Film

Sundance 2022: Mija passionate, inspiring documentary about immigration, music, social change, entrepreneurial resilience

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In less than a handful of years, Doris Muñoz quickly established her credentials in the music industry, particularly in artist management. Her intergenerational connections to music bridged the classics of rachera and boleros to the legends of Juan Gabriel and Los Panchos, and recently to indie first-generation Mexican-American pop artists such as Cuco, Kali Uchis … Read more

Sundance 2022: Maika, Vietnam’s first science fiction film, generous warm-hearted addition to Sundance Kids program

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Yes, spicy kimchi is a very good foil when youngsters are trying to fend off the goofy yet sinister bad guys. In Maika, the generously warm-hearted science fiction film premiering in this year’s Sundance Kids program, the characters shine with delight, as they easily transcend some of the film’s madcap chase scenes, making Vietnam’s first … Read more

Sundance 2022: The Mission documentary balanced, enlightening, realistic chronicle of four LDS missionaries in Finland

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There are more Mormons (members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) living in tiny Nephi, Utah than there are in Finland. Kai, one of the missionaries profiled in Tania Anderson’s feature-length debut documentary The Mission (Danish Bear Productions) mentions that 1 in every 57 Finnish citizens is a Mormon. Ahead of his … Read more

Sundance 2022: All That Breathes exceptional documentary testament to human-nonhuman interaction in the midst of Delhi

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Of numerous remarkable moments in the exceptional documentary film All That Breathes (Kiterabbit Films and Rise Films production), India’s sole entry in this year’s Sundance, among the most unforgettable are those portraying the psychological and philosophical attitudes of brothers Nadeem and Saud, who have put their heads down in total focus for nearly the last … Read more

Sundance 2022: Six documentaries, two narrative films highlight Utah connections to festival; other documentaries highlight impact of urban smog in Delhi, LDS missionaries in Finland

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Part II summarizes the films and programs from Sundance 2022 that are part of The Utah Review coverage. For Part I which is an overview of the state of the film industry in Utah, see here. Among the films The Utah Review is covering this year are films about expectant Black mothers who deaths from … Read more

Sundance 2022: Utah’s film industry continues to grow; finds solid representation in slimmer festival slate

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EDITOR’S NOTE:  Part I is an overview of the Utah film industry in the current moment. Part II (tomorrow) will offer a summary preview of the Sundance 2022 feature-length and short films, which The Utah Review will cover. It was so close. Three weeks before Sundance 2022 (Jan. 20–30) was slated to open, organizers had … Read more

Lots of new energy: The top 10 moments of The Utah Enlightenment in 2021

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INTRODUCTION It has been an enormous project to regain the spirited momentum that many arts and cultural organizations in Utah’s creative industries had amassed before the pandemic brought everything to a ground stop in the early spring of 2020. With resilience and durability exercised to their intrinsic advantages for respective organizations, many creative producers also … Read more

Sundance 2022: Festival organizers announce Local Lens Program for free screenings, other amenities for Utahns; set Park City, SLC venues for in-person screenings, events

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Just two months from the Sundance Film Festival’s return to in-person programming, which last occurred in 2020, among the newest offerings in 2022 will be the Local Lens program for Utahns. This will include free in-person and online screenings, ticket discounts, student screenings and other features.   The festival, which will include in-person and online … Read more

Utah Arts Festival 2021: You Are Always 20 takes Fear No Film’s Grand Jury Best of Show; Fear No Filmmaker Award goes to Luis Fernando Puente for The Moon and The Hummingbird

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Twelve awards have been announced in the 18th Fear No Film portion of the Utah Arts Festival, including a Grand Jury Prize, Fear No Filmmaker Award, three honorable mentions and seven audience awards. Winning Grand Jury Best of Show is the Swedish short film, You Are Always 20, directed by Christer Wahlberg, is based on … Read more

Utah Arts Festival 2021: Fear No Film set for three days of screening at The Leonardo, featuring nine programs totaling 67 short films from 22 countries

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EDITOR’S NOTE: To read more about this year’s Fear No Film slate, including the Utah Made Film program, see here. With the pandemic, some might have wondered what the extent and scope of submissions for an international short film program might look like. This year’s Fear No Film program at the Utah Arts Festival, the … Read more