NeonFest begins free film screenings

Two film festivals are better than one.

At least this weekend in Southern Nevada, where NeonFest, the Las Vegas Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival, begins a four-day run of free screenings tonight at the Onyx Theatre in Commercial Center.

NeonFest joins Boulder City's Dam Short Film Festival, which kicked off its four-day run Wednesday.

While the Dam Short festival has been a February fixture for five years, this is the first time NeonFest has moved from its customary October dates.

Festival director Bill Schafer attributes the shift to scheduling conflicts at the Onyx, an intimate theater that has been NeonFest's home for three of five festivals.

"We're going to look at how it goes," he says of the switch.

The superhero spoof "Surge of Power" launches the festival at 6 tonight; writer, director and star Vincent Roth, who now lives in Las Vegas, will be on hand to answer questions and discuss a recently filmed sequel. The documentary "Fabulous: The Story of Queer Cinema" follows at 9 p.m., preceded by an opening-night reception.

The rest of the fest, which continues through Sunday evening, presents "a well-rounded sprinkling of what's out there," Schafer says, "of particular interest to the gay community."

To Schafer's knowledge, none of the featured titles has played locally.

"We don't want to be competing with the local theaters," he explains. "We want to show our audience things they haven't seen before."

That includes a wide range of documentaries ("The Universe of Keith Haring," "Laughing Matters: The Next Generation") and fictional features, ranging from "The Art of Being Straight" to Italy's "Saturn in Opposition."

Expected guests include writer-producer Jaymes Thompson, discussing his film "The Gay Bed & Breakfast of Terror" following its Friday night screening; Poppy Champlin and Bridget McManus, who appear in the short film "Poppy's Foursome" and the documentary "Laughing Matters," both screening Saturday afternoon; and Ron Lawrence of the Community Counseling Center, who will answer questions following Sunday afternoon's screening of the documentary "Chasing the Devil: Inside the Ex-Gay Movement."

NeonFest also hosts its annual critics' brunch Sunday at the Las Palmas Mexican Restaurant in Commercial Center; additional festival information is available at www.neonfest.org.

Contact movie critic Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272.