The 11th Annual CineVegas Film Festival will be held June 11 – 20, 2009 at the Palms Casino Resort and Brenden Theatres in Las Vegas. Submissions will be accepted from December 1, 2008 – March 1, 2009 and submissions received by January 15, 2009 will be eligible for an early bird discount.
Cash prizes totaling $14,000 will be awarded to select films in the categories of feature film, documentary, short film and Nevada filmmaking short. The 2007 Grand Jury Award Winner for Feature Film, LOOK, went on to screen at a number of other film festivals and opened in theaters in December 2007. In addition, BEAUTIFUL LOSERS, the 2008 Grand Jury Award Winner for Best Documentary, was recently acquired by Arthouse Films and will have global distribution.
“2008 was a record-breaking year for CineVegas, as the Festival received the most submissions in its history, and more people attended our films, parties and special events than ever before,” said Trevor Groth, artistic director for the CineVegas Film Festival. “I know that 2009 will also break records, not just in the number of submissions we receive, but in the quality of films that we are seeing. We look forward to showcasing these films in Las Vegas to local, national and international audiences.”
Legendary actor, filmmaker and artist Dennis Hopper will continue to serve as Chairman of the Creative Advisory Board in 2009. He has been dedicated to growing the national presence of the CineVegas Film Festival ever since he was honored in 2003 with CineVegas’ prestigious Marquee Award for his lifetime achievements in the film industry. CineVegas has also honored such film greats as James Caan, Nicolas Cage, Don Cheadle, Laurence Fishburne, Dustin Hoffman, Anthony Hopkins, Holly Hunter, Anjelica Huston, Ben Kingsley, Helen Mirren, Samantha Morton, Jack Nicholson, Sean Penn, Charlize Theron and Robin Wright-Penn.