The festival is organized by the Dam Short Film Society, a non-profit 501(c)3 Nevada corporation.
Past festival sponsors have included The Art Institutes, the Nevada Film Office, the Hacienda Hotel and Casino, and Cirque du Soleil.
", the late Bela Lugosi narrating an animation based on the Edgar Allan Poe classic "The Tell-Tale Heart", Francesco Quinn in "The Gnostic", and Robert Wagner and Lori Singer in "Little Victim "[citation needed] The short films are arranged into thematic programs, such as international drama, crime drama, dramedy, science-fiction, horror, comedy, avant-garde, underground, and animation.
In addition to the regular screenings, the festival presents special showcases and retrospectives; for example, the 2009 event featured a showcase dedicated to documentary filmmaker Jay Rosenblatt while 2008 included a program dedicated to animator Jim Blashfield[2][3] The festival also presents parties, mixers, filmmaker panels, and Q&A sessions with attending filmmakers.
The Theatre was built in 1931 and is currently owned by Desi Arnaz Jr. and his wife Amy.