Wednesday, Dec. 9, 1998 | 9:54 a.m.
Beam it up, Scottie!
The inaugural CineVegas Film Festival has snagged an out-of-this-world flick to kick off its four days of movie madness: the world premiere of the ninth and latest film in the "Star Trek" series -- "Star Trek: Insurrection."
The festival, which begins Thursday and runs though Sunday, will feature 29 short and full-length films, including: award-winners from this year's Canne, Locarno, Sundance, Singapore and Seattle film festivals; screenings of classics films; premieres of new ones; an "Achievements in Cinema" awards ceremony honoring luminaries such as Lynn Redgrave and Michael Caine; and industry seminars for aspiring filmmakers.
CineVegas is the third film festival to hit Las Vegas in three months, following the Blue Sky International Film Festival in September and the Las Vegas International Film Festival in October.
But CineVegas Executive Director Josh Abbey, who is hoping to attract 7,000 to 10,000 movie lovers to the festival, promises that those festivals were "appetizers for the main course."
Preparing for CineVegas to begin, Abbey seemed a bit taken aback at the amount and range of offerings he has assembled.
"I don't think most start-up festivals start something of this scope," he noted, "but once it started going, it became impossible to dimish it."
The festival is sponsored by the yet-to-open Paris hotel-casino, which plans to host future CineVegas festivals after the casino's opening in the fall. In keeping with the theme, the festival will host a "Parisian Gala" Friday night and screen a restored print of Gene Kelly's 1951 musical classic "An American in Paris."
Screenings will take place primarily at Bally's Jubilee Theater, although a few will be held at the Huntridge Performing Arts Theatre and at the Gold Coast Twin Theaters.
CineVegas, a nonprofit organization, lined up a $75,000 grant from Las Vegas Events that was matched by funds from more than 35 corporate sponsors. The group plans to donate a portion of the festival's proceeds to the UNLV film department.
The festival will begin at 10 a.m. Thursday with a screening of the children's film "Night Train to Katmandu," presented for area school children in conjunction with the Clark Country Multicultural Education Division. It will be followed by six short films by UNLV students, presented by UNLV Film School Associate Prof. Francisco Menendez.
Also on Thursday, the festival will premiere the "Star Trek" flick, followed by a post-premeire VIP party at, appropriately enough, the site of the "Star Trek: The Experience" attraction at the Las Vegas Hilton.
On Friday night, 10 actors, directors, producers and songwriters will be honored in an "Achievements in Cinema Awards Ceremony" at Bally's. Classic films of the honorees will be screened throughout the weekend, including "Colors," which was written by award winner Michael Schiffer, the 1964 Julie Andrews vehicle "The Americanizaton of Emily," which was directed by award winner Arthur Hiller, and "Raging Bull," which features Cathy Moriarty, also an award winner.
Two of the films being screened that feature honorees are brand new: "Gods and Monsters," starring Lynn Redgrave, is an account of the life of openly gay director James Whale, who directed the horror film "Frankenstein"; and "Little Voice," starring Michael Caine, about a recluse who only sings in the privacy of her room.
"These individuals are filmmakers of significant stature," Abbey noted of those on the roster, "some of whom have not recevied previous acclaim for their work."
If you couldn't make it to Canne or Sundance this year, don't worry -- the festivals have come to you: On Saturday, the festival will kick off its "Festival of Festivals" program, showcasing a smattering of notable films screened at other festivals.
"The idea of doing a 'Festival of Festivals' had never been done before," Abbey said. "Even with the plethora of festivals, this was a unqiue concept that would create our niche."
To encourage this part of the festival, which Abbey hopes will triple in size next year, the films will be screened at no charge.
"I felt it was important to encourage the Las Vegas community to overcome any apprehension to foreign language (and independent) films," Abbey said. "If they'd have the experience, they'd be encouraged to repeat it in the future."
The selections include: "God Said, Ha!," a one-woman show staring Julia Sweeney of "Saturday Night Live" and executive-produced by Quentin Tarantino, which won the best film award at Seattle festival; "The Dreamlife of Angels," for which co-stars Elodie Bouchez and Natacha Regnier shared the Cannes best actress award; and "The Decline of Western Civilization," a documentary on L.A.'s punk music scene, which won the Expression Award at Sundance.
"Film festivals are meant to celebrate the films of everyone," Abbey added. "The program has amazing diversity and offers something for every taste."
The festival will also include a number of films produced and directed by local CineVegas board members.
These include the American premiere of "Legacy," starring David Hasselhoff and CineVegas award winner Rod Steiger, which was executive-produced by CineVegas Vice President Michele Berk; and the world premiere of "Monkey Park," starring Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer, which, Abbey said, he produced in 1993 but never screened due to an artistic dispute with director Anthony Haney-Jardine.
The festival will close with CineVegas board member Amie Williams' "Stripped and Teased: Tales of Las Vegas Women." It features profiles of nine Las Vegas women, including Susan McNamara, a lead showgirl at Bally's, politician Shelley Berkeley and activist Hattie Canty, president of the local Culinary Union.
"My goal with the film," explained Williams, who interviewed 200 women over the course of the project, "is to have women in other parts of the country look at the film and see themselves reflected and not see the (Las Vegas women) as anomalies."
The film premiered in San Francisco and will be screened next in Berlin, but Williams is pleased to finally debut it in its city of origin.
"I'm really excited," she said. "This is a perfect place to show it."
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