Director L. Frances Henderson’s documentary This Much We Know (available now on VOD platforms) explores the topics of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository and the suicide rate in Las Vegas, filtered through Henderson’s own personal perspective. It’s an often-impressionistic essay film, spending time with the family of Levi Presley, the 16-year-old who jumped to his death from the Stratosphere Tower in 2002, as well as with various experts on both Yucca Mountain and suicide. Henderson frames the movie as a way to process her own friend’s Las Vegas suicide, although the tone is more open-ended than definitive. Henderson spoke with Desert Companion about the process of making a film on such difficult subjects.

Las Vegas-based film industry professionals are looking forward to a blockbuster idea that may be coming to our valley in the future. On Wednesday, the Clark County Zoning Commission unanimously gave the green light to proceed with Summerlin Studios. It's a $1.8 billion project by Sony Pictures and Howard Hughes.

The Clark County Zoning Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to approve multiple variances that set the stage for the development of Summerlin Production Studios. The first serious proposal to build a movie studio in Las Vegas is nowhere near “action” yet, but it has just passed “lights” and is well on its way to “camera.”

The Clark County Zoning Commission voted unanimously Wednesday morning to support plans for a motion picture studio to be built on 30 acres in Summerlin South bringing the project closer to reality.

Las Vegas community members will have the opportunity to see their artwork displayed on the Exosphere — the viral outer shell of the Sphere that has gained worldwide attention over the last year for its repertoire of designs, including advertisements for movies, grinning emojis, giant basketballs and more.

Local students will get their chance to see art they create displayed on the Sphere later this year. Sphere Entertainment Co. on Thursday announced the start of the first-of-its-kind Sphere XO Student Design Challenge. More than 100,000 Clark County School District and UNLV students will be invited to submit their work for the contest, which will begin this month. The winners will get their work displayed on the venue’s exosphere, and the company will donate $10,000 to their school’s art program.

The visual and performing arts are in full swing throughout the state. Making good on its promises to bring more activity and people to Commercial Center, Clark County has just launched a program with UNLV, which will produce cultural events at the East Sahara complex.

A highly publicized Nevada bill to lure movie studios to Las Vegas will be revived next legislative session with a focus on a partnership between UNLV, a major developer and a juggernaut Hollywood production company.

The Academy Awards have existed since May 1929. In that time, only three women have won the Oscar for Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow for 2008’s The Hurt Locker, Chloe Zhao for 2020’s Nomadland and Jane Campion for 2021’s The Power of the Dog. That’s three out of 95 Best Director trophies awarded to women—and all of them given only within the past 15 years.

The Nevada Women’s Film Festival is back this weekend. The festival is in its 9th year and it’s the only festival in Nevada to showcase women in film in key creative positions.

The 9th Annual Nevada Women's Film Festival returns to Las Vegas, June 22-25. Nikki Corda, executive director and founder of Nevada Women's Film Festival, and Dr. Heather Addison, chair & professor of University of Nevada, Las Vegas's Department of Film, joined us to share everything you need to know about it.

A recent documentary produced by UNLV College of Fine Arts highlighted the neighborhood’s issues and was used in testimony on Thursday.