Vegas film fest comes of age

By Joe Brown

Wednesday, June 11, 2008 | 2 a.m.

For two weeks out of every year, people come to Las Vegas to go to the movies.

Starting tomorrow, the CineVegas film festival moves the action away from the noise and neon and into the dream-filled dark.

As the festival turns 10, it has notched all the hallmarks of success. First pick of head-turning independent films. More movie execs looking to snap up the next happening film. More sold-out screenings and more than 140 films. More celebrities and more high-profile commercial movies (although last year’s red carpet-friendly premiere of “Oceans Thirteen” will be hard to beat). And more hip, hot parties and offbeat events, including a drive-in theater.

But more important than all that, this year’s CineVegas has more “Hey, I want to see that” movies on its packed 10-day schedule.

Monuments are notoriously quick to rise — and vanish — in this town. But CineVegas has taken the past 10 years and slowly and smartly built itself into one of the city’s landmark cultural events, earning its status as one of the more prestigious film festivals in the country, ranking right up there with SXSW and Tribeca and the Los Angeles Film Festival.

Sundance’s kid brother?

The focus of CineVegas is American independent films, says the festival’s secret weapon, artistic director Trevor Groth, who came aboard seven years ago. Groth has 15 years as a senior programmer at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, the big dog of independent film fests, and the connections and perspective that come with them.

“I see CineVegas as an alternative to Sundance, which is still at the top of the chart as a place to premiere an American independent film,” says Groth, who splits his year between the two festivals. “But there are a finite number of films that can play at Sundance.”

That doesn’t mean CineVegas gets Sundance’s castoffs or hand-me-downs.

“Whenever I watch a film, I’m always watching with both hats on,” Groth says. “It’s always in my best interest and both festivals’ best interest to make that choice about what’s best for the filmmaker.”

Movie town

Movies are not a primary focus of entertainment creators or consumers in Las Vegas. “But a lot of the entertainment things going on in Las Vegas aren’t necessarily for the people who live there,” Groth points out. “What I like about CineVegas is that we are creating this space that is as much for the locals as it is for the film industry and the people who come in from out of town. A large chunk of it is really driven for the people who live here.”

Another day, another film festival

Film festival Web sites list more than 450 festivals in the United States alone — you could probably go to a different one each day.

“When I first started doing CineVegas, it was difficult to get anyone to come to the festival because very few people had heard of it, and they had some misconceptions about what a film festival in Las Vegas really could be,” Groth says. “They thought it was a trade show or a spectacle for tourists. The first few years were an education process for us and for the city, so that people understood that we were about truly independent film and celebrating the work of people who pave the way for storytellers to take chances. Luckily, since those early days our reputation has grown in such a way that people do now want to be associated with the festival. And that’s really helped me in securing the types of films that I want to present.”

Name recognition

Film festivals need stars to gain publicity, attract audiences and give sparkle to the proceedings. But the attendant danger is that a glut of celebrities could eclipse or distract from the films.

“Celebrities are not why we do the festival, but they are a necessary component of it,” Groth says. “They do bring focus and attention and awareness of what we’re doing, which is celebrating these brand-new films. So to have some name recognition associated with the festival is beneficial for everyone. It adds a level of excitement for the people who are attending. For the most part, we’re bringing in actors and filmmakers who are more than just celebrities to us, whose talent we greatly admire, and whose choices are indicative of the kinds of films.”

He’s talking about this year’s list of honorees, which includes Anjelica Huston, James Caan, Sam Rockwell, Don Cheadle, Rosario Dawson and Viggo Mortensen.

“They have an incredible body of work from the independent work to the studio films that they’re still associated with. They all have such integrity as well as immense talent.”

The star magnet

One of the big components of the progression of CineVegas was iconoclastic actor/director Dennis Hopper’s involvement, Groth says.

“When we brought him out to give him our Marquee Award (in 2003), he really embraced the festival and loved the idea and the promise of it. And he became very active — he became the chair of our advisory board and has gone out of his way to make calls on our behalf, and brainstormed with me on ideas and who we can present awards to.”

Hopper’s outlaw spirit has been motivational in helping Groth make decisions about which films to show.

“Going back and looking at the films he has made over the years — ‘Easy Rider,’ ‘The Last Movie’ and ‘Out of the Blue’ — they were confrontational and disrupted expectations. And those are the kind of voices I want to discover now. I want to find the next Dennis Hoppers in the film community.”

Numbers count

CineVegas is a cultural event, and not on its face about numbers of tickets sold or deals made. But one solid measure of CineVegas’ growth and status is the number of films submitted for consideration.

“The number has grown every year,” Groth says, “and this year we had a record number of submissions, approaching 1,500 between shorts and features. People are seeking me out now to present their films so that we can show them at the festival. In the early days, I had to contact producers and production companies, pitching them that this was the right spot for their films. I think that has a lot to do with the resources we have in Las Vegas.”

Home advantage

“First of all, Las Vegas is a place people want to visit, obviously,” Groth says. In its first year, CineVegas screened its films in the showroom and convention spaces at Bally’s. Then it moved to similar facilities at Paris Las Vegas. In 2002, when Groth came onboard, the festival moved permanently to the Brenden Theatres at the Palms, and that, Groth says, “has been a huge part of why people are seeking CineVegas out to showcase their films.”

It’s hard to think of another festival with this concentration of advantages — great theaters for screenings, posh party venues and accommodations and a round-the-clock glamorous buzz.

Freedom of choice

“With quantity came quality,” Groth says. With more films to choose from, he expanded the artistic range of this year’s festival.

“We added a section of documentaries, which I think is a great move for us. They’re not your traditional sort of PBS-style documentary; they watch more like fiction, with narrative characters that are real.” For example? “ ‘The End,’ about British gangsters made by the daughter of one of them. Las Vegas has such a storied history with the Mob, that I thought it would be a perfect film for us to show at CineVegas. Another film, ‘Hi My Name Is Ryan,’ is about this Mormon punk rock kid in Phoenix who puts on these outsider art shows — his spirit is just what the festival is all about.”

And then there’s “Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson.” Thompson himself attended the festival in 2003 for the premiere of “Breakfast With Hunter,” and the late, notorious journalist “absolutely lived up to his reputation at times,” Groth says.

Many things to many people

So how do you measure the success of a film festival? Tickets sold are just one yardstick. “One of the things people look at as a measure of success, and I think mistakenly, is how many sales come out of a festival, how many movies are picked up,” Groth says. “And that’s certainly important, because one of the festival’s roles is to connect films with audiences.

“But a lot of the films we’re programming aren’t always the most obvious films for acquisition; they’re not formulaic films that get plugged into a system. So creating a space where those films can find their audience, and where people like the acquisitions executives and the press can see how they connect with audience, is a big part of the festival.

“For me, success is the filmmakers’ experience,” Groth says. “If our filmmakers come to the festival and feel like their films were presented in a positive environment without any technical glitches, and with great audience reaction and feedback, that’s a successful film festival.”

Locals wanted

Groth is serious about encouraging Las Vegas residents to come to CineVegas.

“We are bringing all of these films to Las Vegas for film lovers who otherwise would never have a chance to see many of these films, at least in a theater. These aren’t the movies that are going to be shown here (in commercial cinemas). A lot of these films that we show never do get theatrical distribution, they may go straight to DVD eventually. So to be able to showcase them in a theater is key. It’s a great opportunity to see films how they were intended to be seen.”