There are a number of events that have piqued my interest at the 2011 Las Vegas Film Festival, taking place, this weekend (July 15th – 17th), at the Las Vegas Hilton.

I could go on about the LVFF’s mission (bridging “the gap between independent film audiences and filmmakers,” and connecting “emerging filmmakers with established industry professionals.”) and the wide scope of proceedings (tributes, discussions, screenings, premieres, VIP parties, receptions, award ceremonies, and the like…) – but I figure you’re big enough boys and girls, that you can get that on your own.

Instead, I’m gonna tell you which things at this year’s LVFF have me curious, eager, and in some cases, downright excited.

There’s a trio of films I’m chomping at the bit to see – for various reasons.  The first of these is Hitting the Nuts (Shimmer Theater – Saturday at 10am), a funny mockumentary about a hillbilly poker tournament.  Keeping in the gaming vein, there’s Holy Rollers: The True Story of Card-Counting Christians (Hilton Theater – Saturday at 11:15am), the true story of the Church Team, that (with tongue in cheek) asks “can you be Christian and play blackjack for a living?” 

Finally, there’s Get a Job (Hilton Theater – Sunday at 3:35pm), a fun island romp featuring Hawaii’s most beloved musicians and entertainers, as well as Mick Fleetwood and Willie Nelson, in a story about an employment agent and his feckless charge (a man who refuses to let a lack of waves prevent him from surfing).

Meanwhile, unlike some cities, where the shadier aspects of their histories are sometimes swept under the proverbial rug; in Las Vegas, we wear ours like a badge of honor.  So, it just makes sense that in a city with a popular attraction like the Las Vegas Mob Experience at Tropicana Las Vegas, not to mention Downtown’s soon-to-open Las Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement (aka The Mob Museum), that a panel about mob-life is well suited to the Las Vegas Film Festival.

The panel, “Conversation with Henry Hill and His Favorite Wise Guys” (Saturday at 2pm) finds Henry Hill (whose life with the Lucchese crime family was the subject of the 1986 book Wiseguys that was later adapted into the 1990 film Goodfellas), joined by Frank Cullotta (former member of the Chicago Syndicate, Las Vegas’ infamous Hole in the Wall Gang, and co-author of Cullotta: The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster and Government Witness), Meyer Lansky II (namesake and grandson of the Kosher Nostra bootlegger,  who went on to become the “Mob’s Accountant”), Antoinette Giancana McDonnell (daughter of Sam “Momo” Giancana – de facto boss of the Chicago Outfit and friend of the Democratic Party), and Craig Vincent (the actor who portrayed the Cowboy who wouldn’t take his boots off the table, in 1995’s Casino).

Of course, as Las Vegans, we love a party, and Saturday night’s VIP Party at The Artisan Hotel promises to raise the roof; thanks to cocktails by festival sponsors Ty Ku, Corona, and Ambhar Tequila.

2011 Las Vegas Film Festival
Las Vegas Hilton
Friday, July 15th – Sunday, July 17th
Click HERE for more info

Get into it!