes extremely agitated. The heat of the summer boils over when all the cooks walk out on his Uncle after he yells at them for wasting money. Bobby comes back to an empty restaurant save for one customer sitting by the window...

Sleepwalker
Saturday, April 11, 2:00 pm - Screen 1
A chronic sleepwalker wakes into a nightmare

Collector
Saturday, April 11, 2:00 pm - Screen 1
Justin Sayer (Brad Renfro) suffers from a mental illness which causes vivid hallucinations. The voices in his head have caused him to isolate himself from the world and from his two year old son. After several unsuccessful attempts by visiting therapist to cure him, Justin attempts to hide his illness from a new therapist. This therapist is unlike the others.

Fowl Play
Saturday, April 11, 9:35 pm - Screen 1
National surveys show that the majority of Americans are opposed to the inhumane treatment of farm animals. In fact, Americans are in opposition to the very treatment animals face every day on factory farms. This disconnect that people have between the food they buy and the industries they support is exactly what agribusiness counts on to maintain its bottom line. However, a growing movement of people are opposed to factory farming and the commodification of animals. They are organizing, documenting the living nightmare that animals face, and speaking out against animal agriculture. Fowl Play illuminates the plight of factory-farmed laying hens through interviews with people who are fighting diligently to save them. Fowl Play connects the dots between consumers and the practices they support, and leaves viewers with a groundbreaking message of personal change and community outreach.

Staubkaskade
Saturday, April 11, 12:45 pm - Screen 2
In fact, fractals are nothing new. As colorful illustrations they have been appearing in media for many years. But there is more behind this. Fractals provide the mathematical tool set to describe the complex structures of nature. They even might represent one of its main principles. The easiest way towards understanding them is to start experimenting oneself. For this reason the Koch-Curve was modified and translated into a computer program, to form a tool to search for the grown, living, alien shape. There are no poetic concepts behind the project's name. 'Dust' is the mathematical description for a set of non-connected points. The cascade is a synonym for the principle of recursion, the basic technique behind the created computer program.

The Idiot Stinks
Saturday, April 11, 2:00 pm - Screen 1
An animated film about angst, the media, Martians and miscommunication.

Redemption
Friday, April 10, 12:50 pm - Screen 2
Redemption is a short film based on the real life of Barry Minkow, a white collar criminal who after being convicted and serving almost 8 years of his 25 year sentence in prison, is now a pastor who helps people through religion and fighting white collar crime. Minkow is a flawed and conflicted man with some time questionable methods to achieve the greater good.

Most (The Bridge)
Sunday, April 12, 2:45 pm - Screen 2
The Academy Award Nominated Film - Live Action Short. MOST (Czech for THE BRIDGE) is a beautiful story of a close relationship between a bridge operator (Vladimir Jarovsky) and his young son (Lada Ondrej) and the fateful day when both try to head off an impending rail disaster. A steam train of hundreds of passengers are unaware of the danger as they head towards an open drawbridge. When a desperate young woman (Linda Rybova) witnesses an act of virtue beyond imagination, her life is changed forever. MOST is both a heart wrenching and glorious story that portrays the greatest measure of love, sacrifice, hope and forgiveness known to man.

Guatemala
Sunday, April 12, 2:10 pm - Screen 1
Guatemala is the heartrending story of Holly and Duane, a young married couple struggling to become artists in NYC. While seduced by the comfort of Duane's arms, the blur of whiskey and a haze of cigarette smoke, Holly must make a choice between her love for Duane and her love for herself; a choice that could very well ruin them both forever.

The Heist
Sunday, April 12, 2:10 pm - Screen 1
Has a determined inventor finally found a means to possess the object of his desire? Sitting in a bathrobe, surrounded by his previous experiments, an inventor toils away on his latest, greatest project. The grand plan is taking shape, and he is moments away from setting it in motion; but will it work out as he expects?

Interpretation
Saturday, April 11, 12:45 pm - Screen 2
A romantic couple's brief encounter with several philisophical thugs unfolds in an unusual way.





