FESTIVAL PROGRAM

ABOUT LAS VEGAS FILM FESTIVAL

The Las Vegas Film Festival is a community of filmmakers and film lovers drawn to the unique, curious and cultivating environment that is Las Vegas. The LVFF pushes the boundaries of cinema, annually presenting work by passionate, rebellious, and wild storytellers to an audience of local and national filmmakers, film lovers, journalists, and film industry representatives. Festival leadership includes Mike Plante (Captain of Strategy), Milo Kostelecky (President), Robin Greenspun (CineVegas President) and West McDowell (Programming Director). For more information, please email [email protected], visit www.lvff.com and find the festival on Facebook. TABLE OF CONTENTS FREMONT STREET

10 SCHEDULE

17 LIVE EVENTS

23 FEATURES

34 SHORTS

40 FESTIVAL LABS

44 TEAM

46 VOLUNTEERS

LAS VEGAS BLVD

47 SPECIAL THANKS

FLAMINGO ROAD Theatre & Box Office Brenden Theatres, Palms Casino Resort 4321 W Flamingo Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89103 Phone: (702) 507-4849 Hours: Open 1 hour prior to first screening until 10pm daily FESTIVAL SPONSORS FESTIVAL AMBASSADORS

Lance Johns Sean McClenahan Larry Spitler Sonja and Michael Saltman Marsha and Sam Schaul Sonny Ahuja Matthew Frazier Stacey Sam Michael Ursell Tarissa Tiberti Michele C. Quinn Tevis Holborow Puoy Premsrirut Tiffany Tiberti Robert Rueter Tony Hsieh Robin Greenspun Vida Chan Lin Ron Winchell Rory Reid

Aaron Rosenthal Dan Coughlin Andy and Earl Henderson Daniel Tuntland Barbara and Mike Sloan Don Hamrick Beverly Rogers Donald Bowman Briana Tiberti Duy Nyguyen Camille Ruvo Fred Mossler Cari Marshall Frederic Apcar Chris Goyna Gloria Fine Katie O’Neil Jennifer Simich Chuck Akin Jonathan Fine Cindy Reid Joshua Wolf Schenk Clarence Gilyard KJ Howe BOBCAT PRESENTS

Live Event, Comedy

Veteran film director Bobcat Goldthwait first came to CineVegas with Windy City Heat in 2004 and brought his first film Shakes the Clown to the Las Vegas Film Festival two years ago. Now he returns to the stage in Vegas for some much-needed comedy.

11:00 PM FRIDAY, JUNE 8 Fremont Street Country Club LIVE EVENTS

17 CHRISTINE VACHON AN EVENING WITH DON HERTZFELDT

Live Event

Black Mountain Institute presents a live discussion with Christine Vachon The highly anticipated follow-up to Don Hertzfeldt’s “World of Tomorrow” onstage, moderated by Mary Ann Marino. finds Emily Prime swept inside the brain of an incomplete back-up clone of Christine Vachon co-founded Killer Films with Pamela Koffler in 1995. Since her future self, who’s on a mission to reboot her broken mind. Continuing then, they have produced over 100 films including: CAROL (nominated for the tradition of the first film, “World of Tomorrow Episode Two” was six Academy Awards), FAR FROM HEAVEN (nominated for four Academy written entirely around candid audio recordings of Hertzfeldt’s five year Awards), STILL ALICE (Academy Award winner), BOYS DON’T CRY old niece. (Academy Award winner), and I’M NOT THERE (Academy Award nominated). Killer produced Z: THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING for Amazon Studios, as well as Todd Haynes’ latest film, WONDERSTRUCK.

5:00 PM FRIDAY, JUNE 8 5:30 PM SATURDAY, JUNE 9 Brenden Theatres at Palms, House 2 Brenden Theatres at Palms, House 2

18 19 RUDY CASONI BOOZEBAG REVIEW

Live Event, Comedy

Director: The Rudy Casoni Boozebag Revue returns to Las Vegas. Sinatra’s Singing Toby Huss Bastard brings his drunken and dangerous lounge act to Fremont Street. See him croon the standards and selected punk covers with his swing band as his show of comedians and low rent, dumdum, variety acts, careens off the rails and slams headfirst into a rat pack nightmare. Starring Toby Huss, Mark Fite, Billy the Mime, Pat Healy, and the Dago5 Band and featuring mostly nude dancers who are mostly women.

