Drama, horror, romance on tap at film festival

The 10th annual Dam Short Film Festival began Wednesday at the Boulder Theatre, offering a record 171 short films playing over five days, as well as film-related events around town. The Boulder City Review compiled a list of recommended films and events, based on the festival website and our experiences at past festivals.

Thursday

n Filmmaker panel discussion, noon-1 p.m. Filmmakers from six of the festival’s featured films will discuss short films, filmmaking and filmmakers.

n “Drama C: Boom! Bang! Pow!,” 3:30-4:30 p.m. The festival’s action film block features four short films.

n “Horror: The Monster Inside,” 9:45-11 p.m. After you put the kids to bed, you can head over to the PG-13 horror film block, featuring seven films.

Friday

n Press conference, 11 a.m. to noon. Stop by the filmmaker/press lounge in the basement of the Boulder Dam Hotel, where a selection of filmmakers will be fielding questions from the press and audience.

n “Drama F: Date Night,” 4-5:15 p.m. Celebrate Valentine’s Day with this special block of five films for lovers.

n “Retrospective A: 10 Years of Nevada Films,” 6-7:15 p.m. The Nevada filmmakers retrospective will feature eight films made by locals from previous years.

n “Drama G: Love and Romance,” Friday, 9-11 p.m. The festival’s second Valentine’s Day film block features six films. The first 25 couples receive a free box of candy from Grandma Daisy’s.

Saturday

n “Secrets of the Dam Short Film Festival,” Sat., 10:30-11:30 a.m. Festival executive director Lee Lanier and festival director John LaBonney will give a special presentation about the organization and “deep dark secrets” of the festival.

n “10 Years of Comedy,” 3:30-5 p.m. The festival’s comedy retrospective features nine of the best short comedies from past years.

n 10th Dam Mixer, 5-7 p.m. at Boulder Dam Brewing Co. Go to discuss films, network or simply to eat the free food at this social event.

n “Nevada Filmmakers,” 7:15-8:45 p.m. This annual showcase is always the most popular and features some of the best new films from the state’s film community. Advance ticket purchase for this event is recommended.

Sunday

n “Documentary B: Persons of Interest,” noon-1 p.m. The hundreds of submissions the festival receives every year usually include a number of compelling short documentaries. The six featured in this film block focus on people.

n “Retrospective C: 10 Years of Animation,” 1:45-2:45 p.m. This retrospective block features the eight best animated films from the festival’s history.

n Awards gala. Celebrate the best films of this year at the Boulder Theatre. The event features a red carpet arrival from 5:45-6:30 p.m. and an awards presentation from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Following the presentation, the award-winning films will be screened again from 7:30-9:30 p.m.

For a complete schedule and ticketing information, visit www.damshortfilm.org.