Nikki Corda and Nasshan talk about the Nevada Women's Film Festival
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This is John Nash and thank you for joining us in the Morning Groove podcast. I've got a guest today that has been doing wonderful work in the world of film in Nevada with the Nevada Women's Film Festival for nine years now. And her name is Nikki Korda and we go back a ways because I knew her dad. Hi, Nikki.
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Hi, John. How are you?
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Good. How are you?
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Great.
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What have you been up to besides the film festival? Nothing, huh?
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I really have to think about that because it's been 24-7 for a while now for our whole
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team really.
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And you're staying busy.
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We really are.
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So tell the people listening, what is the Nevada Women's Film Festival?
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Okay, so Nevada Women's Film Festival is an opportunity for the community to come out and see films, independent films that they might not otherwise have an opportunity to see. So we're in our ninth year and we've actually got 108 films this year, John. Can you believe that?
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That's a lot. I know. Now these films are all created by women?
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Not necessarily. That's an excellent question. So our films are by and about women mostly because our mission is to celebrate and support the fair representation of women in film. But we do select films for a festival that are not necessarily directed by women, but they should have a strong female presence or subject matter.
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That's really a great concept for a festival. People need to know. Some of the people that you have brought forth with this festival have gone on to bigger things, correct?
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I would say so, absolutely.
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What got you interested in this?
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That's an interesting question too. So gosh, I guess it was about ten years ago, I was a film instructor in one of the departments in town and I noticed we had just a dearth of female film students and I kind of investigated. I watched a documentary called Misrepresentation. Have you ever heard of this? Directed by Jennifer Siebold Newsome and it really it really woke me to the disparity. I never really realized how bad it was. I mean, there are certain professions you are always kind of aware that there are generally more men, but I did not really quite realize the disparity in film. So that is something we are bringing to the attention of the community, to the public at large. We are helping to bring that out and show women's films not only as filmmakers but also subjects that women
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are more interested in. Yeah well I'm enjoying the fact that the Boys Club is kind of being broken up a little bit. Me too. For so many years the music business, the film industry, authors, there was such a Boys Club in the entertainment world in particular that it was a little crazy. And I think this is long overdue, that it's really starting to happen.
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I agree. And as I said, we've been doing this for nine years now, so I think over this time, this is not new news to people. We've all been talking about how representation can be better for everyone. Inclusivity can be better for everyone. And that's what we do at our festival. We really look out for women of color, of the LGBTQ community and try to just be a very inclusive, wonderful space where we can enjoy each other, enjoy each other's work and all genders and everyone's welcome.
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When is the festival?
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The festival is June 22nd through the 25th and we will be at the Department of Film at UNLV.
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Oh, that's great. I think film needs to be understood a little more because it's a real process.
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Oh, absolutely. Depending on what genre, you know, if it's fiction or documentary, it's a very, very different process, but it's absolutely a real process. I think it's something that can, especially documentary, it can and should often take many years, not 48 hours.
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I agree. I like documentaries that are made by people that actually know what they're doing with the subject. There are some very famous people. One of them is going to remain nameless, that knows virtually nothing about the documentaries he does, but hires people like Wynton Marsalis to do the music and jazz documentary.
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Ken Burns?
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Yes.
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I wasn't going to say that name. But this is a guy that knows who to hire and to get the job done.
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Well, I would think he knows a thing or two. He should know more. There's something called the Ken Burns effect. Yeah, you know about that, the slow pan in. That's funny. Yeah. You've been doing this
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for nine years and it's getting bigger and bigger. Yes. You have more films than ever
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before. Yeah, 108. I don't know what I was thinking this year, but we're trying something. We're trying something new. So the public will have the opportunity to come in and choose from different blocks. But not only the films, John, we have some special events that I'd really like to tell you about.
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I would like to know those. I would also like you to tell them your website.
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Of course. Our website is nwffest.com. Nwffest.com. You'll get all the information there, ticketing, discounts are available. Reach out to us if you're part of a group or you're part of a community that you would somehow like to... There's a special interest in one of the films that would relate to your community. Let us know that.
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Tell us about your special events.
