2010 Film & Events Schedule

  

Parties and Filmmaker Panels

The Artisan / Acrylic Tank Manufacturing Present:
Opening Night Filmmaker and VIP Party
Friday, June 4th 9:30 pm
The Artisan
1501 West Sahara Avenue
Las Vegas, Nevada 89102

Simon at Palms Place / Harney Hardwood Inc. Present:
Saturday Night Pool Party
Saturday, June 5th 9:30 pm
Simon at Palms Place
4381 W. Flamingo Rd.
Las Vegas, Nevada 89103
Filmmaker Panel
Sunday, June 6th 12:35 pm
Las Vegas Hilton - Shimmer Theater

Closing Night Award Ceremony
Sunday, June 6th 9:10 pm
Las Vegas Hilton - Hilton Theater

Film Schedule

Friday, June 4

Opening Night Film - "Holy Rollers"
7:00 pm - Hilton Theater
 *Las Vegas Premiere*
Official Selection Sundance Film Festival
Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Bartha, Ari Graynor, Danny A. Abeckaser, Q-Tip
Holy Rollers is inspired by actual events in the late nineties when Hasidic Jews were recruited as mules to smuggle ecstasy from Europe into the United States. Sam Gold (Jesse Eisenberg), a young Hasid from an Orthodox Brooklyn community reluctantly follows the path his family has chosen for him, awaiting a pending arranged marriage and studying to become a Rabbi.  Caught between life as a smuggler and the path back to God, Sam goes on the run, forced to make a fatal decision that could bring the entire operation crashing down.

Saturday, June 5
UNLV Short Film Block    
(120 min)
12:00 pm - Hilton Theater
A collection of short films by student filmmakers of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.




 Somewhere Near Tapachula
(Documentary, 61 min, Australia)
12:40 pm - Shimmer Theater
2010 Mountainfilm in Telluride Official Selection. Somewhere Near Tapachula is a story of love, life and hope as told through the Mission Mexico children’s refuge in Tapachula, southern Mexico. Pam and Alan Skuse left Australia to volunteer at an orphanage for 1 year and they are still there 10 years later. They introduced surfing to the 54 children in their care at the deserted beaches near Tapachula and it has provided these children with an escape from their dark pasts and a hope for their future. This documentary shares the ups and downs of life at Mission Mexico and the dreams of the children is inspiring to say the least.

Bicycle Dreams
(Documentary, 107 min, US)
2:00 pm - Hilton Theater 
Winner of 8 international film festivals.
They are seekers, madmen, and angels hell-bent on riding across America on a bicycle in less than ten days. Eager to push their bodies to the limit, they set out on a daunting 3000-mile odyssey. But what begins as the adventure of a lifetime is transformed in an instant when tragedy strikes the race. These voyagers discover what is truly at stake as they pedal on, praying for the deliverance only the finish line can bring. By journey's end, some are saved, others are lost, but all learn that the fuel that takes a soul toward its own true destiny is desire.

Short Film Block 1
2:00 pm - Shimmer Theater

The Journal     (Short, 18 min, US)
The loss of his mother at a very early age has haunted Alex his entire life. As a young adult in midst of a downward spiral, he discovers the gift that could set him free. No longer able to run from his past, Alex must face the issue that has defined him: Getting to know the mother he never had.

 Skylight
(Animation, 5 min, Canada)
Winner in 16 International Film Festivals
Skylight is an animated mock documentary about the ecological plight of penguins in the Antarctic, possibly foretelling cataclysmic results for the rest of the world. 



L’Accordatore
(Short, 13 min, US)
An old piano shop is the setting for this dark tale about a piano tuner and the effect his work has on an unsuspecting public.




 iBelieve in India
(Documentary, 20 min, US)
In the streets of Faridabad, India...hope is still found within the lives of its inhabitants. In a country where poverty, human trafficking, and hopelessness lurks on the streets, there is a light that shines in the darkness. iBelieve in India is a documentary about the true life changing stories of hardship and hope. 

