Las Vegas Weekly

September 25, 2009 · 10:41 AM

CineVegas International Film Festival put on hiatus for 2010

By John Katsilometes

Trevor Groth, CineVegas' artistic director, speaks during the CineVegas 2009 Honorees Reception at Rain in the Palms.

Photo: Justin M. Bowen

The CineVegas International Film Festival has been put on hiatus for 2010, CineVegas President Robin Greenspun and Artistic Director Trevor Groth announced today. The sagging economy has been cited as the reason for calling off the 2010 event. The 11th installment of the star-studded festival was held in June, with Brenden Theatres at the Palms serving as its headquarters.

In a statement, Greenspun said: “Given the current economic climate and the pressures it has created, we made the difficult decision to put CineVegas on hiatus for the coming year. CineVegas has become such a well-respected film festival, and rather than allow the economy to affect its level of quality we have opted to put the event on hold.” The Greenspun family also owns the Las Vegas Sun and Greenspun Media Group.

“We are so proud that CineVegas has grown to become a premiere showcase for uninhibited filmmakers and a scintillating festival experience for our attendees. CineVegas has developed a growing legion of supporters over the years who truly appreciate film and life on the edge, and we thank them for all of their support. We are very sad to be announcing this hiatus, but it is our hope to keep the CineVegas brand alive and re-launch the Festival once the economy recovers,” Groth said in the statement issued this morning.

Plans are to keep the CineVegas brand alive with special screenings and events throughout the year, and plans are for the festival's Web site to remain active.

Update: Las Vegas Weekly's Josh Bell has contributed the following:

According to Anita Nelving, the festival's managing director, scheduled CineVegas-sponsored events will continue as announced, including the CineVegas Presents at the Brenden series (which features Guillermo Arriaga's The Burning Plain opening at the Brenden Theatres inside the Palms on Oct. 9, and the biopic Coco Before Chanel, starring Audrey Tautou, opening November 6) and the CineVegas From the Vault series at the Clark County Library (which features showings of past festival films Momma's Man on October 1, Goliath on November 5 and Wellness on December 3). Beyond those scheduled dates, Nelving says the hope is to continue sponsored events, but details are still being worked out.

The festival will no longer have a full-time staff, though, and Nelving will only say that CineVegas is "figuring out details on how we can keep the brand alive." Despite a 2009 festival that she characterizes as "really successful on all fronts," Nelving cannot confirm plans to return in 2011 after a year off. "We’re hoping to be able to return as soon as possible pending what happens to the economy," she says.

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