Pahrump film festival plays at Great Basin
The big-brained bug-eyed alien blurts, “ack ack ack-ack.”
The German scientist’s translation machine spits out the Martian’s message in English.
“We come in peace.”
The crowd of thousands rejoice. A long-haired hippie dude releases a dove. The bird soars high above, reflected in the Martian’s glass dome helmet. Without warning, the alien pulls a ray gun from his glittering red robe and vaporizes the bird. Then the aliens turn their guns on the screaming crowd.
This scene from the 1996 movie “Mars Attacks” was shot on the dry lake bed near Sheri’s Ranch. The filming location is rumored to be a nod to radio broadcaster Art Bell. In fact, Pahrump has been featured in “Finding the Truth,” “Do Not Disturb,” and even “Rain Man.” And now, through the efforts of Gina Meredith, Anthony Greco, Joey Conklin and others, film is seeing a resurgence in the water rock we call Pahrump.
In an attempt to remain the hero in my own story, I left home Friday and embarked on a voyage to Great Basin College to catch the 19th Pahrump Film Festival, which ran April 25-27. Among the enchanted forest of craft vendors, I met Anthony Greco, festival director.
The cinematic sage offered a prophecy, “As there is a push to turn Vegas into Hollywood 2.0, we will see more and more filming in Pahrump, mainly because we have space. You can get a 60,000-lb. trailer down our streets without a problem.”
And why not film in the Pahrump area? Mountain Falls could double as anytown suburbia, Tecopa Hot Springs would be perfect for a campy B horror movie, and Death Valley is ideal for an other-worldly astronaut drama.
“Pahrump lends itself to film making. Its beauty can be seen through the lens of a camera,” said Ben David Garza.
Friday’s lineup was a dystopic sci-fi feature, “Alongside Night” and brothel drama “Lady Magdalene’s”, both by the late Libertarian novelist and filmmaker J. Neil Schulman. Saturday we saw “A Father’s Choice” and “Rogue Angel” about Anna Miller’s experience growing up in East Germany during the Cold War. And for the grand finale we were treated to films by Ben David Garza’s NXT Level Productions. “Mojave Desert Rescue: The Documentary,” which dealt with saving the wild horses and was directed by moi. And “A Grow of Dreams,” which tells the story of a cannabis operation in the Tecopa area.
Another mentor on the path was Gina Meredith. Gina, with over 20 years experience in the film industry, was tasked with coordinating the festival. With plans to expand for next year, she put together a successful event.
Crossing the theater’s threshold, I bumped into Vance Kramer, who appeared in “A Grow of Dreams”, and he added some clarity, “I think if alien archaeologists came down to earth they would understand our species through our films. You know, the hero’s journey.”
The 2025 Pahrump Film Festival culminated with awards. The energy was palpable. The first award for new media went to Talib Jensen for “A Father’s Choice.” It seemed the moment of apparent defeat. But then it was time for the best film award. “Mojave Desert Rescue: The Documentary” won. It was truly an honor to have been chosen. And now I am to return to my village having learned so much. The prodigal son.
As a follow-up to the documentary, NXT Level Productions plans to film a feature-length comedy entitled “Mojave Desert Rescue” later this year.
Anthony’s not done either. He is putting together the Pahrump Music Awards the first weekend of October, (first prize $1,000) and plans on opening a film school.
“I want to start a film school. Work with the young kids to keep them out of trouble, and teach them an industry they might want to get into. How do you know that there’s not the next Martin Scorsese out there? And maybe we can find them.”
Now that’s a call to action!