Stealing Second (Short, 13 min, US)
2009 Cannes Short Film Corner - Official Selection
Sean is a hopeless romantic who talks too much when he doesn't know what else to do. Kelly is the pretty girl who sits next to him in one of his college classes. After Sean fumbles his way through an introduction Kelly begins to enjoy his charm and they flirt their way through a modern courtship. Along the way Kelly gets to know his friends, who make Sean seem like a Casanova, and a relationship begins to form between Kelly and Sean.

Once Fallen
(Feature, 95 min, US)
3:25 pm - Shimmer Theater
Written/Produced and Directed by award-winning filmmaker Ash Adams.
Chance Ryan (Brian Presley) wants a new life. But before he can start it he must deal with - the gambler he owes (Peter Weller), the aunt who raised him (Amy Madigan), his new girlfriend (Taraji P. Henson), the son he didn't know he had, his troubled best friend (Chad Lindberg), the cop who won't let him go (Ash Adams), and his father (Ed Harris), who, in a violent instance 20 years ago, changed all of their lives forever.

The Quantum Tamers : Revealing Our Weird and Wired Future   
(Documentary, 52 min, Canada)
4:00 pm - Hilton Theater
Featuring world-renowned Theoretical Physicist Stephen Hawking. From the sewers of Vienna to cutting-edge quantum computing labs, The Quantum Tamers: Revealing Our Weird and Wired Future brings together over a dozen of the world's brightest minds, to explore how the weird is becoming wired, and why a new era of quantum technologies is soon going to rock your world.

Short Film Block 2
5:10 pm - Hilton Theater

Patu Ihu    
(Short, 15 min, New Zealand)
Screened at 5 international film festivals.
To escape the sorrow of a tangi (funeral) a young boy finds refuge in a card game taught by his uncle. The boy, now a young man, is confronted with the death of a loved one and explores his memory of the uncle's game. For the boy, the tension and delight of the unusual game seem a welcome distraction from torment at the hands of his cousins, but when the tables turn on his uncle the boy is awakened to the possibility of loss. The memory of the game and the lesson learned from his uncle provides the young man respite from the profound grief of his uncle’s passing and allows him time to reconcile his feelings of loss and say farewell.

The Long Lonely Walk    
(Short, 12 min, United Kingdom)
A world premiere, The Long Lonely Walk follows the stories of three individuals, a bomb disposal expert, a young boy and an elderly woman, as they each take the brave steps towards a life-defining moment.



 The Vaudevillian    
(Short, 16 min, US)
Screened in over 70 film festivals worldwide, Winner at 17 film festivals. Jay, a recently fired ventriloquist, and his ventriloquist dummy, Chester, must survive during the Dust Bowl. When Jay decides to scam a farmer out of his money, Chester warns him of the danger of taking advantage of the less fortunate. Not heeding his dummy's good advice, Jay continues the scam. Realizing that he and Chester will always be at odds, Jay must decide whether or not to leave his one friend behind.

I Passi dell’anima    
(Short, 10 min, Italy)
Screened in 39 international film festivals.
I Passi dell’anima is about a man in his sixties, walking along one of his native town's streets. Youth memories are being called back to his mind by the late afternoon's heat and summer light. When he was young he used to see a girl he fell in love with. This physical and mental walk ends up in a church's sacristy: he has become a priest to get over the grief for the loss of his beloved, who met with a fatal accident at an early age.

Ceremonial Behaviors   
(Short, 8 min, US)
Winner of 2 international film festivals.
A man gets ready for his day through a series of routines that demonstrate his peculiar nature. We learn that he lives an extraordinary life and feels isolated by the world around him until he meets someone who is similar and changes his life forever.

Half Kenneth    
(Short, 21 min, US)
An American Film Institute Thesis Film
Screened at 6 international film festivals, Winner in 5 international film festivals.
1942: World War II has reached American soil. Kenneth Handa, an adolescent Japanese-American, has been imprisoned in the Manzanar War Relocation Camp for three years. After his father’s passing, Kenneth hatches a plan to escape and find his Caucasian mother who lives just a few hours away. Things become complicated, however, when Kenneth’s little brother, Jo, joins him at the last minute.

