Las Vegas Film Festival Features Inspirational Films and Documentaries

Written & Photos by Nikki Artale

The Las Vegas Film Festival’s goal is to provide an outlet for independent storytellers and writers to give us an opportunity to see films that might not be seen anywhere else and a chance to meet the filmmakers. It is also an exciting time to meet the cast members of these films and have question and answer sessions that reveal a lot about the making of the films. One quite informative session was at the Women’s Award Brunch that featured producer, writer, Editor Jessica Congdon’s “The Mask You Live In” which won two top awards, the Visionary Award and Best Achievement by a Woman Director, which went to Jennifer Siebel Newsom. The film explores the impact of our narrow masculinity has on boys and men in our society and how it is harming them.

Domenica Castro & Jessica Congdon

I would like to recognize the film “A Man Wakes Up” as a clearly delightful story of a man who one day wakes up to a surprising change in his daily routine that changes his lonely existence. Change is the key word in this story. The film was directed by Voki Kalfayan, written and produced by Amos Glick who starred in the film with the talented and lovable Jimmy  Slonina who melted our hearts with his performance.

Robin Slonina, Amos Glick & Jimmy Slonina

Amos Glick & Jimmy Slonina

 

Thanks once again go out to the festival team for making the Film Festival 2015 a memorable one with excellent films and we appreciate all the work that is done by Milo Kostelecky, Executive Director and Domenica Castro, Press & Media Liaison.

Milo Kostelecky

The LVFF winners for 2015 were:

1st Place: Long Way Home
2nd Place: Infinity...
3rd Place: Taking Arizona

Feature Screenplay: French Dirty
Short Screenplay: Martian American

Best Short Film: SLUT - An AFI Thesis Film
Best International Short: Horseface / Caradecaballo
Best Local Cinema: Bad Guy #2

Best Short Documentary: The Foreigner
Best Feature Documentary: Semicolon; The Adventures of Ostomy Girl

Best First Time Director: There is a New World Somewhere
Best Achievement in Female Filmmaking: The Mask You Live In

Alternative Cinema Prize: SETH

Best Short Cinematography : Winter Light
Best Feature Cinematography: BARE

Best Wildcard: The Red Ben Marlowe
Best Animation: Lone Racer

Music Video Lab:
1st Place: Jerry and Mike Thompson Light Forge Studios - Same Sex Mary "Do No Good"
2nd Place: Henry Dean - Filmmaker - Kitze + the CPUs “Like New”
3rd Place: Rob Sholty Vessel 7 Films - Echo Stains “Colors of Emotions”
Audience Award: Heather Aradas - DETAILS "Relapse"

Audience Award: French Dirty
Feature Jury Award: French Dirty​