Filmmakers’ work on display during three-day Boulder City festival

By Tiffany Gibson

Friday, Feb. 12, 2010 | 8 p.m.

2010 Dam Short Film Festival

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2010 Dam Short Film Festival Screenings

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The sixth annual Dam Short Film Festival kicked off Thursday in Boulder City as audiences enjoyed the visions of young filmmakers.

“These are the film producers and Steven Spielbergs of the future,” said 64-year-old Bette LaCombe, of Las Vegas. “It will be cool to say one day that you watched one of their first films.”

The festival started Thursday and has 113 screenings this year, with dramas, documentaries, sci-fi and horror flicks. It runs through today with various sets -- which are movies grouped by subject matter -- playing at the Boulder Theatre, 1225 Arizona St.

Boulder City resident Lee Lanier, who is the festival's executive director, started the festival in 2005 with his wife, Anita, through the nonprofit Dam Short Film Society. A filmmaker himself, Lanier said he wanted to create such a festival because short movies are often overlooked.

Director Charlene Brewer said the festival defines a short film as any movie from two to 40 minutes. She said most film festivals have a short film category, but focus on feature-length movies.

Lanier said about 400 submissions came in this year from across the world. A selection committee of 10 volunteers determined which films made the cut.

The festival this year was reduced from four days to three because of a tighter budget. One addition this year was a set of films dealing with teenage-oriented issues, such as drinking and driving, and relationships, Brewer said.

Lanier said one of his favorite films is “Milk Man” by James Rumsey, who was to make a Friday appearance at the festival from the United Kingdom. LaCombe said she enjoyed the dramatic film “Last Night” by Ed Park.

Park’s film is about a man and woman who are stranded and questioning their future together, but one eventually dies. LaCombe said it was sad because viewers could sense how much they loved each other.

On a lighter note, she said Kate Lain’s film “Git Along, Little Dogies” was full of laughs.

Lain’s film tells the story of an intelligent woman who feels pressure to conform to society’s standard for women after she hits puberty. The theater roared with laughter as the main character kicked sexist men, swore like a sailor and tried to comically chop her bosoms off with a paper cutter.

Toni Fahnestock, 48, of Henderson, said she enjoyed Zachary Gore's film “Here and Gone” and his use of photographs to tell the story of a breakup. After the set, Gore and lead actors Kevin Sheen and Julia McAlee took the stage to answer questions from the audience.

Boulder City resident Dan Briley, 39, told Gore after the question and answer session that he and his daughter, 11-year-old Luna Harbour, have made a family tradition of attending the festival.

“I busted her out of school so she could come here,” he said, jokingly. “We like these different movies because it’s something you wouldn’t normally be exposed to.”

Admission to the festival is $6 per set or $50 for a three-day pass. Tickets can be purchased at the Boulder Theatre.

On Saturday the festival will screen the Love and Romance program in correlation with Valentine’s Day. The set will start at 4:45 p.m. and the first 20 ticket-holding couples to arrive will receive a free box of chocolates from Grandma Daisy’s.

The night will end with an awards gala and replay of the festival’s award-winning films, as voted by viewers. For more information on the festival and show times, click here.