The One Last Time   
(Short, 8 min, US)
A film by Scott Weintrob, Director of music videos for Our Lady Peace. Two groups of robbers rob the same bank, on the same day, at the same time, after being given the same tip.



Unrivaled    
(Feature, 108 min, US)   
7:00 pm - Hilton Theater
Ringo Duran is one of the best fighters in the world, he just doesn’t know it yet. Mired in two dead-end jobs at a meat packing plant and a strip club, and wasting away in amateur back-room cage matches for a couple lousy bucks a night, Ringo dreams of the challenge of becoming a professional fighter. When the ECF- the Extreme Cage Fighting league- announces a competition to select the Best Undiscovered Fighter, Ringo watches as many of his amateur friends sign up for a chance of a lifetime.

Sunday, June 6

Stripped  (Contains Full Nudity, For Mature Audiences Only)
(Documentary, 78 min, US)
10:30 am - Hilton Theater
Stripped is a no-holds barred exploration into the lives of the bizarre denizens who call Sin City home. In front of Greg Freidler's lens, stripped of all clothing and society's judgements, these brave locals discover an even playing field of beauty, humanity, and ultimately self love.

Addicted in Afghanistan  
(Documentary, 78 min, The Netherlands)
11:00 am - Shimmer Theater
Winner of 2 international film festivals.
1 million Afghans are estimated to be addicted to drugs, especially heroin. Alarmingly, 40% of these are women and children. Addicted in Afghanistan is an intimate observational documentary that explores the reality behind the headlines as seen through the eyes of Jabar & Zahir, two 15 year old drug addicts living in Kabul.

College of Southern Nevada Film Block   
(90 min)
12:00 pm - Hilton Theater
A collection of short films by student filmmakers of the College of Southern Nevada.


In My Sleep   
(Feature, 104 min, US)
1:30 pm - Hilton Theater
Winner - Audience Award, Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival
Winner - Best Feature, Omaha Film Festival
Starring Philip Winchester and Lacey Chabert.
A taut psychological thriller, In My Sleep is about a man who believes he may have murdered a good friend while sleepwalking.


Short Film Block 3
1:40 pm - Shimmer Theater

Head in the Sand   
(Student Film, 16 min, US)
Henry Burch is a seven-year old with a sweet tooth for combat-themed comic books. Henry’s imagination takes him into the world of his comics, where he is always the hero and no one dies. Fast-forward fifteen years to the present, and 22-year old SPC Henry Burch is an infantry soldier on a C-130 transport headed to the mountains of Northeastern Afghanistan. Henry soon finds that the war he is fighting has little in common with the make-believe heroics of his childhood.

Pijamas     (Short, 12 min, Spain)  A police call wakes up Marta’s family in the middle of the night. The grandmother has been found wandering along the streets completely disoriented. Pijamas is a tragic comedy about the loss of memory.

Ge.hen’nah
(Student Film, 12 min, Lebanon)
A drama set in a small rural town in Lebanon about Yvette who is past 30, unmarried, devoutly religious and still living with her parents. Today, she is preparing to go to a retreat. It's a dream come true for her. However, as the bus approaches, a fight breaks out between her parents. She tries to intercede, but her father's rage is overwhelming. Is she able to calm her father and go to the trip? How far would you go to protect your mother?

Nourishing the Kids of Katrina  
(Documentary, 31 min, US)
2010 Cannes Film Festival Official Selection
Featuring comments by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama about the development of the White House organic garden, issues of childhood obesity and health, and the importance of good nutrition. This short documentary is about how renowned chef/educator Alice Waters' Berkeley “edible schoolyard” program is replicated by her and a group of citizens in New Orleans to improve the emotional and physical health of Afro-American adolescents at a Hurricane Katrina ravaged grammar school.