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Okay. Okay, well we have our Vanguard event which is the Nevada premiere of a film called Miranda's Victim. Miranda's Victim stars Abigail Breslin and a whole host of really big name actors. Donald Sutherland's in it, believe it or not. He's wonderful. One of my favorites. Oh he's wonderful. Andy Garcia is in it, Ryan Phillippe, just a huge, amazing cast of wonderful actors. So Abigail Breslin and the director, Michelle Danner, will be at our festival to be interviewed by Dr. Heather Addison, chair of the film department, and we're going to hear about how this story was brought to the screen. Now John, this is the story of the Miranda Law, which is what of course police have to recite upon arresting an alleged suspect of a crime, the right to remain silent and so on. And it's the story of a rapist named Miranda, last name Miranda, and the brave woman at the center of the story is portrayed by Abigail Breslin and it's a true story and the woman who this really happened to, Trish Weir, she is just now starting to tell this story publicly and this is the first film to tackle this subject so we are honored to host the Nevada premiere of this film. That's a subject that needs to be talked about and shown because people don't really understand what happens.
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I'm guessing that because of lack of a Miranda, things go sideways?
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In the movie, yes. In the movie? Yeah. Actually, if you go on our website, you can see the trailer.
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Okay.
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It's really great.
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That's great. And the website again is nwffest.com. That's right. Now they can also find out all the information about events and get tickets.
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Absolutely. And you know there's one more special event I'd love to tell you about as well. Each year we do either a Nevada Woman Filmmaker of the Year or Nevada Woman of Achievement. This year our Nevada Woman of Achievement is an editor and she is a UNLV Department of Film alum, and her name is Berenice Chavez. She edited the documentary, Pamela, A Love Story, about Pamela Anderson, you know, the Netflix. So we're going to show that documentary, so it will be an opportunity to see it on the big screen, along with the editor, and then afterwards ask questions. Yeah, I hear an interview with Berenice about being an editor in Hollywood and this particular topic with Pamela Anderson. Some people don't
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understand how very important people that are behind the scenes, the editors,
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the cinematographers, the foley artists. Well, you know what's really interesting about documentary is the editor is oftentimes also the writer. And people don't realize that, because you get a whole bunch of material. You don't necessarily have a script with a documentary. So the editor decides how to approach the footage, how to put it together, and how the story is going to unfold.
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And even if they didn't write the piece, they're very instrumental about how the piece comes out meaning by the way they edit. Oh yes, yeah absolutely. I've got so many stories, even with musicians, where something you've done gets edited out and then you hear the final result or you see the final movie and you're like, well yeah, they were right to leave
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that out. It changes the whole meaning. It does. Any other events, awards? Yes, there is our festival concludes Sunday night with our FEMI Awards and this is where we're going to give out the awards for Best Documentary, Best Short Film, kind of traditional awards, but we also have a couple of our branded awards, Spirit of Activism, Best Female Protagonist, I say branded because we've been doing this since the beginning, we kind of came up with these and they're kind of like our pet awards. And of course, Best Nevada Film, my goodness, and Best Student Film. So we do, besides wanting to just support women in film and be inclusive, we also really do try to support local filmmakers, Nevada filmmakers.
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I'm kind of getting the understanding that there are more Nevada filmmakers than we think.
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Every year there are more. There are more, absolutely. And again, generally, independent filmmakers, that's generally what you see at a film festival, but a lot of times you'll see films there that will go ahead and be distributed, like Miranda's Victim will be released. We don't know yet. The filmmaker Michelle Danner is keeping that a surprise. She'll be announcing that soon, but it will be released by studio in the fall. So you'll be seeing it here first in Las Vegas.
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That's wonderful.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, there's so much going on in the film world now.
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Is that legislation dead on the film initiative?
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I don't think so. I just think that the Oakland A's are such a big deal right now that the other stuff is coming in second. Well, John, can I just say... If I want to be honest with you, we need a film studio here. Absolutely. We need a sound stage here. Absolutely. Not because we need films here as much as we need filmmakers. We need local musicians, local staging people, local lighting people, local artists to be able to have somewhere to make a proper film
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film and to bring the industry here. Well John that is so important and and not as you said not just for the sake of having a film studio but because of the economic boost that it will bring to our community and the jobs that it good paying jobs that it will provide for the community so yeah I really really hope
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that bill goes through. Because I'm really assuming that Las Vegas is known for years for musicians and the stagehands and the technicians and I really think it's time that people know about the writers and the directors and producers and actors and actresses.
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Above the line, yeah.
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You know, it's time.
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Yeah.
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Because we have it here. And look, if someone wants to come here and do a musical film, the dancers that we still have in town?
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That's right.
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There are so many talented people that could be working.
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And it also gives us another industry beyond gaming that will really help our economy.
