CineVegas edges up on other festivals

By Jerry Fink

Thursday, June 8, 2006 | 7:30 a.m.

The Venice International Film Festival, founded in Italy in 1932, is the world's oldest major film festival.

Cannes, which began in 1939, is the most prestigious, while Toronto's film festival (1976) is the largest for major motion pictures. And Sundance, created in 1978 as the Utah/U.S. Film Festival, is the largest and most important festival in the world for independent filmmakers.

CineVegas, which begins Friday at the Palms and continues through June 17, still is a long way from being mentioned in the same breath with the world's most famous film festivals.

That does not mean, however, that the film world has not started taking note of the eight-year-old festival, allowing CineVegas to carve out a growing niche for itself.

A mere toddler among the more than 700 film festivals in the United States - and the other 1,000 festivals worldwide - CineVegas receives only about 1,000 submissions from filmmakers, compared with 4,000 by Sundance. Of the local submissions, roughly 30 feature films and 25 short films will be shown.

Mike Plante, associate director of programming for CineVegas, describes the festival as "a specialty festival."

"We're not trying to change the face of film - we're trying to highlight a number of filmmakers," he said.

Even so, film legend Dennis Hopper ("Giant," "Easy Rider," "Apocalypse Now") says CineVegas stands out from other festivals.

"Vegas makes it special," Hopper said. "Vegas is a pretty special place."

Hopper, honored by the festival in 2003 with a Marquee Award, has been a fan - and chairman of CineVegas' creative advisory board - ever since.

"I got involved because of Robin and Danny Greenspun," Hopper said, referring to the festival's founders. The Greenspun family of Las Vegas owns the Las Vegas Sun.

Hopper has seen CineVegas make great strides over the years.

"It's just a wonderful festival," he said. "It could rank right up there with Sundance, eventually."

One reason he believes CineVegas one day could contend with Sundance, Hopper said, is Trevor Groth, director of programming for the festival.

"What a gift he is," Hopper said.

Groth also is the senior programmer for Sundance, dividing his efforts between Las Vegas and Utah. He has been with Sundance for 14 years and with CineVegas for five.

"When I first started with CineVegas, I wanted it to have its own identity," Groth said. "I never thought it could be the next Sundance or the next Toronto.

"Las Vegas is so unique and dynamic, I wanted to feed off that mentality and create a unique festival, and I think we have done that."

Groth says the greatest attribute for the festival is the location - in Las Vegas and at the Palms' Brenden Theatres.

"It's a unique location for a film festival, with everything under one roof," Groth said. "That creates a vibrant atmosphere."

Groth has watched awareness of the festival evolve.

"At first locals just thought it was another show for tourists, when in actuality it is primarily for the people of Las Vegas," he said.

Groth said for the evolution of the festival to continue, it needs to be embraced even more by the city.

"It also needs the film industry to come out and be involved," he said. "Those are the two elements that need to work together."

This year's festival will honor several who are involved in the industry, including actress/filmmaker Helen Mirren (Marquee Award), actor Laurence Fishburne (Half-Life Award), actress Christina Ricci (Half-Life Award) and producer/director Taylor Hackford (Vanguard Director Award).

Sylvester Stallone will be given special recognition honoring the 30th anniversary of his Academy Award-winning film "Rocky."

This year's festival is being billed as "The World's Most Dangerous Film Festival." Among the feature film entries is the comedy "Strangers With Candy," about an ex-junkie, ex-con. The ensemble cast includes Stephen Colbert, Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker and Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman.

In addition to feature films, this year's festival will include "Vegas Uncovered," a section that will include several documentaries about the city.

Groth says he uses several criteria for selecting films that play at CineVegas.

"To a certain extent, we are looking for world premieres," he said. "That's how you attract the press and acquisition executives.

"Aside from that, we are looking for an overall sort of tone, a flavor, which you establish by the films you show."

Edgy films are a draw.

"Over the years we've really embraced the films that push the boundaries a little bit," Groth said. "We want to provoke audiences, to challenge expectations. That, along with the wildness that is Las Vegas, makes this a special festival."