Sundance 2024: Porcelain War is extraordinary testament in new frame of documentary filmmaking about war combat, indispensable presence of art

A title card in the opening of Porcelain War reads: “Nearly all the footage you are about to watch was shot by the subjects in this film.” This film is extraordinary not only for its thematic structure and cinematography that offers a unique perspective on what the gravity of relentless combat entails but also for … Read more

Sundance 2024: Superb, spellbinding and unsettling, Eternal You documentary critiques technology’s quest to ‘keep the dead alive’

Up until 2007, Facebook deleted the profiles of any deceased persons but in the aftermath of the shootings in the 2007 Virginia Tech University massacre, many students at the school organized a grassroots campaign to persuade the social media giant to reverse its policy. Students talked about how they turned to Facebook to grieve those … Read more

Sundance 2024: Documentaries predominate list on deck for The Utah Review festival coverage

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

Sundance 2024: Milestone anniversaries for Festival (40th), Utah film and television history (100th), Utah Film Commission (50th)

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

Marking its 20th anniversary, the Utah Film Center’s Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival set for Oct. 12-15

EDITOR’S NOTE: This three-article package highlights the Utah Film Center’s Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival, which marks its 20th anniversary this year. The second feature is a detailed description of the festival’s slate and the third feature highlights two film workshops that are part of the festival. When the Utah Film Center decided 20 … Read more

A detailed rundown of the slate of films for the 2023 Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival of the Utah Film Center

From the Utah Film Center, the 2023 offerings at the Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival represent five local filmmakers, 17 female directors, 10 directors identifying as a person of color, and 14 countries represented. A large majority of the films are receiving Utah premieres and at least one is being screened for the first time … Read more

Workshops for independent, do-it-yourself filmmakers set for Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival, courtesy of Utah Film Center’s Artist Foundry

The 20th anniversary of the Utah Film Center’s Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival also marks the return of the center’s Artist Foundry program through two workshops for independent, do-it-yourself filmmakers and a conversation about queering the filmmaking process.  Festivals such as Damn These Heels often inspire aspiring filmmakers to make their debuts with their … Read more

Backstage at the Utah Arts Festival 2023: With Tree Utah as thematic anchor, Kids’ Art Yard will be a beehive of creative projects celebrating forests and trees

ART YARD (June 23-25, noon-9 p.m.) ‘Let me tell you about this tree. It was a rock-solid hardwood, three feet in diameter with a trunk magnificently embossed in rich gray tones, set in deep relief with an exquisitely interconnected skin of bark that was somehow both coarse and forgiving to the hand. The ash is … Read more

Sundance 2023: Making the Utah production stage ready for film: State’s cinematic industry made big strides in 2022

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 2023 feature-length and short films, which The Utah Review will cover. Like nearly 2,400 of their peers who are listed in a directory of Utah film industry professionals, … Read more

Opening Oct. 14, Utah Film Center’s 19th Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival set for live screenings, extra events, streaming on demand options

The Utah Film’s Center’s 19th annual Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival, the longest running festival of its kind in the Intermountain West, opens Oct. 14, returning to its familiar weekend format of live screenings, extracurricular events, and an opening night party but also providing a separate streaming on demand option for patrons, which will … Read more