Musicians: Rudy Casoni Andy Paley, Keyboards Jordan Katz, Trumpet Mark Fite, Gary 11:00 PM SATURDAY, JUNE 9 Mark Sanfilippo, Drums Fremont Street Country Club Mike Bolger, Trombone Ryan Reves, Bass Phil Small, Piano Stephen Banks, Billy the Mime Pat Healey, A nut Ben Jaffe, Saxophone

20 CLARA’S GHOST

Feature Film, 93min.

Ted Reynolds, an aging comedian, copes with his fading fame by living a Director: quiet life away from the spotlight with his wife Clara in rural New England. Bridey Elliott When they invite their two daughters —a pair of former child stars—home Cast: Paula Niedert Elliott to celebrate the family dog’s birthday, the vodka-loving clan devolves into Chris Elliott a drunken mess. While Ted and his daughters rehash old wounds, Clara Abby Elliott finds herself face to face with a supernatural spirit that only she can see. Bridey Elliott Haley Joel Osment

Writer: Bridey Elliott FEATURES Producer: Sarah Winshall Editor: 7:00 PM THURSDAY, JUNE 7 Patrick Lawrence Brenden Theatres at Palms, House 2 Composer: 3:00 PM SATURDAY, JUNE 9 Stella Mozgawa Brenden Theatres at Palms, House 2 Cinematographer: Markuz Mentzer

23 DAMSEL I AM NOT A WITCH

Feature Film, 113min. Feature Film, 93min.

Director: Samuel Alabaster (Robert Pattinson), an affluent pioneer, ventures When eight-year-old Shula turns up alone and unannounced in a rural Director: David Zellner across the American Frontier to marry the love of his life, Penelope (Mia Zambian village, the locals are suspicious. A minor incident escalates to Rungano Nyoni Cast: Wasikowska). As Samuel traverses the Wild West with a drunkard named a full-blown witch trial, where she is found guilty and sentenced to life on Robert Pattinson Parson Henry (David Zellner) and a miniature horse called Butterscotch, a state-run witch camp. There, she is tethered to a long white ribbon and Mia Wasikowska their once-simple journey grows treacherous, blurring the lines between told that if she ever tries to run away, she will be transformed into a goat. hero, villain and damsel. A loving reinvention of the western genre from the As the days pass, Shula begins to settle into her new community, but a Zellner brothers (Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter), DAMSEL showcases their threat looms on the horizon. Soon she is forced to make a difficult decision trademark unpredictability, off-kilter sense of humor, and unique brand of – whether to resign herself to life on the camp, or take a risk for freedom. Writers: David Zellner humanism. Nathan Zellner Producers: Nathan Zellner 9:30 PM WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6 5:15 PM THURSDAY, JUNE 7 Chris Ohlson Brenden Theatres at Palms, House 2 Brenden Theatres at Palms, House 9 Editor: 7:30 PM SATURDAY, JUNE 9 5:00 PM SUNDAY, JUNE 10 Melba Robichaux Brenden Theatres at Palms, House 2 Brenden Theatres at Palms, House 9 Director of Photography: Adam Stone

24 25 JOHN MCENROE: IN THE REALM OF MINDING THE GAP PERFECTION

Documentary Feature, 109min. Documentary Feature, 93min.

