The Las Vegas International Film and Screenwriting Festival (LVIFSF) is a virtual film festival held annually in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. Founded in 2015 (as the Las Vegas International Screenwriting Contest), the festival was previously based at the Palms Casino Resort, with screenings of selected films held in nearby theaters and screening rooms. The festival also grants awards by genre, technical discipline, and lifetime achievement over two nights during the program. In 2020, the festival program was moved to a virtual format due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On August 21, 2021, the festival announced it would continue to host the program, including screenings, virtually. The Las Vegas International Film and Screenwriting Festival is directed by Annette Hull, documentary filmmaker and former General Manager of the Tri-Cities Rattlers football organization in the

Northwest Football League The Northwest Football League (NWFL) was a professional american football minor league that played from 1935 to 1938, in the northern part of Midwestern United States. The league had some relationships with the National Football League (NFL), an ...

. Notable past honorees include

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-nominee

Eric Roberts Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. His career began with a leading role in ''King of the Gypsies'' (1978) for which he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination. He was nominated again at the Golden Globes fo ...

and

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

-winner

Michael Learned Michael Learned (born April 9, 1939) is a distinguished American actor, known for her role as Olivia Walton in the long-running CBS drama series ''The Waltons'' (1972–1981). She has won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in ...

, and 2019 indie breakout

Princess of the Row ''Princess of the Row'' is a 2019 American independent drama film directed by Max Carlson, written by A. Shawn Austin and Max Carlson, produced by A. Shawn Austin, produced by Edi Gathegi, and starring Edi Gathegi, Tayler Buck, Ana Ortiz, Jacob V ...

, starring Martin Sheen.

Sections

The Las Vegas International Film and Screenplay Festival official program is divided into two sections: ''film'' and ''written word''. Entries are submitted and judged separately, by section, with Official Selections named for each. Honors and awards are bestowed in separate ceremonies on different nights during the festival.

Awards

Jury awards are presented in a number of genre, performance, and technical categories, over two nights, with one ceremony per section.

Film

Written Word

Special Awards

Lifetime Achievement

In 2019, the Festival announced the creation of a lifetime achievement award to be awarded to an artist of renown, with substantial contributions to the industry. In 2019, the program honored actress and four-time Emmy Award-winner

with the inaugural award. The award was not given in 2020, due to the cancellation of all in-person events and ceremonies.

Writer of the Year

In 2019, the Festival presented a "Writer of the Year" honor to Harold Brown.

Audience Award

All films presented during the festival are eligible for Audience Awards. After screening an eligible film, audience members are invited to vote in audience award categories. At the November 2021 edition of the festival, Benjamin Bryant's psychological drama ''Station to Station'' received the Audience Award.

References

External links

Las Vegas International Film and Screenwriting Festival Official Website

Las Vegas International Film and Screenwriting Festival profile on FilmFreeway

Las Vegas International Film and Screenwriting Festival on IMDb.com
{{Authority control 2015 establishments in the United States Film festivals established in 2015 American film awards Film festivals in Nevada Events in Las Vegas