Las Vegas Weekly

March 25, 2009 · 12:08 PM

Saint John of Las Vegas among nine CineVegas world premieres

By Robin Leach

Steve Buscemi is John in Saint John of Las Vegas.

Photo: CineVegas

The 11th Annual CineVegas Film Festival will kick off with the world premiere of Hue Rhodes’ Saint John of Las Vegas on June 10 at Planet Hollywood. Eight other films will have their world premieres at the festival, says Trevor Groth, the fest’s artistic director. This year’s festival is June 10-15 at the Palms and Brenden Theatres.

Saint John stars Steve Buscemi as an ex-gambler turned fraud investigator who returns to Las Vegas to investigate an insurance claim. Trevor added: “The independent film industry is going through a transitional period right now as innovative filmmakers must find new ways to get movies made and seen, which is why CineVegas is thrilled to open our 2009 festival with Saint John of Las Vegas.

“Not only is it a fantastic comedy with a phenomenal cast, including Steve Buscemi, who is pound-for-pound the world’s greatest actor, but it was made by a forward-thinking company, IndieVest, whose revolutionary approach to film financing and distribution just might be laying the groundwork for future generations.”

The 11th year of CineVegas offers a selection of world and U.S. premieres of documentaries, advance screenings of high-profile films, the best new independent films, and a program of shorts and features from Nevada filmmakers.

The eight world premieres known as Jackpot Premieres are Rania Ajami’s Asylum Seekers, a story of six people trying to escape modern life; Daylight, from David Barker, about a pregnant woman caught in a life-or-death situation; Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s Easier With Practice, based on the true story of a writer’s funny and intimate long-distance relationship with a mysterious woman; Etienne!, the story of a man and his best friend, a dwarf hamster, from Jeff Mizushima; Robert Saitzyk’s Alaskan-set thriller Godspeed; Patrick Hoelck’s modern love story Mercy, written by and starring Scott Caan; Patriotville from Talmage Cooley, a modern tale of greed, lies and romantic complications; and Asiel Norton’s Redland, about a family struggling to survive during the Great Depression.

A cash prize of $10,000 will be awarded to the Grand Jury Award Winner for Feature Film. Additionally, CineVegas has announced a new contest where film fans can enter to win all-access passes by watching the Jackpot Premiere trailers online at www.cinevegas.com/jackpot. The contest continues through May 4.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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