Utah Arts Festival 2025 Feature Profile: Artist Marketplace, Fear No Film, Wasatch IronPen, Mayor’s Artist Awards announced

Awards in visual arts, film and literary programs have been announced for the 49th Utah Arts Festival.  FEAR NO FILM Twelve awards were announced today in the 22nd annual Fear No Film portion of the Utah Arts Festival, including a Grand Jury Prize, Fearless Filmmaker Award, four honorable mentions and six audience awards. At 22, … Read more

Utah Arts Festival 2025 Feature Profile: 22nd Fear No Film set with 78 short films representing 15 countries

EDITOR’S NOTE: For preview coverage of the 49th Utah Arts Festival, which runs June 19-22, The Utah Review is presenting individual or group profiles of artists, performers, entertainers and some newcomers to the event. Visitors will also see the first significant change of the last 15 years in the festival map. There are several new … Read more

Utah Arts Festival 2025 Feature Profile: The 19 short films in four Midnight programs of the 22nd edition of Fear No Film

EDITOR’S NOTE: For preview coverage of the 49th Utah Arts Festival, which runs June 19-22, The Utah Review is presenting individual or group profiles of artists, performers, entertainers and some newcomers to the event. Visitors will also see the first significant change of the last 15 years in the festival map. There are several new … Read more

Utah Arts Festival 2025 Feature Profile: 19 Utah films grace the 22nd edition of Fear No Film

EDITOR’S NOTE: For preview coverage of the 49th Utah Arts Festival, which runs June 19-22, The Utah Review is presenting individual or group profiles of artists, performers, entertainers and some newcomers to the event. Visitors will also see the first significant change of the last 15 years in the festival map. There are several new … Read more

An extraordinary chapter in the life of Spy Hop: A look back at Kasandra VerBrugghen’s stewardship at the helm of the nationally known youth media arts organization

In well-established nonprofit institutions, the ideal leading administrative figure is a visionary leader who by encompassing every dimension of that organization creates the right conditions for fundraising success that ensures the institution’s long-term viability. In 2018, when Spy Hop Productions was poised to announce the largest capital fundraising campaign in its history to build its … Read more

Closing reception this weekend for four Utah Museum of Contemporary Art shows, including In Memory and Atis Rezistans

Four exhibitions at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA) are set to close this weekend (Feb. 22). The museum will hold a closing reception for the quartet of shows on Friday, Feb. 21, from 6 to 9 p.m. In Memory, Milad Mozari: Language of Movement, Atis Rezistans | Ghetto Biennale, and Antra Sinha: The … Read more

Leicester Productions’ delightful new short doc The Pho King chronicles story of SLC man’s efforts to connect community through a popular Vietnamese dish

It is fitting that The Pho King, a new locally made short documentary film, will have its premiere today (Feb. 15, 2 p.m.) in the event space at Fisher Brewing Company in downtown Salt Lake City. Directed by Jeovanni Xoumphonphackdy and supported by the nonprofit documentary-focused Leicester Productions, The Pho King is an astute, snappy … Read more

Sundance 2025: SALLY is splendid portrait about the public, private sides of the life of first American woman to go into space

A splendid portrait of the first American woman and the youngest American astronaut to travel into space, SALLY, which premiered at Sundance, excels at weaving the public and private dimensions of Sally Ride’s life together into an engrossing narrative. Directed by Cristina Costantini and representing her third documentary to receive its premiere at Sundance in … Read more

Sundance 2025: With magnificent visuals and music score, Justin Lin’s Last Days is interesting narrative take on tragic death of evangelical missionary

The 2023 National Geographic documentary The Mission, directed by Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, captured the story of John Chau, 26, an Oral Roberts University graduate and evangelical missionary who was killed in 2018 by arrows when he attempted to make contact with one of the most isolated Indigenous peoples, on remote North Sentinel Island … Read more

Sundance 2025: Twelve short films that stood out for The Utah Review this year: comedy, horror, documentary, drama, animation

This year’s Sundance slate included short film programs, including focused tracks in animation, documentary and midnight-appropriate stories. The slate is filled with outstanding examples of the short film category, from around the world. The 57 shorts were selected from 11,153 submissions this year.  The Utah Review presents 12 that were standouts in a superlative lineup. … Read more