These Boots Are Made For Walken
Saturday, April 11, 12:45 pm - Screen 2
'These Boots are Made for Walken' stars Andrew Bowen (MAD TV, Butterfly Dreaming) and Daniel Goddard (The Young & the Restless). Bowen plays Ronnie, who takes on the persona of one of his favorite movie actors whenever his heart gets broken. Recently, after a particularly bad break-up, Ronnie went into a deep state of Christopher Walken. Ronnie's brother, Benny (Goddard) has always been the one to snap him out of these 'episodes'. Unfortunately, this time Ronnie has committed himself to a mental institution. When Benny meets a damsel in distress, Melanie Hawkins (Wedding Crashers), in the hospital waiting room, he hatches an idea. One that might not only save his brother and free an innocent pooch, but lift the spirits of the damsel's dance-deprived grandmother.

Verano 79
Friday, April 10, 12:50 pm - Screen 2
The story takes place during the summer of 1979, when two friends, Rogelio and Chepo decide to start a business together. Despite being one of the best summers of their lifes it ends in betrayal and what seems to be the end of the friendship as well. Many years later, Chepo Leal, has become a professional photographer and has been invited to his hometown to present his work. For his surprise the event has been organized by his childhood friend, who is now a succesfull business entrepeneuer.

In My Living Room
Thursday, April 9, 2:55 pm - Screen 1
In My Living Room is a 40 minute cinematic documentary. A Federal Administrative Court Judge, Pat Toal from Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. was a soldier in 1968 in the Vietnam War, tells a few moving stories about himself and his adventures in Vietnam as a gunnery soldier in my living room. The stories are unscripted, unrehearsed, and were filmed only once so that the audience sees exactly what the director saw for the very first time. The stories are punctuated with artwork that was carefully selected from the Vietnam War Veteran artists whose works tell the same story of pain, courage, instinct and insight as does the soldier’s story. The stories are also punctuated with carefully created and assembled photographs of this soldier’s days in Vietnam, seeing many situations never seen before. In addition and with just cause, the stories are set amid a backdrop of original film never seen before, of the demonstrations in Chicago’s Grant Park at the 1968 Democratic Convention. The soldier in the film wants to leave Vietnam and get “Back to the World” and what a world it is, filled with our own violence and pain.

D'entre Les Morts
Thursday, April 9, 12:45 pm - Screen 2
When Roger meets Pauline, the perspective to have finally found his next masterpiece incites him to consider the remake of his favorite movie, 'Vertigo' by Alfred Hitchcock. But all is not gold that glitters.


Pirates And Pills
Saturday, April 11, 2:00 pm - Screen 1
Pirates & Pills is a short film about Mae, a feisty nine year old who lives within her overactive imagination on a pirate ship where she battles the salty pirate, Quick Tongue Bill. Meanwhile, Mae's worrisome mother, Diane, puts her on medication that causes her magical world to disappear and inspires Mae to fight back.

String Of The Kite
Saturday, April 11, 12:45 pm - Screen 2
It's a small kite with a very tall tale. Take a heartwarming journey with Kevin as he relives another tall tale in his grandfather's life. Most people dismiss Lucky Santucci's stories as pure imagination, but his grandson believes them wholeheartedly. With his new kite ready for flight, Kevin will discover that the truth lies somewhere between the Moon and the Earth.

Colours
Saturday, April 11, 2:00 pm - Screen 1
To Megan, the world appears to lack life and meaning. She can't tell the sky from the ground, the flowers from the leaves, the dull from the lively. She is colour-blind.
Until one day, she chances upon a magical pair of glasses, which shows her more colours than she ever imagined...COLOURS is a contemporary fairytale of a girl's catapultic journey from zero to overflow, and her eventual realization that too much of a good thing isn't really good.

Alice & Huck
Thursday, April 9, 12:45 pm - Screen 2
Alice and Huck are probably meant to be together, but they're hopeless. In parallel universes they stumble across one another, in moments of heartbreak, impossibility, and sometimes in the arms of others. They catch glimpses of what might be, share brief moments, collide, and sometimes simply pass by blind to the possibility. Watching over them through all this, the wide blue sky. Across these universes, they ask how many missed mouths before you can kiss the right one?

Spielzeugland
Saturday, April 11, 2:00 pm - Screen 1
The Academy Award Winning Film - Best Short Film (Live Action). Germany 1942: In order to protect her son, Marianne Meibner tried to make him believe that the Jewish neighbors are going on a journey to “Toyland”. One morning her son has disappeared - the Jewish nighbors too. TOYLAND is a film about guilt, responsibility, small and big lies.

