VIFF! (Vegas Independent Film Festival), which was held from November 16 - 20, turned out to be a wonderful event at Theatre7 and the Century Orleans bringing local Las Vegas, out of state and International filmmakers together for a truly amazing slate of shorts and features including: the opening film “40 West” which brought Mr. Las Vegas himself Wayne Newton, who has a cameo role in the movie, to the Red Carpet; the documentary “Hollywood to Dollywood”; “Somewhere West”; closing night film “Bubblegum and Broken Fingers”, the charming western “The Adventures of Loop & Rhett”; “Bright” and “Venus vs Mars”. These diverse selections all had high production values, provided entertaining stories and featured talented individuals both above and below the line. On November 16th the event kicked off at Theatre7 honoring independent filmmaker Ted V. Mikels with a Lifetime Achievement Award by immersing his hands in concrete and showing a special world premiere of his latest movie “Astro Zombies: M4 - Invaders from Cyberspace”. Featuring free food and drinks and the chance to have your picture taken on “TV” thanks to the people from Don’t Kill Your Television it was a great start to the festivities with opportunities for networking with old friends while making new ones. The evening inspired a sense of community and set the tone for the rest of the event.
In addition to the films being screened there were after-parties at Tao, Piranha and the Bar Bistro and a special free presentation featuring AVID editing software. VIFF!, which is an IMDb qualifying festival, also offered the unique Golden Bulb Awards from the Welcome to Las Vegas sign to the winners which are listed on the VIFF! website.
Now, coming up from December 8– 11 will be screenings celebrating the inaugural Films That Feed Festival at Theatre7. In a complete change of pace from earlier events there like VIFF! and PollyGrind, Films That Feed is aimed at being thought-provoking and socially and environmentally conscious. The films that were chosen educate while entertaining and provide food for thought by asking questions and delivering positive messages about various issues impacting our world today. Rather than sell tickets to the screenings audience members are being asked to bring two canned items or a new unwrapped toy per person. The cans of non-perishable food will be donated to Three Square while the toys will be distributed via the Toys for Tots program. Films being screened include “Phyllis and Harold”, “Dirt! The Movie”, “More to Live For”, “Dad’s Vietnam: The War Experience of Greg Schwarze”, “Our World War II Fathers”, “Whatever It Takes” and “Without a Home”. Visit the Films That Feed website for screening times.
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