The Las Vegas IndieMeet: An Amazing Way for Filmmakers to Spend a Weekend

Host of the Las Vegas IndieMeet Mike Conway

I wasn’t really looking forward to Memorial Day Weekend.  No fabulous plans were looming on the horizon, nor could I think of any way to take advantage of the time to do some networking.  That changed in a flash when I received an invite via Facebook to the annual Las Vegas IndieMeet held at the home of filmmakers Mike and Sheila Conway.  This is the 6^th event in 7 years that the couple has held and according to Sheila the number of attendees continues to grow every year.  This weekend I’ve had the pleasure of meeting filmmakers from many places including L.A., Arizona and Texas, as well as becoming better acquainted with people located locally.  Among those who came by from the Las Vegas film community were Jeremy Settles, Joshua Cohen, Martha Somers and Tracy Garner.

Driving home Friday I thought about what a great night it had turned out to be and how excited I was about returning today.  This caught me off guard a bit, since I hadn’t been sure what to expect and had wondered if I’d know anyone once I arrived there.  I realized at that moment that if you have the opportunity to join a group of people, who share your love for movie making, jump in and check it out, even if you’re out of your comfort zone.  Spending time people with like minded people is a terrific way to network and build relationships.. 

Chet Simmons shows off his Canon 7D

 The IndieMeet provides a great environment for socializing, being entertained and learning.  Friday night everyone had a chance to become acquainted or get caught up over a wonderful buffet style dinner.  I must add a note here that one of the event’s perks is an endless supply of Sheila’s chocolate chip cookies.  They should be a mandatory staple on all movie sets.  Afterwards, we went into the backyard where folding chairs, a bonfire and the screening of several films awaited us.  Returning this afternoon, a number of demonstrations were given before more movies were screened outside tonight.  On Tuesday I’m going to write a detailed story about the speakers and there will also be more in-depth interviews appearing in future blog posts, but for now, here’s a few of the highlights.

On Friday night we were treated to screenings of horror shorts by FEWDIO, which were presented by David Schneider and Paul Hungerford, a look at “Screamin Demon”, a short written and directed by Mike and featuring Sheila, and the feature “One Long Day” with director Keith Mosher and members of the cast and crew including Chris Schaub, Tommy Lynch and Dean Mauro in attendance.  Tonight “Bio-Slime” was slated to premiere, along with “The Back Room”, “It Envies the Living” and a number of shorts.   Prior to the screenings, we were also treated to an appearance by the entertaining Alien Warrior, a comedian who stopped by to try out some of his new material.  Topics covered today during the demos included editing tips using Adobe’s After Effects software and a close up look at the Cannon 7D.  On Sunday’s agenda is a road trip to see “The Prince of Persia” followed by a barbeque/pool party and, of course, more short films.

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