Awakening (En Forelskelse)
Thursday, April 9, 2:55 pm - Screen 1
16-year-old Carsten just started dating Melissa. He is introduced to her sweet and likeable parents, who kindly welcome their first son in law. On a weekend in their summerhouse it turns out that Carsten and Melissa’s dad might have more in common than they first thought.


Les Fluctuations Meurtrieres
Saturday, April 11, 2:00 pm - Screen 1
'The mere fact of becoming involved in another person's life affects the course of humanity as a whole.' A fifty year old man now lives alone, cloistered, incapable of interacting with the outside world, having no grasp on society, his humble existence being the price of fatality. But guilt cannot buy back the past, the obsessive desire to understand becomes incessant. 'Why did our paths cross at that exact point? My God, why? What was she doing there?'

Raccoon And Crawfish
Thursday, April 9, 2:55 pm - Screen 1
''Raccoon & Crawfish'' uses modern technology to tell an ancient Oneida Indian legend that has been passed down through countless generations of storytellers. Like many Oneida legends, this story uses characters from the animal kingdom to point a moral - in the case, the dangers of boasting and deception. A hungry raccoon searches for food and finds a crawfish on a quest for glory. Their battle will decide the fate between an ego full of pride or a belly full of food.

Hot Wind: America's Fallout Casualties
Saturday, April 11, 9:15 pm - Screen 2
Hot Wind: America's Fallout Casualties relives the period of the nuclear weapons testing at the Nevada Test Site as experienced by downwinders from Parowan, Utah. The patriotic Mormon community of Parowan has struggled to deal not only with the physical consequences of radiation exposure, but the psychological trauma of having been betrayed by the United States government as well. Ultimately their suffering has been transformed into political awareness, and a determination to never allow this tragedy to happen again. Their story provides a warning for all who believe that nuclear weapons testing and proliferation is a thing of the past.

The Key
Sunday, April 12, 2:45 pm - Screen 2
A love story set in a timeless society where water is a premium and people grow their own hydroponic food.




PAG-ASA
Sunday, April 12, 2:10 pm - Screen 1
December 26th 1941, Filipino and American soldiers stationed in Manila are ordered to retreat to Bataan and defend it. Along the way something goes really wrong for two Filipino soldiers. Ahead of the retreat, Miguel and Juan who have an important message to get to Bataan H.Q. before the Japanese can catch them. They are stopped by a mortar that disables Miguel from continuing. Juan helps his friend out to take shelter. Outside their little hut hide out the world becomes smaller and smaller. With Miguel close to death Juan has to make a choice and a window of opportunity knocks so he takes it. Just outside something goes wrong and he has to save his good friend from an attacking Japanese soldier.

L'Oro Rosso (Red Gold)
Sunday, April 12, 2:45 pm - Screen 2
Erika, a young married woman from Romania, suddenly comes to terms with a dreadful past experience that will always remain with her. She must try not to break down before Elena, her child. It is the baby’s innocent questions that revive her past torment and evoke the image of Giovanni, a nasty and rude Apulian slave dealer, and his merciless gang master Michele.

Student Films

Longshots
Sunday, April 12, 2:10 pm - Screen 1
14-year-old Allie Quinn is nothing like her mother, a tough woman devoted to the dream of breeding champion thoroughbreds even as her small farm crumbles around her. Allie has no patience for her mother's delusions, until they threaten her own dream: she's been saving for the perfect dress for her first prom, but her mother spends this money on the horses. 'Longshots' is the story of two people disappointed and disgusted by the priorities of the other until their confrontation leads to an emergency on the farm that forces them to come together.

Nine Fourteen
Sunday, April 12, 2:10 pm - Screen 1
Sharon hasn’t taken her medication in over a month she is in a total state of depression. Today is her birthday and her sons are coming to visit throwing her into a state of mania. She fears they will know she has loss control. Upon their visit the cake and her mood come crashing down. She looses it and one of the boys is forced to turn the situation around while the other chooses to judge her in her debilitated state.

