Screenwriter to see work come to life

     By Sonya Padgett
     View staff writer
      An old adage advises aspiring writers to keep everything they write because, no matter how insignificant it seems, it could one day be the key to success.
      Vincent Dova, an aspiring screenwriter and UNLV student, recently learned that lesson when a short play he wrote two years ago was accepted into the Flicks On 66 Film Festival in Albuquerque, N.M., opening professional doors for Dova that should have far-reaching effects on his future.
      He will fly to Albuquerque on July 12 -- at the festival's expense -- to participate in the Wild West Digital Shoot-out, where finalists will cast, direct, film, edit and screen their 10-minute scripts, all in one week.
      The winner of the festival will receive a digital camera and editing system, but even if Dova doesn't win, he still walks away with an experience that could pay off big in the long run.
      "I didn't really expect to hear from them," he said. "If worse comes to worse, I'm still going to get a film that I can show to graduate schools. I've got about as much expectation of winning as I had of being accepted."
      Dova's scheduled to graduate with his bachelor's degree in theatre in December. He's already decided to pursue a graduate-level degree in film, probably in Los Angeles, where more opportunities are available.
      Meanwhile, the festival will present a chance for him to make connections with people in the business.
      "It's an opportunity to schmooze and network, which is great," Dova said.
      The submission came about as a result of an assignment in Dova's Screenwriting II class, taught by Sean Clark.
      "I decided to use it as part of my midterm examination -- a 10-minute script that employed the lessons we've be applying to full-length scripts in my ... class," Clark said.
      Clark told his students about the festival, and several submitted their scripts.
      Dova actually used a play he'd written as a sophomore, made a few changes and came up with what he thought was a decent script. The 22-year-old theatre major was surprised to discover he was one of only 10 accepted into the festival out of hundreds of entries.
      "I was a little short on 10-minute script ideas," Dova said of the assignment. "Then I remembered a short play I'd written. I decided to rewrite it in script format.
      "When I read it, I thought it was pretty good so I submitted it."
      The script is about a convict in solitary confinement whose only companionship is that of an annoying fly. The fly ultimately grows on the convict, and he names it and talks to it as the prison staff watches on closed-circuit television.
      He cast a local man to play the main character, while the festival will supply the camera and cinematographer, location and other cast members.
      A self-described control freak, Dova is excited about the opportunity to bring to life the worlds he created on paper.
      "I've been very lucky so far," he said. "The hard part is actually making it."