Las Vegas Black Film Festival offers more than movies

As an African-American filmmaker, Michelle Payne wanted to see an event that honored the talents of people in the film industry.

To do so, she created the Las Vegas Black Film Festival, which features a variety of short, feature and documentary films from both local and international directors.

The second annual festival kicks off 5 p.m. today at the Suncoast with even more entries than its first year. The opening night premiere of “Institutionalized” costs $30 and also includes both pre-show events and an after-party.

All the films will be screened between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. Saturday. Tickets for an all-day pass cost $30.

While the film festival is designed to highlight the work of African-Americans in the industry, Payne says directors of other ethnic backgrounds are welcome to apply. However, all entries must have a director, producer or a leading role with a person of African descent.

The idea for the festival came from Payne’s own experience as a filmmaker.

After her daughter went off to college, she decided to return to school to get her bachelor’s in cinema production.

“I was born to do this,” she says. “I had always been a writer. It was just time to take it to another level. Going to the big screen was the next step.”

While in college, she would attend various film festivals across the country to connect with filmmakers and prominent actors to gather tips to help her succeed.

“It was really beneficial for me to hear advice and get tips from others,” she says.

She finished her degree in 2013 and realized there wasn’t anything specific in Las Vegas to help black filmmakers on their path.

“I wanted to do something to highlight minority groups,” Payne says. “Something that gave us a platform to show our work.”

Other cities such as Los Angeles, Dallas and San Diego have something similar.

“The biggest one out there is the American Black Film Festival,” she says. “More than 10,000 people gather for that one.”

But she says considering that Las Vegas is the “entertainment capital,” she was amazed it didn’t have a black festival.

“But I feel blessed to be the one to start it,” she adds.

The festival is already growing from last year, when 20 of 40 submissions were shown. The upcoming festival received more than 100 submissions.

“We plan to show about 30 of them,” she says. “We are careful to select films to offer a wide variety of movies.”

Payne says they received films from all over the United States.

“We even have films from parts of Africa and Europe,” she says.

There are also submissions from Las Vegas filmmakers.

While 600 people attended last year, Payne estimates more than 1,000 people will come out for this festival.

Each year, the film festival is expected to honor an actor in the industry with a Legendary Film Actor award.

Antonio Fargas, known for his role as Huggy Bear in “Starsky and Hutch,” was honored in the inaugural year.

Louis Gossett Jr. is this year’s recipient.

“He was gracious enough to come in for us,” Payne says. “He just finished his miniseries ‘Book of Negroes’ and has been busy. He could have said no but it’s an honor to have him come.”

Even though it’s a film festival, Payne says the event gives others in the industry access to opportunity. Actors, producers and screenwriters can connect with each other and even find jobs.

The festival presents an actors showdown where actors get in a boxing ring and perform a three-minute monologue against each other. This year’s showdown is from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday. Tickets costs $10.

“They compete for the heavyweight actors title,” Payne says. “They can win a role in an upcoming movie.”

But with producers in the audience, they have a chance to be seen in front of those looking for talent.

Kayla Williams, who attended last year, says as an actress this can be a good chance to learn more about the film industry.

“It’s such a hard industry to break into,” Williams says. “I’m not sure how other film festivals do it, but Ms. Michelle makes a point to make sure everyone’s needs are met, including actors.”

Williams, who is about to graduate from the Sanford Meisner Center, an acting school in Los Angeles, has only been acting for two years. Her first role was a minor part in a short film Payne directed.

“I think my line was, ‘Would you like coffee?’ ” Williams says.

But she kept in touch with Payne, who was in the process of putting together the first film festival.

“I knew if she said she was going to do it, she was going to do it,” she says.

Williams, who is now based in Los Angeles, drove to the first film festival to network with others in the industry.

While she was at the event, she decided to enter the actors showdown.

To her surprise, she won.

“I was shocked because I had only been acting for a little while,” she says. “I was going up against others who had more experience than me.”

The overall experience has opened up opportunities to meet other Las Vegas directors. She is even in Payne’s film “Institutionalized,” the opening movie for the festival.

To help aspiring writers develop their ideas and present their scripts, there is also a screenwriting masters class from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday. The cost is $75.

The festival will end Sunday with a Champagne brunch and awards ceremony from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Awards will be presented for the best films, director, editor, screenplay and actors. The cost is $100.

Payne is already anticipating next year.

“I hope even after I’m gone it keeps going,” Payne says. “I hope someone takes the reigns after me and keeps it going.”

Contact reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5201. Follow @mjlyle on Twitter.