Director: Written and directed by Faraut and narrated by Mathieu Amalric, JOHN First-time filmmaker Bing Liu’s documentary MINDING THE GAP is a coming-of- Director: Julien Faraut MCENROE: IN THE REALM OF PERFECTION revisits the rich bounty of 16-mm- age saga of three skateboarding friends in their Rust Belt hometown hit hard by Bing Liu shot footage of the left-handed tennis star John McEnroe, at the time the decades of recession. In his quest to understand why he and his friends all ran away Cast: Zack Mulligan world’s top-ranked player, as he competes in the French Open at Paris’s Roland from home when they were younger, Bing follows 23-year-old Zack as he becomes Keire Johnson Garros Stadium. Close-ups and slow motion sequences of McEnroe competing, a father and 17-year-old Keire as he gets his first job. As the film unfolds, Bing is Bing Liu as well as instances of his notorious temper tantrums, highlight a ”man who thrust into the middle of Zack’s tumultuous relationship with his girlfriend and Nina Bowgren played on the edge of his senses.” Far from a traditional documentary, Faraut Keire’s inner struggles with racial identity and his deceased father. While navigating Kent Abernathy probes the archival film to unpack both McEnroe’s attention to the sport and a complex relationship between his camera and his friends, Bing explores the gap Producers: Producers: William Jehannin the footage itself, creating a lively and immersive look at a driven athlete, a between fathers and sons, between discipline and domestic abuse, and ultimately Bing Liu Raphaelle Delauch study on the sport of tennis and the human body and movement, and finally that precarious chasm between childhood and becoming an adult. Diane Quon how these all intersect with cinema itself. Editors: Joshua Altman 6:00 PM SUNDAY, JUNE 10 9:00 PM WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6 Bing Liu Brenden Theatres at Palms, House 2 Brenden Theatres at Palms, House 9 Director of Photography: 2:00 PM SUNDAY, JUNE 10 Bing Liu Brenden Theatres at Palms, House 9 Original Music: Nathan Halpern Chris Ruggiero

26 27 NANCY NARCISSISTER ORGAN PLAYER

Feature Film, 87min. Documentary Feature, 91min.

Director: NANCY is a provocative psychological thriller about love, intimacy, and NARCISSISTER ORGAN PLAYER is a hybrid personal documentary/ Director: Christina Choe trust – and what happens when lies become truth. Craving connection with performance film that is a vibrant portrait of a family, a radical artistic Narcissister Cast: others, Nancy creates elaborate identities and hoaxes under pseudonyms practice, and an exploration of how ancestral data is stored in our bodies, Cast: Andrea Riseborough Narcissister on the internet. When she meets a couple whose daughter went missing impacting the lives we lead. J. Smith-Cameron Sarah Benzaquen Lumpkin Steve Buscemi thirty years ago, fact and fiction begin to blur in Nancy’s mind, and she Oscar James Lumpkin Jr. Ann Dowd becomes increasingly convinced these strangers are her real parents. As Bernard Isaac Lumpkin John Leguizamo their bond deepens, reasonable doubts give way to willful belief – and the Carmine Daniel Boccuzzi power of emotion threatens to overcome all rationality. Producer: Producers: Amy Lo Narcissister Michelle Cameron Taryn Gould Andrea Riseborough Editor: Writer: Taryn Gould 5:00 PM THURSDAY, JUNE 7 9:15 PM THURSDAY, JUNE 7 Christina Choe Director of Photography: Brenden Theatres at Palms, House 2 Brenden Theatres at Palms, House 9 PJ Norman 7:00 PM SUNDAY, JUNE 10 9:30 PM FRIDAY, JUNE 8 Animation: Brenden Theatres at Palms, House 9 Brenden Theatres at Palms, House 9 Martha Colburn

28 29 SADIE SAMMY DAVIS, JR.: I’VE GOTTA BE ME

Feature Film, 96min. Feature Film, 100min.

Director: While her father is away serving in the military, Sadie (Sophia Mitri Schloss) The first major film documentary to examine Davis’ vast talent and his Director: Megan Griffiths battles to preserve his place on the home front when her mother, Rae journey for identity through the shifting tides of civil rights and racial Sam Pollard Cast: (Melanie Lynskey,) takes an interest in a new man, Cyrus (John Gallagher, progress during 20th-century America. Sophia Mitri Schloss Jr.) When Sadie sees the relationship developing, she pledges to come Davis strove to achieve the American Dream in a time of racial prejudice Melanie Lynskey John Gallagher, Jr. between them, whatever it takes. Cyrus becomes the enemy, and if she’s and shifting political territory. He was the veteran of increasingly outdated Danielle Brooks learned nothing else from the world she inhabits, it’s that the enemy show business traditions trying to stay relevant; he frequently found Tony Hale deserves no mercy. himself bracketed by the bigotry of white America and the distaste of black America; he was the most public black figure to embrace Judaism, Producer: Producer: Lacey Leavitt thereby yoking his identity to another persecuted minority. Michael Kantor Jennessa West Screenwriter: Executive Producer: Laurence Maslon Eliza Shelden Editor: 7:30 PM FRIDAY, JUNE 8 7:00 PM WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6 Director of Photography: Steven Wechsler Brenden Theatres at Palms, House 9 Brenden Theatres at Palms, House 2 T.J. Williams, Jr. Editor: Celia Beasley

