Eddie Parker, his wife Tracy, and their 12-year-old son Mitch lead blue-collar lives on the outskirts of America's pleasure capital, Las Vegas. Former compulsive gamblers, the couple carefully try to hold on to their 'normal' existence—Eddie works at a used tires shop while Tracy waits tables at a diner and tends to her small desert garden. Despite Tracy's efforts to keep the fragile family life together, when an elusive stranger pretending to be a marine just back from Iraq shows up claiming there's something special about their home, his extravagant offer quickly turns into the family's obsession. The only question is, how deep are they willing to go?

Returning to the Festival, acclaimed director Amir Naderi (Sound Barrier, TFF '05) applies his inimitable cinematic style to Vegas. Even though it takes place away from the glittering strip of luxury mega casinos, the judgment-clouding greed of Sin City is just as pervasive on the desert outskirts of town where the film is set. Made before the current financial crisis materialized for real in our lives and in the news, Vegas can nevertheless be seen as a sort of complex fable about our economic system, the American promise, the current situation, homeownership, Ponzi schemes, greed, easy money, and more.

Amir Naderi started his international career in Iran in the 1970s with award-winning films such as Waiting and Requiem. In the '80s, he helped focus international attention on Iranian cinema with acclaimed works such as The Runner and Water, Wind, Dust. Based in New York City since the late '80s, Naderi made Manhattan by Numbers (1993), A, B, C... Manhattan (1997), and Marathon (2002). His last feature, Sound Barrier (2005), had its world premiere at the 2005 Festival and won the Roberto Rossellini Critics Prize at the Rome Film Festival.