Backstage at the 2024 Utah Arts Festival: Awards announced for Fear No Film, Artist Marketplace, Wasatch IronPen, Poetry Slam Invitational, Mayor’s Artist Awards

Awards in visual arts, film and literary programs have been announced for the 48th Utah Arts Festival.  FEAR NO FILM Twelve awards were announced today in the 21st annual Fear No Film portion of the Utah Arts Festival, including a Grand Jury Prize, Fearless Filmmaker Award, three honorable mentions and seven audience awards. This year’s … Read more

Backstage at the Utah Arts Festival 2023: Awards announced for Fear No Film, Artist Marketplace, Poetry Slam Competitions, Wasatch IronPen

Awards in visual arts, film and literary have been announced for the 47th Utah Arts Festival.  FEAR NO FILM Twelve awards were announced today in the 20th annual Fear No Film portion of the Utah Arts Festival, including a Grand Jury Prize, two Utah Short Film of The Year honors, Fearless Filmmaker Award, three honorable … Read more

Backstage at the Utah Arts Festival 2023: Fear No Film marks 20th anniversary with superlative 59-film slate

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the centerpiece preview feature of the 20th Fear No Film program at the Utah Arts Festival. For a complete rundown of the Utah Made Film slate, see here. For a complete rundown of the Midnight film slate, see here. For a complete rundown of the Animation, Documentary, Narrative and Kids! Slates, … Read more

Backstage at the Utah Arts Festival 2023: Fear No Film’s Utah Made Program features heavy-hitters, award-winning filmmakers

It is fitting that for the 20th anniversary of Fear No Film at the Utah Arts Festival that the Utah Short Film of the Year juried competition would involve heavy hitters. The bar has been set at its highest mark in Fear No Film’s history, most notably with the Utah Made Professionals division. There are … Read more

Backstage at the Utah Arts Festival 2023: Two no-holds-barred programs of Midnight Shorts will be featured at Fear No Film

Mellus and his team take the thematic objective of Fear No Film literally and to heart, for the Utah Arts Festival. The 14 films that comprise the two Midnight Programs this year underscore this objective beautifully. These offerings are not for the faint-hearted but they epitomize what a director can accomplish when they emancipate themselves … Read more

Backstage at the Utah Arts Festival 2023: A look at animated, documentary, narrative and kids short films in Fear No Film

For 2023, Fear No Film at the Utah Arts Festival will have one program in animation, one program in documentary, two programs in narrative and one Kids! program. Here are the films that will be presented in those programs, which will be screened in the City Library auditorium: Animated (Friday, June 23, 6 p.m., June … Read more

Backstage at the Utah Arts Festival 2023: Top-line summary of what to find at every festival venue

As noted in the centerpiece curtain raiser, organizers of the 47th Utah Arts Festival have packed impressive numbers of participants into its multidisciplinary programs. The following summarizes the top line highlights. Follow The Utah Review in the days leading up to the June 23 opening for features about the following:  ARTISTS MARKETPLACE For example, the … Read more

Focus on two independent short films with Utah significance: Arthur Veenema’s The Atomic Spawn and Lauren Caster’s Plan C

Two independent short films – one by a Utah filmmaker who received a Next Level Grant from the Utah Film Commission and the other by a southern California filmmaker whose project premiered at this year’s Fear No Film program at the Utan Arts Festival – are featured. Arthur Veenema: The Atomic Spawn Utah filmmaker Arthur … Read more

Backstage at the Utah Arts Festival 2022: 13 films comprise two Utah Made Film programs in 19th Fear No Film

In previous years, the Utah Made Film program was split into screenings of works by student and professional filmmakers but this year’s format for Fear No Film at the Utah Arts Festival blends both classes together in two separate hour-long screenings.  The 13 films are a good yardstick of the strengths which mark Utah’s independent … Read more

Utah Arts Festival 2021: Slimmer, shorter but still state’s most comprehensive arts and cultural celebration of the year

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Utah Review begins its preview coverage today of the 45th Utah Arts Festival, which will be held Aug. 27-29 (noon to 11 p.m. on Aug. 27 and 28 and noon to 9 p.m. on Aug. 29) on the Library Square in downtown Salt Lake City. As this is the state’s largest multidisciplinary … Read more