Artists To Watch - Las Vegas

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(Speaker 5)
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(Speaker 3)
91.5 Chasimore. We're excited about the upcoming Nevada Women's Film Festival, and with me right now is Community Events Coordinator, Liaison, Breanna, right?

0:00:15
(Speaker 4)
Yes, this is Breanna Kennedy, the Community Liaison for the Nevada Women's Film Festival, and so happy to be here.

0:00:21
(Speaker 3)
Well, welcome. All right, and Hannah, introduce yourself.

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(Speaker 1)
Hello, my name is Hannah Utech, and I am the Events and Promotions Director for Nevada Women's Film Festival.

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(Speaker 3)
And of course, we can't forget the Executive Director and Founder of the Nevada Women's Film Institute. Let's welcome you guys, Director Nikki...

0:00:39
(Speaker 2)
Korda.

0:00:40
(Speaker 5)
Welcome!

0:00:41
(Speaker 3)
All right. Welcome, ladies. Welcome to 91.5 Jazz and More. Most importantly, welcome to Carlea's Cafe. Tell us about the upcoming festival.

0:00:52
(Speaker 2)
Well, Carlea, thank you for having us. We're so happy to be here. So, this is our 11th annual Nevada Women's Film Festival. Every year is different. We absolutely love this event. I'll start with our mission. Our mission is to celebrate and support the fair representation of women in film

0:01:13
(Speaker 2)
and to provide a platform for historically marginalized voices. But we also have films by men, we have films by everyone,

0:01:31
(Speaker 3)
and we welcome men as well to our film festival. Okay, well what types of films can attendees expect to see this year, and are there any standout films or filmmakers to watch for?

0:01:41
(Speaker 1)
Yeah, we're gonna have 47 films, as I said, by and about women from all over the world. And we have, yes, absolutely. I think I will let some of my colleagues discuss. Yeah, so a block that I'm really excited for is a block that's full of local films made by local filmmakers is on the first day, block three, 445 on Thursday.

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(Speaker 1)
And, you know, all Thursday really is a lot of local filmmakers. So anytime you wanna come out that day, I'm really looking forward to that.

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(Speaker 3)
What are, one of your standout talents is Brittany S. Hall. She was the 2025 Vanguard Award honoree. What can you tell us about her and her drama, Test Pattern?

0:02:27
(Speaker 4)
Yes, well, Brittany S. Hall is a truly dynamic artist and creative, so we will be screening her film, Test Pattern, an incredible independent film directed by Chitara Michelle Ford. And then she's gonna talk about her journey. She has a film coming out from Tyler Perry called Joyridge.

0:02:43
(Speaker 4)
Most people kind of know her from Ballers but she's a very very transparent stunning artist so it's gonna be an amazing Q&A with her and just to hear and learn about her

0:02:54
(Speaker 3)
journey it's gonna be really exciting. Nice. How does the festival facilitate networking among filmmakers and industry professionals and attendees? So we have

0:03:04
(Speaker 1)
five parties and or mixers most days of the festival. So Friday and Saturday in the morning, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. right here on campus at the Student Union we're gonna have an opportunity for filmmakers to gather and just connect and chat.

0:03:17
(Speaker 1)
And then we have a party Friday night, a premier party for Rite and Bloom. And then we also have, yes, Celebrate! And then on Saturday night it's our Filmmaker Mixer and right now, today's the last day to RSVP for filmmakers and then we're gonna open it up to others

0:03:32
(Speaker 1)
so we are really, really excited for all the opportunities and then on Sunday we have a champagne toast before the FEMI Awards. So a lot of opportunities to gather, connect and just have a lot of fun.

0:03:43
(Speaker 3)
Okay, so the Women's Film Festival, what measures are being taken to ensure the festival is accessible to diverse audiences?

0:03:53
(Speaker 2)
Well, we have closed captions for every single film. We have wheelchair accessibility. We have all types of, these needs are being met and if anyone has any special requests all they have to do is reach out to our info at nwffest.com to ask us questions. Okay, what are the goals of the festival

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(Speaker 3)
in the coming years, Aniki?

0:04:25
(Speaker 2)
What can you say about that? Well, we're hoping to become the premier women's film festival in the U.S. and, you know, I think we're reaching that goal. We're also looking to become an Oscar-qualifying film festival and I think we're on our way to becoming that. And we've done it with the support of the community. Our community outreach has just been so special. This year, we have probably more volunteers

0:04:54
(Speaker 2)
than we've ever had. Everyone is so engaged and excited. We've got volunteers from 18 to 80. Everyone's involved.

0:05:03
(Speaker 3)
That's pretty cool. What initiatives does the festival have in place to support women filmmakers specifically, if any?

0:05:12
(Speaker 1)
Well, throughout the year, we hold events for women in film, which is the host organization that puts on the Nevada Women's Film Festival. So a couple months ago, we we showed a film called Show Her the Money that was about capital venture. And so it's about how to make money as female creators. And so we and then we also held a mixer for AFM. And we invited people to come out and just connect with that audience.

