The Nevada Women’s Film festival, a Las Vegas-based event celebrating films “by and about women,” is facing important challenges after a major funding source was terminated. The festival,which celebrated its 10th anniversary in June 2024,is now scrambling to adjust its operations and programming.

Sudden Funding Termination

In early April, Nevada Humanities, a key funding provider for the festival, received notice that its five-year general operating support grant had been terminated. This decision stemmed from a coordinated move to cut grants distributed by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to regional affiliates.

The NEH stated that the cuts were intended to ensure that all future awards will … not promote extreme ideologies based upon race or gender, and … help instill an understanding of the founding principles and ideals that make America an remarkable country. Reports indicate that the canceled grants will be redirected to fund a proposed “National Garden of American Heroes.”

Impact on Nevada Humanities and the Film Festival

nevada Humanities relies on NEH funds for approximately 75% of its $1.5 million annual budget. This funding supports various “innovative, humanities-based projects created primarily for Nevada audiences,” including the Nevada Women’s Film Festival. The festival itself depends on Nevada Humanities for a similar percentage of its yearly operating costs, having received over $50,000 since 2017, including a $7,500 allocation last year.

Christina Barr, executive director of Nevada humanities, explained the broad impact of the cuts:

That federal support touches almost everything we do, so we’ve had to kind of triage our work a little bit and see what we can pare down in the budget. we’ll have to figure out how to move ahead in a scrappy way, but our board has chosen to fight and keep rolling as best we can.
Christina Barr, Executive director, Nevada Humanities

The funding supported major Las Vegas cultural institutions, including the Revelation Children’s Museum, Las Vegas Natural History Museum, Nevada Ballet Theater, the Neon Museum, and the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, as well as specialized groups like the Henderson Writer’s Group, poetry Promise, and Writing Downtown Las Vegas.

Festival Adjustments and Resilience

Nikki Corda, founder of the Nevada women’s Film Festival, detailed the immediate impact on the festival’s operations:

The main cut for us was to our tech crew, who were willing to take a hugely reduced pay cut that they don’t deserve. We’ve also had to scale back our programming from over 100 films to about 47 and reduce the festival from four days to three. For us, that’s huge, and obviously not ideal.
Nikki Corda, Founder, Nevada Women’s Film festival

Despite these setbacks, Corda remains resolute:

I’ve said before that we wouldn’t even have a film festival if it wasn’t for Nevada Humanities, especially in some of the early years, when the only revenue we had came from them. They’ve been instrumental for us being able to produce this for the community, and as of them, we’ve been able to become one of the longest-running film festivals in the state. We’re not going to let this stop our dreams now.
Nikki Corda, Founder, Nevada Women’s Film Festival

The 11th annual Nevada Women’s Film Festival is still scheduled for June 19-22.

Hope and Future prospects

A $15 million donation from the Mellon Foundation to the Federation of State Humanities Councils offers a lifeline. Nevada Humanities is guaranteed $200,000, with an additional $50,000 contingent on raising matching funds by December 31.

Barr described the Mellon Foundation’s gift as:

This gift from the Mellon Foundation is going to help stabilize us in the short term so we’re able to sustain ourselves for a few months longer while we exhaust every effort we can to have our funding returned to us. I think of it as a bridge that’s going to help buy us some time as we let the various efforts that might potentially be happening at the national level play out.
christina Barr, Executive Director, Nevada Humanities

Additionally, the American Council of learned Societies, the American Historical Association, and the modern Language Association have filed a joint lawsuit challenging the cuts’ legality.

Nevada Humanities has also appealed the NEH cuts, though Barr is skeptical of its success:

We have requested due process from NEH regarding the sudden termination of our general operating support grant. NEH has informed state humanities councils that we will not be offered an appeal process at all.This is surprising, since it is my understanding that this process is required by law.
Christina Barr, Executive Director, Nevada Humanities

Community Support and Moving Forward

Despite the challenges, both Nevada Humanities and the Nevada Women’s Film Festival are committed to continuing their work.

Barr noted the importance of community support:

We actually budgeted for two new full-time employees this year. Obviously,we won’t be filling those positions anymore,but we’re very grateful for the Nevadans in every corner who have been generously donating their time and money to help us in this moment.We’re going to do our best to keep this moving no matter what. With the support of the community, I think we can rebuild.
Christina Barr, Executive Director, nevada Humanities