30 31 THE UNICORN WHEN SHE RUNS

Feature Film, 88min. Feature Film, 70min.

Director: When an engaged couple, Caleb and Malory are forced to go to Palm A young mother of limited means puts everything on the line to pursue her Director: Robert Schwartzman Springs for a weekend to celebrate Malory’s parents’ 25th wedding vow dream of becoming a competitive runner. Her marriage failing, exhausted Robert Machoian Cast: renewal, they discover the secret to their happy marriage—threesomes. and broke, Kirstin has left her husband, Ivan, and their very young son, Cast: Lauren Lapkus Kirstin Anderson Horrified but intrigued, and determined to properly celebrate their own Jonah, seeking refuge across town. When She Runs follows Kirstin through Nick Rutherford Ivan Gehring Lucy Hale ‘re-engagement,’ they set out on a wild night in search of a threesome of the last day before the trial that could change her life forever. Jonah Graham Beck Bennett their own. Dree Hemingway

Producer: Producer: Russell Wayne Groves Laura Heberton Writer: Colorist: Will Elliott J Cody Baker Kirk C. Johnson Sound Designer: 7:00 PM FRIDAY, JUNE 8 7:15 PM THURSDAY, JUNE 7 Nicholas Rutherford Peter Albrechtsen Brenden Theatres at Palms, House 2 Brenden Theatres at Palms, House 9 Cinematographers: 6:00 PM SATURDAY, JUNE 9 John Schwartzman Brenden Theatres at Palms, House 9 Michael Rizzi Editor: Christopher Donlon

32 33 SHORTS PROGRAM 1 FRIDAY JUNE 8, 5PM, HOUSE 9

SYMPHONY OF EMERGENCY A SAD SEA Carey Williams Carlos Morales

Faced with an emergency situation, a group of young Hugo, a Mexican child and victim of violence, flees his Black and Latino friends carefully weigh the pros and hometown with one single dream: crossing to the United cons of calling the police. States to meet his father and leave his past behind.

JUDITH LOVES THE BLAZING MARTHA WORLD Anna Gaskell Carlson Young

A wily 87-year-old New Yorker, Judith Godwin is one of Margaret has been plagued with dreams of a strange very few women of the Abstract Expressionist Movement. world since she was a little girl. After a mysterious man A creative awakening in college led her to produce the with a map visits her one night, she decides to give in to brilliant, gestural paintings for which she is renowned. the incessant calls of The Blazing World.

MOTHER MOTHER THE PASSAGE Robert Machoian Kitao Sakurai

A mother sneaks off in the middle of the night. Phil, wide-eyed and mute, is on the run after escaping captivity.

(DUAL SCREENING WITH THE UNICORN) SATELLITE 7:00 PM FRIDAY, JUNE 8 STRANGERS Brenden Theatres at Palms, House 2 James Bascara PAINTING WITH JOAN Jack Henry Robbins

A strange cacophony. Are you curious about Minnesota’s #3 public-access painting show?

34 35 SHORTS PROGRAM 2 SATURDAY JUNE 9, 3:30PM, HOUSE 9

[O] FOOTPRINT Mario Radev & Chiara Sgatti Sara Newens

A film that imitates nature in its manner of operation, A purely observational meditation on how people engage depicting animated cycles in a world entirely based on with the World Trade Center Memorial, exploring the ways we sound frequency and vibration. choose to commemorate tragedy in the age of technology, social media, & changing attitudes toward patriotism.

AFTER HER GREAT CHOICE Aly Migliori Robin Comisar

A wayward teenage girl goes missing and her friend is A woman gets stuck in a Red Lobster commercial. haunted by her disappearance. An atmospheric sci-fi about first love and the lost girl.