0:05:39
(Speaker 1)
And you know, they're here in Las Vegas and making connections. That's the American film

0:05:42
(Speaker 3)
market. So that's pretty cool. Mm-hmm. Nice. So can you share a memorable experience from a previous festival that highlights the impact of this event?

0:05:50
(Speaker 4)
Well, I can tell you that I joined last year as a volunteer. And I lived in LA for 11 years as an actor, and I moved back to Las Vegas. And I said, I want to be a part of this amazing community. And I found everything online and I volunteered. And so I walked up to Nikki and I said, I love what you're doing.

0:06:08
(Speaker 4)
How can I be involved? And so that's how I'm here today. And so I think it's just about getting out, being excited, connecting with the community and kind of seeing where it takes you.

0:06:17
(Speaker 3)
Nice, Nikki.

0:06:19
(Speaker 2)
Yeah, I think I'd like to add that our nonprofit is Women in Film Nevada, and people are welcome to become a member of Women in Film Nevada, and that helps to support us. And of course, you get free tickets to our festival each year, and you're in the newsletter. You hear about our events that are above and beyond the film festival.

0:06:42
(Speaker 2)
Another thing that we did recently is we hosted a young filmmakers workshop over at Canyon Springs High School. And we're gonna be showing the results of that workshop on the very first day of our festival, which also happens to be Juneteenth.

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(Speaker 2)
We're hoping to have some people from the NAACP Las Vegas branch come down on that day to deliver

0:07:07
(Speaker 3)
the prizes to the students. That's beautiful because it's all about connecting with the young people. Nevada Women's Film Festival is taking place the 19th through the 22nd. You guys have the itinerary for all three days, right?

0:07:18
(Speaker 1)
Let's hear about it. Yes we do. Do you want to kick off? Yeah, so we we covered a lot here because the Young Filmmakers Showcase is on the first day. And then we talked about Bernice Hall, which is on Saturday. And so we'll go back to Friday with our interview with Jessica Chandler.

0:07:36
(Speaker 1)
So UNLV educator Brett Levner is going to have a conversation with her about her amazing career in film. She started as she was an alumni right here from UNLV. So it's a true success story because her latest project, she made a documentary with Eli Roth

0:07:53
(Speaker 1)
and Leonardo DiCaprio, right? So what a success story. And you can hear from her and ask questions from her. So that's Saturday. And then we've got, we already talked about the Friday with Jessica Chandler.

0:08:07
(Speaker 3)
Yeah.

0:08:08
(Speaker 1)
Yeah, and then so Sunday we have the FEMI Awards. It all kind of culminates and we give away awards for 13 different categories and also the community of, what is that award called?

0:08:21
(Speaker 2)
Spirit of Community Arts Awards, Sarah O'Connell. Yeah, we're honoring Sarah. She's an amazing force here in the local arts community.

0:08:28
(Speaker 3)
Nice. Shouts out to you, Sarah. Hopefully you're listening. Be sure to mark your calendars for June the 19th through the 22nd and welcome you to support these talented filmmakers.

0:08:38
(Speaker 3)
Nikki, Hannah, Brianna, it's been a pleasure speaking with you this morning. Thank you so much for joining us today and sharing your insights about the Nevada Women's Film Festival. And it's just so inspiring to hear about your commitment to empowering women, you know what I mean,

0:08:55
(Speaker 3)
in film and fostering a vibrant community. Don't you agree?

0:08:58
(Speaker 2)
Absolutely. And we're so happy to share our story with you, Karla. We wanna invite everyone to, you're welcome to join us. Everyone is welcome to come down. And all you have to do is go to our website for ticketing, which is nwffest.com.

0:09:17
(Speaker 3)
All right, well, we look forward to seeing the incredible films and experiences this year with this year's festival will bring to our listeners so be sure to mark your calendars again for June 19th through the 22nd not this weekend next weekend and thank you again for your time ladies it's been great this morning on this Friday the 13th right you guys not

0:09:38
(Speaker 3)
scared right not at all not yet not. Thank you so much for having us. Absolutely. Nikki, you have any shout outs or anything you want to say? Oh my goodness. Shout out to the community, especially to our volunteers. Thank you. Thank you all of you and our amazing team. We love you

0:09:59
(Speaker 2)
all. We're just, we're like a family. So come see what it's all about. Absolutely, Hannah?

0:10:06
(Speaker 1)
I just wanna say yes, I agree with Nikki because we couldn't do it without all the support of the community and 11 years strong.

0:10:14
(Speaker 3)
All right, all right, well we have tickets right now. I'm gonna give away a pair of tickets to enjoy this event. Maybe you wanna get into filmmaking, maybe you want to hobnob with some of these wonderful producers. Call us up now.

0:10:26
(Speaker 3)
702-895-5868. That's 702-895-5868. It's Friday the 13th, ladies! It's Friday the 13th, ladies!

0:10:37
(Speaker 5)
Hey!