Old Days
Saturday, April 11, 12:45 pm - Screen 2
Lillian (Mary Beth Peil) reluctantly enters a retirement community after her husband's death, and she struggles to find her place within the eccentric residents' social hierarchy, presided over by the queen bee of the retirement home, Sylvia (Helen Hanft). Feeling out of place and detached from the community, Lillian tries to forge an alliance with fellow outsider Louis (Brad Oscar), a middle-aged divorce who has been singing at the retirement home for as long as anyone can remember, but Louis would rather keep his distance from the often condescending residents. Despite the loneliness that Lillian faces in building a new life for herself at 74, she finds the potential to live more fully now than ever before.

Now And Before
Sunday, April 12, 2:45 pm - Screen 2
Now and Before is an image-driven piece about how a lonely old man perceives the rapid changing nature of today’s society in Japan and how he attempts to rediscover his place in it. As he looks on the constant flow of movement around him, he finds himself lost in the chaos of people and things. Yet amidst all the changes that is occurring around him, he seems to be unaffected by the force driving everything else. Left behind and feeling desperately lost in the world of chaos, the man reverts to reminiscing about his past and finds peace and serenity instead. In the end, however, he realizes that only in the most simple and delicate things, which have always been familiar to him, both in the past and present, can he finally find his identity and rightful place.

The Dying Western
Sunday, April 12, 2:10 pm - Screen 1
In The Dying Western, Howard obsessively pursues his dreams to be the next John Wayne, but has only been successful at playing dying extras in western movies. Set in 1960’s Hollywood, Howard’s steadfast commitment to his work gets in the way of his relationships at home as he practices for his roles by faking his death on a near-nightly basis. These playful imitations grow competitive when his wife June is diagnosed with cancer and Howard becomes convinced that she is trying to “out-die” him.

Fertilize
Sunday, April 12, 2:10 pm - Screen 1
Fertilize is the graduation movie of Belgian director Senne Dehandschutter. With the help of literally hundreds of people from all over the world (mostly students) Senne succeeded in making the impossible possible. Fertilize became an 8 minutes movie with one of the largest amount of visual-effect shots ever seen in a live action short film. The soundtrack has been created by Junkie XL. Not only is this movie unique because of its visual effects. Senne also tried to give all his attention to the movie itself. He tried to tell the story entirely through dance and fighting choreography. To do so he created a totally new reality with direct and physical communication. Even the environment itself changes at the influence of emotion.

Zona Rossa
Thursday, April 9, 12:45 pm - Screen 2
'Zona Rossa' is a drama about Alfredo, a young and honest guy from the suburbs who lives alone with his mother. On the day of his 17th birthday he has to decide between becoming a grown up man or maintaining his innocence. During a 'dude's night out' Alfredo discovers a world made of surreal machismo and inhabitated by evilish women in which he will came to terms with his life.

Armed Ambassadors
Sunday, April 12, 2:45 pm - Screen 2
In the last few years, U.S. Marines have begun training en masse to learn Arabic language and culture in preparation for deployment to Iraq. Armed Ambassadors follows the 2nd Batallion, 24th Marines to their training base in Southern California. Arab-Americans are part of the setting in this faux-Iraqi village where friend and enemy may be indistinguishable. When the 2/24th deploys to al-Anbar province in Iraq with objectives that include security and winning hearts and minds, their diplomatic skills are put to the test.

CSN Student Showcase
Friday, April 10, 2:55 pm - Screen 2
A showcase of films by the students of the College of Southern Nevada.

Television Pilots

Bottle Rockets
Friday, April 10, 5:20 pm - Screen 1
Bottle Rockets is an independent television pilot about a group of friends having fun getting by while trying to get where they want to go. In this, the first episode, Jake has just started seeing a super hot chick who might be actually be a dude, Connor is trying to figure out what to do with his life while juggling some fire and throwing some bottle rockets, Dulworth is beginning his career as an openly gay professional wrestler, Odie didn’t mean to get the monkey drunk and Julia’s pranking everyone in sight. In other words, it’s just another day at the Rhinestone Siren.

Crime Sweepers
Thursday, April 9, 8:30 pm - Screen 2
Detective Dusty Floors and Tony Danza are investigators on the trail of the murdering mob boss, Christopher Mopin. During their investigation, they discover their boss, Sheriff Long Handle may be in cahoots with the gangster and this leads to their immediate dismissal from the department. After hitting rock bottom, they discover Sheriff Long Handle has been abducted and his life may be in danger. Determined to find the truth, they set out to prove who is responsible for the latest 'string' of murders.