COUNTERFEIT MILK AND KUNKOO COOKIES Reema Sengupta Andrew Ramsay

In a city that houses millions, Smita discovers a strange Grace is five. She wants milk and cookies. Everyday. Real prerequisite to renting a house in middle-class Mumbai. bad. She would make an ideal tenant, except for one glaring flaw—she is an Indian woman without a husband.

DON’T BE A HERO NEVADA Pete Lee Emily Ann Hoffman

A middle-aged woman battles loneliness and boredom A young couple’s romantic weekend getaway is by robbing banks on her lunch break. But after the interrupted by a birth control mishap in this stop-motion adrenaline rush wears off, she still has to deal with her animated comedy. deeply unhappy life. Inspired by a true story.

36 37 SHORTS PROGRAM 3 SUNDAY JUNE 10, 3:00PM, HOUSE 2

CROWNING WE SUMMONED CHANGE A DEMON Alexis Kadey Chris McInroy

The story of Erin O’Flaherty and her triumphant journey They just wanted to be cool. Instead, they got a demon. after receiving backlash for being the first openly gay Miss America contestant.

GRANDMAS HOUSE XCTRY Savanah Joeckel Bill Brown

Carol returns to a familiar position. A pocket-sized travelogue about leaving one hometown and looking for the next one.

THREE YULE COURSE TIDINGS Noah Pitifer Charles Cantrell

A server struggles with a three course meal. Trying to land their places in hollywood royalty, two dudes prepare for their xmas party. But when danger presents itself next door, they quickly get lured into a rabbit hole full of black magic and bunnies.

PINK THRIFTERS TRAILER Jake Pepito Mary Neely

In the fiercely competitive world of second-hand chic, a Best friends, Lucy and Julie, agree to house sit Lucy’s loyal “thrifting duo” faces drama and challenges. grandma’s mobile home while she’s vacationing on a psychic-themed cruise.

38 39 MUSIC YOUNG VIDEO LAB CINEMA LAB 9:30PM SUNDAY, JUNE 10 1:00PM SATURDAY, JUNE 9 Brenden Theatres at Palms, HOUSE 2 Brenden Theatres at Palms, HOUSE 2

BANDS FILMS Sonia Barcelona The Game Augustine Flores The Power Dangers OLAN Rise of the Carrots Dark Black Cat Ear Trio Cameron Calloway Trouble over Time Paige Overton The Doge The American Weather Weird Things The Four Square King

DIRECTORS SCREENWRITERS DIRECTORS Savannah Joeckel Aces Blake Gilmore Jake Pepito Xander & Olivia Brandon Mowles Engie Vanessa Aidan Diana Sheik Yosef Megan Arzaga Paige Alyssa Patrick Gonzales Brett Levner Hayden Rose Nordberg Rachel Johnson Ava Sam Rodriguez Danny Chandia Raphael Shane Gallo Kane Aaron Lockheart

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OUR TEAM

DIRECTOR DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING ART DIRECTOR DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS & MILO KOSTELECKY WEST MCDOWELL JEN KOTOWSKI ARTIST RELATIONS ERICKA SCHUBERT CINEVEGAS PRESIDENT PROGRAMMERS ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR ROBIN GREENSPUN ANDREA WALTER EMILIO ARBOLEDA-SANCHEZ ARTIST RELATIONS MANAGER MAX ALLEN ANNA HANSON CAPTAIN OF STRATEGY EDITOR MIKE PLANTE FILM SCREENERS GRANT ELLIS THEATER MANGER GRANT ELLIS SAMUEL JAMES HANSON PUBLICIST JACK BARNES FESTIVAL COORDINATORS KELLY FREY MATTHEW QUIATCHON LESLIE GOMEZ VOLUNTEER & BOX OFFICE THE PUBLICITY LAB KY GUERRERO BRANDON MOWLES MANAGER MARK BRICKER SAMANTHA ALEXANDER JOHANN RUCKER SOCIAL MEDIA KIM LOWE EMILY WILSON GRAYSON ORR DIANA SHEIK YOSEF MEDIA & AV TANIS TAMBERELLA JOE FOPIANO SOPHIE DEN RIDDER CORY FALLON MARLO ALVARADO HEATHER ARADAS VINCENT BRISCOE ROB SHOLTY JAZMIN LOPEZ LAB PROGRAMMERS JESSIE PINO ALMA NOEMI PEREZ

