Silver Screen State
Nevada Women’s Film Festival headliner Deborah Richards reflects on her new film exploring homelessness from a fresh angle
AFTER TWO YEARS of virtual editions, the Nevada Women’s Film Festival returns to an in-person event this week, with four days of screenings that showcase female filmmakers and women’s stories. Now in its eighth year, NWFFest is one of the longest-running film festivals in Nevada, and this year’s programming reflects the festival’s growing prestige. Filmmaker Ry Russo-Young will be on hand to receive the Vanguard Award and screen her HBO Max documentary Nuclear Family. The official selections encompass more than 50 short films and seven features, including local filmmaker Landon Dyksterhouse’s documentary Warrior Spirit, about MMA fighter Nicco Montano.
This year’s Nevada Woman Filmmaker of the Year award will be presented to Deborah Richards, along with the first public screening of her debut feature film, Move Me No Mountain, a drama about a grieving woman who leaves her life behind to live on the streets of Las Vegas. Richards is a longtime Las Vegas filmmaker whose short films have played in numerous local festivals, including NWFFest. She spoke to Fifth Street about the process of making her film and the honor of being this year’s award recipient.