A still from the film Electrick Children
The Women’s Film Collective at the College of Southern Nevada is holding the first Nevada Women’s Film Festival this Saturday, March 14, at the Baobab Stage inside Town Square shopping center. The festival consists of two long blocks of films — “Women of the Globe” from noon to 5:30, and “Nevada Filmmakers” from 6:30 to midnight — bookending the Femmy Awards from 5:30 to 6:30, which will spotlight Nevada Filmmaker of the Year, Rebecca Thomas.
Raised in Las Vegas, Thomas wrote and directed the festival’s headliner, 2012 feature film Electrick Children. It tells the story of Rachel, a 15-year-old from a fundamentalist Mormon family who claims listening to rock music for the first time has caused her to immaculately conceive a child. When her parents arrange for Rachel to be married, she runs away to Las Vegas. Thomas will attend the screening of Electrick Children on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
Other selections vary widely — fiction and nonfiction, shorts and feature-length. Finnish film Louhi, showing in the first block, explores what can happen when an abused wife fights back. UNLV student Kathrina Bognot depicts a quirky couple that gets an unexpected guest in Good Grief, screened during the second block. All the films have a strong female presence, whether behind the camera or as part of the subject matter. “Our official sections embrace filmmakers from a diversity of genders and backgrounds,” writes CSN Adjunct Professor and festival founder Nikki Corda.
Corda enlisted the help of CSN sociology professor Pattie Thomas, as well as UNLV film professor Brett Levner in organizing the event, which was set in March to coincide with Women’s History Month. The production team encompasses several women — and one man — from the local arts and academic communities.
Tickets are $14 for the entire day, $8 for the matinee block and $10 for the evening block, including the awards ceremony. Click here to buy them in advance.
