June 24-June 30, 2004Jun. 24 - Jun. 30 |
NEVADA FILMMAKER SHOWCASE
A dozen filmmakers. Each toting their own (WOOF-WOOF!) cheering sections. Not to mention ordinary film fans who just wanted to see some adventurous flicks. And one groggy reporter. Overall—minus groggy reporter—a pumped-up, late-night crowd so large they had to herd everyone to a bigger theater at the Palms.
If only De-Lovely could be so de-lucky.
To no one's surprise, the Nevada Filmmaker Showcase was a cinematic amalgam that revealed encouraging promise, baffling surrealism and out-and-out kamikaze filmmaking.
The most affecting film of the collection also was its most straightforward:
Joanie Spina's 15-minute Born to
Die—with its heartbreaking and sometimes graphic shots of shelter-bound pets in Vegas, euthanized animals and dedicated workers in tears—is a wrenching plea for responsible pet-ownership, spaying and neutering, and pet adoption. Of course, these pictures and this issue are ready-made assaults on the emotions, so Spina need do little to juice it up, and wisely doesn't. |