 Ashley’s Ashes    
(Feature, 114 min, US)
3:10 pm - Shimmer Theater
Featuring Lee Arenberg, Daniel Baldwin, Orson Bean, Christian Clemenson, Scott Michael Foster, Willie Garson, Googy Gress, Clint Howard, Gigi Rice, and Craig Sheffer. Winner in 3 International Film Festivals.
When a man inherits an urn, he learns how to live his life again by discovering the life and friends of the person that is in it.

 Godspeed    
(Feature, 98 min, US) 
3:30 pm - Hilton Theater
Winner – Special Jury Award, Cinevegas Film Festival.
Godspeed is an intense, dramatic thriller set in the lingering light of the Alaskan midnight sun. Charlie Shepard is a modern day faith healer and living a hand-to-mouth, blue collar existence with his wife Rebecca and young son, Charlie ekes out a meager living from his "healing" sessions. With his marriage failing, and an old drinking habit returning to haunt him, his family is suddenly brutally murdered by unknown assailants. Six months later, Charlie meets a mysterious girl who becomes the link to his family's assassins, ultimately leading to tragic, violent consequences for all.

 My Run   
(Documentary, 85 min, US)
5:20 pm - Shimmer Theater
Award-winning inspirational documentary, narrated by Academy Award winner Billy Bob Thornton.  After losing his wife to breast cancer and driven by the experience of raising three children on his own, Terry Hitchcock wanted to accomplish the impossible: to run 75 consecutive marathons in 75 consecutive days to bring awareness to the struggle of single-parent families. The film is directed and produced by Tim VandeSteeg and produced by Mark Castaldo.

 Short Film Block 4     
5:30 pm - Hilton Theater
                  
Delayed    
(Short, 12 min, US)
Presented by the American Film Institute. Herman Freck, CFO of Unified Energy, has done something bad. His company is on the brink of collapse, his assistant is freaking out, his wife will not stop calling him, and The FBI are after him. Little do they know that Herman has ran away to the airport, and the only thing delaying his escape is the one hour wait until his flight to Zurich boards. That is, until 'something else' begins to stalk him. An hour of waiting becomes a desperate struggle for sanity and survival as Herman discovers that boarding this plane is his only escape, but can he do it?    

Blow Out Sale
(Short, 4 minutes, US)
A new short film from award-winning, renowned filmmaker Timothy Kendall.





Open Air  
(Short, 12 min, US)
Winner of 2 international film festivals.
Under the watchful eye of a hidden sniper, two women attempt some form of normality in their everyday lives, knowing one misstep would mean immediate death.



Her Morning Elegance  
(Music Video, 4 min, Israel)
Oren Lavie's 2010 Grammy nominated music video for 'Her Morning Elegance' was shot at all stills, roughly 3225 still photos for the entire video, using one camera, hanging from the ceiling for the main body of the movie. It took 4 weeks before shooting to create an animated computer generated storyboard for the video, with 3D dummies for the characters. It took only 2 days of shooting for the live actors on set to recreate the 3.5 minute computer sequence, frame by frame.

Fighter Pilot  
(Documentary, 48 min, Canada)
Presented by Boeing and originally created for exhibition in IMAX theaters. Fighter Pilot is a state of the art, edge of your seat experience. Get in the cockpit with the world's best pilots to witness the most challenging flying of their careers. Follow a young American pilot as he makes his way though Red Flag- the world's most intense simulated air combat training event- where U.S. and international pilot's, ground crews, mechanics and rescue personnel are taken to the limits of their endurance.

Rubbuds (For Ages 13+)    
(Animation, 3 min, US)
Life is getting a little too boring and slow for those active RUBBUDS, who are action seekers and love having a blast. Those RUBBUDS live inside everyone's night stand drawers. In fact, they can be anywhere you want them to be. On this very night, they're just minding their own business, doing their routine work. Time goes by slowly. But suddenly the siren goes off, they go down the slide and hope to enjoy the ride of their lifetime. However, who is going to enjoy the ride the most?!

Sin Ella     (Feature, 108 min, Mexico)
7:00 pm - Hilton Theater
Gaston, an overworked television producer with little time for his kids, learns the importance of family through coming to terms with the passing of ex-wife.