After watching Love Machina (C41 Media), one of the films in the U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, one can truly hope that the benevolent vision of singularity which Martine and Bina Rothblatt espouse will come to fruition. Directed by Peter Sillen, the documentary traverses a lot of advanced technological territory — … Read more
There is a persistent pensive tone in the ode to the virtues of pastoral life in A New Kind of Wilderness, a Norwegian documentary directed by Silje Evensmo Jacobsen, which received its premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. The film won the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema Documentary Competition. The film opens … Read more
Few journalists covering the relentless violence of cartels, narcos and sicarios in Mexico were closer to chronicling the direct human impact of the ferocious drug wars than the late Javier Valdez, who was assassinated because of his investigative reporting. In his weekly column Malayerba, which was slang for marijuana, he brought to light stories about … Read more
In January 2021, a historic home in Poughkeepsie, New York, which was built in 1900 and used by members of the Church of Satan (COS), was destroyed by arson. Known as the Halloween House which was a popular spot for trick or treaters, it was owned by Joe “Netherworld” Mendillo, a church member whom COS … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: Part II summarizes the films and programs from Sundance 2024 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. One of the potential advantages in this year”s slimmer slate for the 2024 edition of the Sundance … Read more
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 2024 films, which The Utah Review will cover. There is a fortuitous historical confluence to celebrate this year, as the Sundance Film Festival is set to open tomorrow … Read more
NOTE: This feature about 100 years of film and television in Utah is linked to the Part I curtain raiser for the Sundance Film Festival. When James D’Arc came to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah as a student, he already knew some of Hollywood’s most famous names such as John Ford and John Wayne … Read more