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I've been here for 47 years and I'm watching other industries become important and it's making me more happy all the time. Me too. I am like most locals that have been here this long. I don't go
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there. I don't go to that street with all the lights. Me neither. Only when I have to.
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Somebody wants to pay me a couple hundred bucks to play drums, I'll be
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there. John is a great drummer. I hope everyone knows that. And I'm at the point
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where I really like other industry to grow. Me too. And especially the creative industries. You know when I was
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younger and traveling and if people would ask me where I was from a lot of times when I said Las Vegas there would be almost like a recoiling like oh that's you know and I really wanted people to know that Las Vegas is so much more than you know the stereotype you know the strip and, you know, Sin City, this is where you come to misbehave. We do have culture here. We do have cool, interesting people here and great things to do. So I'm all for us growing beyond that stereotype.
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Well my road experience as a musician, for a long time when I was on the road with Jack Jones, we would go into a city I'd never been in and I just got in the habit of telling the local musicians I was from Chicago. Because when I told them I was from Las Vegas, they were like, oh really? You think you can play? And then afterwards I would tell them, well you know I'm really from Las Vegas. And it would blow their mind.
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Wow.
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And it's nice for that to change because there's some really high end talented people in this
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town.
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Oh yes, absolutely. And they're not all in casinos. That's right. If you want a good example, go to the Cobra Room on a Monday night and listen to Santa Fe.
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Oh, Santa Fe. They're so good.
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Go there on a Wednesday and Jerry Lopez's other band, the Windjammers, is there every Saturday, every Wednesday.
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Yeah, that's right.
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Doing old people rock and roll. It's all yacht rock stuff on Wednesday. Yeah, it's great.
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Love it.
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Oh yeah. So what is the future for the Nevada Women's Film Festival? What are you seeing as your future?
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Okay, well next year is year 10 and we are really hoping to get to the next level where we have big sponsors and we can make this like a year-round job for many of us on our staff because we're growing in terms of our nonprofit just became a member of Women in Film International, which is, you may have heard of Women in Film in Los Angeles, which is this organization from the 1970s. And so there's an international organization that is sort of like the umbrella organization of all these chapters around the world, actually. And we, Nevada, now have a Nevada chapter. And so we now are going to be doing things year-round. The festival will continue to be our main thing, but we are welcoming members to Women in Film International to grow our brand and do things all year round. We'll have networking, social, educational events and opportunities and continue to promote the fair representation of women in film and welcome everyone, inclusivity and promote great filmmaking and have a good time.
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That's great. Let's talk about what do you see as your personal future. Is there ever a retirement or anything you're planning on doing that you've never done before?
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Okay, well it's something that I... It's not that I've never have done it, but I did put away my own filmmaking for a long time now since I've been doing Nevada Women's Film Festival and I have to return to that. I used to call myself a documentary filmmaker. I hesitate to say that anymore, but I have a couple of projects that I need to return to. There's a documentary about my father that I've been working on. There's a documentary about Vita Karimbi's mother that I need to finish.
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I worked with Bertine.
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I love Bertine. And I've been holding on. Vita, if you hear me, I'm so sorry. I have to finish that project. And also Richard Favarty, a photographer, a dear friend of mine who I love dearly, and we're finishing a documentary about him. I'm hoping to continue with my personal documentary filmmaking. Absolutely. And continue to teach. I teach at Nevada State College. I'm going to be teaching a UNLV class this summer. I sometimes teach also at CSN. I also teach English as well as film.
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That's great. So you're staying busy.
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Really busy.
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And you're staying healthy.
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Knock on wood, John.
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Yeah, me too. I'm lucky that way lately. So the website is nwffest.com. The Nevada Women's Film Festival begins on June 22nd and runs through the 25th.
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That's correct.
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And it's happening where?
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It's happening at the UNLV Department of Film, which is in the FDH building, Flora Dungan Humanities building, right off of Maryland Parkway.
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Oh, that's right near where we are right now.
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Right next door.
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Cool. And I want to thank you for coming in.
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This was so much fun. I really enjoyed it. Thank you John. I wish you a lot of success. Well, we hope to see you there. Okay, I'll do that. You can bring as many people as you like.
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Okay, and thank you for coming in and thank you for listening to the Morning Groove podcast. My guest today, Okay, and thank you for coming in and thank you for listening to the Morning Groove podcast. My guest today, Nikki Korda from Nevada Women's Film Festival. I'll see you real soon. Take care.
Transcribed with Cockatoo
