Review

Utah Film Center Damn These Heels 2021: Innovations in narrative treatment shine in We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, Madalena

by

Outstanding innovations in thematic treatment are prevalent in numerous feature-length narratives in the Utah Film’s Center’s 18th annual Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival. Two of the most compelling examples are Jane Schoenbrun’s We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, which premiered at this year’s Sundance, and tthe Brazilian film Madalena, directed by Madiano Marcheti. … Read more

Utah Film Center Damn These Heels 2021: Stories from the former Soviet Union, Republic of Georgia highlight oppression queer citizens have faced and continue to do so

by

The oppression that queer citizens faced in the former Soviet Union and continue to do so in the independent republics today drives the heart of two films screening in the Utah Film’s Center’s 18th annual Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival. The first, set in the final days of the Soviet Union as perestroika took … Read more

Utah Film Center Damn These Heels 2021: Finding empathy in difficult reunions: See You Then and Ma Belle, My Beauty solid additions to feature narrative lineup

by

Two excellent queer cinema entries — one which received its premiere at this year’s SXSW festival and is receiving its Utah premiere and the second which made its debut at this year’s Sundance Film Festival — highlight the solid feature-length narrative sections for the Utah Film’s Center’s 18th annual Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival. … Read more

Largest slate ever with drive-in, outdoor events, online streaming, in-person screenings mark Utah Film Center’s 18th annual Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival

by

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Utah Review is providing daily coverage of the Utah Film Center’s 18th annual Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival. Follow daily for feature reviews of the 2021 slate during the festival. The Utah Film’s Center’s 18th annual Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival, the longest running festival of its kind in the … Read more

Utah filmmaking team set to premiere YouTube Originals documentary World Debut: From Outsiders to the Olympics 16 days before beginning of Tokyo Games

by

In a recent South China Morning Post article focusing on the Olympics’ less-than-enthusiastic appeal for younger audiences, Jack Lau cited statistics from the Ad Age trade publication indicating that the median age of American viewers for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro was 52.4 years. To cite Lau, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) sees … Read more

Genuine warmth of artistry in premiere of Fragments Of …, dance work by Laura Brick, Dan Higgins

by

Before the pandemic halted live concerts and shows, performers were more likely than not to welcome the audience from the stage within the first moments of starting, if at all. Prior to performing in the Studio Theatre at the Rose Wagner Center for Performing Arts, dance artists Dan Higgins and Laura Brick went to every … Read more

Utah Museum of Contemporary Art’s newest exhibitions include Jorge Rojas’ Corn Mandala: Flower of Life, Annelise Duque’s Remember Them Alive, Yujin Kang’s Mountainous

by

Three new exhibitions at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA) are striking examples of self-referential autonomy in the visual arts, as presented by Utah artists Annelise Duque, Yujin Kang and Jorge Rojas. These exhibitions are open through July 31. For more information see the UMOCA website. Jorge Rojas: Corn Mandala: Flower of Life In … Read more

A socially conscious theater in full bloom: Plan-B Theatre’s Local Color audio production ends 30th season on outstanding note

by

Take the title of one of the four short plays in the premiere audio production of Local Color, and a listener can appreciate the organic commitments that Plan-B Theatre has made in bringing original plays that reflect a more genuine sense of the creative place at the core of the Utah Enlightenment. For closing out … Read more

Many gifts of emotional highs in Utah Symphony’s season closer with music by Montgomery, Schönberg, Mozart, Copland

by

There is an invigorating appeal in listening to music for string orchestra composed by a violinist whose instincts elicit a blast of colors, textures, lyricism and effects from an instrumental category with which she is familiar. The Utah Symphony’s performance of Jessie Montgomery’s Strum in the closing concert of a season with unique circumstances was … Read more

From primal to sparkling: Utah Symphony concert highlights music by Jolivet, Beethoven

by

In 1944, the 22-year-old Jean-Pierre Rampal won the Conservatoire test by performing a virtuosic threnody piece for flute by André Jolivet. Throughout his career, Rampal would include in his legendary repertoire the 16 works for the flute, written by Jolivet, one of the elite French composers of the 20th century. Again, the unique circumstances of … Read more