LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Peter Gilyard is excited to build his career in filmmaking.
“I’ve been so excited because I see so much ambition,” he said.
Gilyard is a freshman at UNLV in the School of Cinematic Arts.
“To be able to come to this campus and have so many different professors with different ideas, and I’ve been surrounded by people in this industry, it’s an invaluable experience that you really can’t get just on any campus.”
Las Vegas seems to be turning into a sort of barometer for successful films. We saw a lot of buzz with the exclusivity of IMAX 70 millimeter showings for The Odyssey.
The Beverly downtown showed Filipinana, an independent film that earned honors at Cannes and is bidding for International Film of the Year at the Oscars. And in December, IMAX 70 millimeter showings of Dune 3 have already sold out.
It feels like a sign of cinematic growth in the valley, but what about building a career here? Associate Director of UNLV School of Cinematic Arts, Brett Levner, says this city is a grind.
“But to pay the bills, most people who are graduating and working, I think this is though universal. You’re going to have to get a day job doing something related, and then you’re making your films,” Levner said.
She says UNLV is the perfect place to set you up for a strong start in cinema, but the opportunities are better found in neighboring cities, Hollywood, for example, for young filmmakers to have the chance at more local opportunities here in Southern Nevada.
Bills like the denied Assembly Bill 5 for the Summerlin Studios need to happen.
“If you’re talking specifically about feature narratives, we can’t get there until this Texas bill passes. That doesn’t mean we don’t have the talent here. It doesn’t mean that we don’t have the resources here to make amazing films.”
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