Las Vegas films highlight festival

Kirk Baird

Friday, June 10, 2005 | 8:25 a.m.

This year marks the fourth year that Trevor Groth has served as director of programing of the CineVegas Film Festival.

Now in its seventh year, this year's festival, which begins its nine-day run tonight at Brenden Theatres Las Vegas 14, features nearly 100 feature films, shorts and UNLV student films.

While Groth is excited about CineVegas movies such as "Hustle & Flow" and "George A. Romero's Land of the Dead," following are three films with local ties, as well as a long-in-production independent film, Groth suggests are not to be missed.

"The Aristocrats": "It's the perfect film to show at CineVegas. Not only does it have the Penn Jillette connection, who is such a Vegas icon, but I think it has the sort of provocative nature and really extreme entertainment that is exactly the type of film that pops here at the festival."

"Self-Medicated": "It's another new get for CineVegas. One of the missions of the festival is to support the local talent that's working in the various forms here in the city. The writer-director-actor (Monty Lapica) is a Las Vegas local and it's his story. It's a really personal film and he put a lot of his own blood, sweat and tears in this. It's the perfect film for us to showcase at the festival because of its history."

"The Cactus Who Looked Like Just a Man": "Matthew Gray Gubler is a really exciting talent. He made a bunch of shorts and submitted them to the festival. They were all terrific, but we ended up choosing this one. He's a funny guy. I heard about him in 'The Life Aquatic.' He's a really dynamic filmmaker who ... just makes movies on the side. It's a really cool, twisted film that I'm excited about having in the Nevada Shorts program."

"In Memory of My Father": "That to me is a really special film. I think it's really independent filmmaking at its finest. The filmmaker has a vision for this film and has been working on it for a long time now and finally got it to the point it's ready to be screened. I think the performances the actors turned in, combined with his storytelling, makes for a really great film."