44 45 VOLUNTEERS SPECIAL THANKS

ALEXA GARDNER FERNANDO AVILA LATOYA JONES RICKY WITT AARON ROSENTHAL EVELYN SABINO KELLY TEEMER RON WINCHELL ALEXANDRA KNOWLTON GREGORY SALSMAN LOUISA MOORE ROBERTO LARIS ADAM DAVIS FRANCISCO MENENDEZ KENNY EPSTEIN RYAN DOHERTY ALEXANDRA OLIANNA HALEY MCMILLEN MARCY HANSON SHANE-MARK GALLO AIMEE LITEL FRED MOSSLER KENNY & PUOY SAM EIGEN ANA SANTOS HERON PEREZ SOTO MARIA DUARTE SHANIA VALENCIA ALEXANDRIA LEE GENE QUINN KUYKENDALL SAM RIDGE ANDREA LEE JACK BARNES MATT NEMETH SHANNEL ASHBY ANNE KERESTESI JAN BAIRD KJ HOWE SARAH NISPEROS ANTHONY WINFIELD JONES JEANNE BOWERS MICHAEL MEDEIROS STACI MCDONALD ANNMARIE FEILER JASON EDMISTON LANCE JOHNS SCOTT FARBER BERLYNN HOLDMANN JOHN SMITH MIKAYLA VILORIA SUZANNE BERGFALK ASHLEY MISKO JASON MILLER LARRY RUVO SCOTT SEELEY BIANCA VIANETTE JON MANERA MIRA PUNZALAN TIFFANI CHOUKALAS ASHLEY MORRIS JASON YOUNG LEE CRANER SEAN CLARK CHERYL BROWN JUVIE INES NATALY KROULIK-WHIPPLE VERONIKA LIVINSKA AUTUMN ANDERSON JEFF THOMAS LOREN BECKER SETH SCHORR CHISOM OKOYE KEVIN KIRBY RACHEL GREEN BOB & FELICIA KOTOWSKI JEN TALER LYLE CERVENKA SHAINA GRAHAM CLAUDIA CHIANG-LOPEZ KY GUERRERO RAQUEL HARWICK BOB BENEDETTO JERRY MISKO MARC MAY SHANE STUART BRENDA HENGAL JILLIAN MINTER MARK EVENSVOLD SHAUNA DONG BRIAN EPLING JOE THOMAS MARK GAFFNEY SONJA & MIKE SALTMAN BRYANT JANE JOE WOODY MARK MORTON SONNY AHUJA CARLOS ADLEY JOEY MARTEL MATT TIBBETTS STACEY SAM CASSANDRA JABOLA JOEY VANES MATTHEW FRAZIER STAN & JODI MCDOWELL CHARLES CANTRELL JOHN TIPPINS MAY WILDMAN STEPHANIE CLARK CHELSEA HODSON ALLRED JOHNNY BRENDEN MICHAEL CORRIGAN TAMI STEPHENS CHRIS BLESS JOHNATHAN & KATIE FINE MICHAEL SCHULMAN THOMAS JINGOLI CHRISTINA CICATELLO JOSH BELL MIKELA LEE- MANAOIS TONY HSIEH CORY HARWELL JOSHUA WOLF SHENK MISSY BRAMAN TONY SINATRA DANIELLE HOLKE JUNE & BILL BEERDSEN ORI BABER TREVOR GROTH DAVE KIRVIN JUSTIN MICATROTTO PATTY PETERS WARREN COBB DAVID SCHMOELLER JUSTIN WENIGER PREMSRIRUT FAMILY ZACHARY CONINE DAVID WALDMAN KARINA GIRALDO RANDI KLEINER HEATHER ADDISON DON & CONNIE WELCH KATIE CRUZ RAUL DANIELS DON HAMRICK KATYA HARBESON ROB TUTTLE DOUGLAS CROOK KELLY SMITH ROBIN GREENSPUN

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