“Saint John of Las Vegas” to Ring in 11th CineVegas; Fest Unveils Narrative Competition
by Brian Brooks (March 24, 2009)
Steve Buscemi in a scene from CineVegas opener, "Saint of Las Vegas" by Hue Rhodes. Image courtesy of CineVegas.
The world premiere of Hue Rhodes’ “Saint John of Las Vegas,” starring Steve Buscemi, Sarah Silverman, Romany Malco, Peter Dinklage, Tim Blake Nelson, John Cho and Emmanuelle Chriqui will open the 11th CineVegas Film Festival taking place June 10 - 15 at the Palms Casino Resort and Brenden Theatres in Sin City, Trevor Groth, artistic director of the festival announced Tuesday. The film stars Steve Buscemi as an ex-gambler-turned fraud investigator who must return to Las Vegas to investigate an insurance claim. Eight world debuts will screen in the fest’s narrative competition, “Jackpot Premieres,” including Rania Ajami’s “Asylum Seekers,” a story of six people trying to escape modern life; “Daylight,” from David Barker, about a pregnant woman caught in a life-or-death situation; Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s “Easier with Practice,” based on the true story of a writer’s funny and intimate long-distance relationship with a mysterious woman; “Etienne!,” the story of a man and his best friend, a dwarf hamster, from Jeff Mizushima; Robert Saitzyk’s Alaskan-set thriller “Godspeed”; Patrick Hoelck’s modern love story “Mercy,” written by and starring Scott Caan; “Patriotville” from Talmage Cooley, a modern tale of greed, lies and romantic complications; and Asiel Norton’s “Redland,” about a family struggling to survive during the Great Depression. The grand jury prize-winner in this section will receive $10,000 in cash. “The independent film industry is going through a transitional period right now as innovative filmmakers must find new ways to get movies made and seen, which is why CineVegas is thrilled to open our 2009 Festival with Saint John of Las Vegas,” said Artistic Director Trevor Groth. “Not only is it a fantastic comedy with a phenomenal cast, including Steve Buscemi who is pound-for-pound the world’s greatest actor, but it was made by a forward thinking company, IndieVest, whose revolutionary approach to film financing and distribution just might be laying the groundwork for future generations.” In addition to Jackpot Premieres, the festival will showcase world and U.S. premieres of docs, advance screenings of what it describes as “high-profile films,” and a selection of shorts and features from Nevada filmmakers. Film titles in these sections will be announced later in the Spring. In addition, CineVegas has announced a new contest where film fans can enter to win all access passes to the 11th Annual Festival by watching the Jackpot Premiere trailers online at www.cinevegas.com/jackpot. The contest will be held from today until Monday, May 4.
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