SPECIAL TO THE PVT A poster of the movie "Sitter," one of the flicks to be screened at the upcoming High Desert Shorts International Film Festival II. Advertisement

Hollywood has its Oscar winners. In the High Desert Shorts International Film Festival II, scheduled in Pahrump Sept. 27-30, winners will receive a "Lulu."

The custom award design "Reaching for the Stars" was created last year by Lulu Brymer. It has been dubbed the Lulu, and the exquisite trophy was crafted by Awards Plus.

Saitta-Trudeau Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge has also donated a $100 cash prize for each final winner.

Films being exhibited this year are from as far away as The Netherlands, Israel, Canada and all across the U.S.

Patrons will enjoy screenings of short features of 40 minutes or less. There will be competition in seven different categories: drama, documentary, animation, comedy, science fiction, horror and music video.

Submissions must be in compliance with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences rules.

"We are being careful to follow these rules in order to apply for Oscar nomination status for our filmmakers after the mandatory five-year period of festival operation," festival founder Linda Kass said.

This year a progressive dinner will be offered to kick off the event Thursday the 27th. Revelers will board a bus at 5:30 p.m. sharp, equipped with screens to view short films to be seen only on the ride from the Pahrump Nugget Casino to the Pahrump Valley Winery and back. Upon arrival at the winery the participants will enjoy wine and appetizers as well as comedy served up by Jeff Hobson, an entertainer on the Las Vegas strip.

The attendees will return by bus for a dinner mystery, "Lethal Libations," at the Pahrump Nugget Event Center, brought by Jay Joseph's "A Touch of Mystery" group. The audience teams that solve the murder mystery will receive a prize.

Tickets for the bus portion of the event and dinner mystery are limited -- the winery seats 50 people -- and cost $75. That includes VIP passes for the whole festival.

The short film competition begins Friday evening and continues through Saturday afternoon. The awards ceremony is scheduled for Saturday evening, and a showcase of the winners will be shown Sunday afternoon. The exact times of the film showings will be announced later.

Tickets for the dinner/mystery only are $35. They are available at the Pahrump Valley Chamber of Commerce on weekdays and the Pahrump Arts Council Mondays and Thursdays. All other ticketed events, including the awards ceremony, are priced at $5 each, with tickets available only at the door.

Lee and Anita Lanier, co-founders of the Dam Short Film Festival in Boulder City will provide a program of original animated short films and attend several events.

Local writer and director Dana Mennie and his wife, producer Julie Snider, and producer Melanie Capacia, have invited the cast from their feature film, "Bad Moon Rising," to be judges on the panel for the film. festival.

"Bad Moon Rising," a full-length film, will be shot in Pahrump next year. The judges will include Dee Wallace, who starred in "E.T.," Dominique Swain of "Lolita" and Chris DiVecchio.

The festival is hosted by the Pahrump Arts Council and is funded by Pahrump through the tourism advisory board.

Rodney Camacho won the annual contest for the 2007 logo, the second year he has earned the award.

More information on the event will be available on the Web site: www.highdesertshortsiff.com.