Local film festivals don’t typically have a long shelf life.
But the Dam Short Film Festival is an exception. The beloved Boulder City event has been drawing cinephiles from all over the world for 19 years.
For the last two years, the film fest was produced online due to COVID-19. This year, starting Thursday, it returns to in-person screenings: 153 features over five days, packaged in 31 themed programs.
Lee Lanier has been with the festival since the beginning. He’s a co-founder and its director of continuity. He joined State of Nevada host Joe Schoenmann on Wednesday along with Josh Bell, a film writer and Desert Companion contributor.
“One of the great things about the Dam Short Film Festival is that at a film festival, you maybe see as many films as you can, but with a feature film, you're stuck sitting there for two hours [if it's] something you don't like," Bell said of the festival's appeal. "At Dam Short, you're able to move quickly from one film to another. If you are watching something and it's not to your taste, in 10 minutes or so there'll be something else ... I love that sense of discovery when I go to that festival.”
Lanier said they prioritize local filmmakers, but get submissions from all over the world. They expect to sell around 5,000 seats for the festival.
He said they tend to cluster films by genre or theme, such as horror, animation, student filmmakers and documentaries, though comedy is always popular.
"Really comes down to, we don't care about the length, so long as it's within one to 40 minutes, we just want to make sure we find the best films, again, that we think our audiences are going to like," Lanier said.
Bell said he's already had a chance to watch the local films.
"That program is always really fascinating," he said. "And it's gotten stronger and stronger since the first year of the festival."
For scheduling and ticket information, visit the DSFF site.
Guests: Lee Lanier, co-founder and director of continuity, Dam Short Film Festival; Josh Bell, film writer and Desert Companion contributor
