Awards in visual arts, film and literary programs have been announced for the 49th Utah Arts Festival.
FEAR NO FILM
Twelve awards were announced today in the 22nd annual Fear No Film portion of the Utah Arts Festival, including a Grand Jury Prize, Fearless Filmmaker Award, four honorable mentions and six audience awards.
At 22, the internationally acclaimed Fear No Film program at the Utah Arts Festival has become the state’s most important short film event. This year’s selection of 78 short films was the second largest in festival history. Few arts festivals in the nation can claim to have an extensive, peer-reviewed, juried film program on par with what Fear No Film has established.
Coordinated by Derek Mellus, who also is the film production manager for the Utah Film Commission, 14 countries outside of the U.S were represented, including nine films from Iranian filmmakers, the largest contingent ever picked representing a single nation outside of the U.S. on the Fear No Film slate. The rising standards of Utah filmmaking, especially in narrative shorts, was reflected in the selection of 19 films representing the Beehive State. The total comprised eight narratives, six documentaries and five films for kids.
Taking the Grand Jury Prize Best in Show was Confused Blood, exceptional for its cinematic approach along with its intricate, nuanced layers of storytelling. While the film, directed by James Cutler, comes from Australia, the story centers on a half-Korean man who now lives in Seoul and is trying to sort out how he identifies best with Korean culture and society. Cutler, who grew up in Utah and is Richard’s sibling, experiments with genre here, mixing quite effectively narrative and documentary forms of storytelling here. Prominent is the Korean folktale of Ungnyeo, which is of enormous cultural significance in Korea as it is part of the folkloric telling of how the country was founded. Ungnyeo is a bear and is the friend of a tiger, both of whom desire to become human. While the tiger grows restless and gives up, the bear finds patience in their determination and is eventually transformed into a woman. It would be Ungnyeo’s son who would establish Korea. The theme is that truly satisfying personal transformation comes through patience and devotion, and Cutler skillfully parallels this folktale with the significant elements in the story of his sibling. Incidentally, the director’s next short Can I Put You On Hold is supported by the locally based The Davey Foundation.
Mahtab Pishghadam, director of Inside, won the Fearless Filmmaker Award. Tender and elegantly understated in its narrative treatment of gender policing in sports, the outstanding Iranian short Inside dynamically contrasts with the aggressive feverish hostility the issue has generated in the U.S. Mahtab, 10, is the standout on the boys soccer team but just before a pivotal match, questions arise about her eligibility and actual identity.
The Grand Jury Honorable Mention for Best Direction went to Joan Lyiola, director of Mango. Based on the filmmaker’s experience with fibroids,including one that grew to mango size, Mango is a fictional narrative about Zadie, a florist who is about to secure the dream job of her career, is suffering fibroids that are pushing her body into unseemly shapes while becoming more frustrated that no healthcare professional appears to acknowledge the urgency of her medical condition. As Iyiola explains in her director’s statement, ”I set out to find out more information about this condition: what on earth was this benign tumour doing inside of me? How did it get there? And how could I get rid of it, quickly? There were no answers. The double invisibility that comes from tackling racism and misogyny in the healthcare space, shocked me to my core.”
The Grand Jury Honorable Mention for Best Cinematography went to Kağan Kerimoğlu, director of photography for Without Heaven. Turkey has been consistently represented well by superb short films at Fear No Film and Without Heaven, directed by Merve Bozcu, extends that streak with commendation. The film is inspired in part by the director’s own relationship with her mother. The narrative is about a mother, who clearly is in decline, and her daughter, who tends to her needs. However, when the daughter wants her mother to explain why she was abused during her adolescence, she realizes that her mother experienced domestic abuse just as well. “Domestic violence and abuse are a growing problem around the world, especially in Turkey. However, I chose to focus on trauma not the violence itself because when I was twelve, I told my mother in tears I was physically abused in the middle of the day,” Bozcu explains in her director’s statement. “She said to me: ’It happens.”:These two words hurt me more than the harassment itself. In In Without Heaven, I explore the painful process of reconciliation between a mother and her daughter, condensed into an experimental psychological thriller.“
The Grand Jury Honorable Mention for Best Production Design went to Katarzyna Tomczyk for People & Things. Poland was represented by one of the most emotionally profound entries on the Fear No Film slate: People & Things, directed by Damian Kosowski. The story is painfully fresh, as it is set when Ukraine was invaded by Russia in 2022. A mother and her daughter have been summoned to a small town in eastern Ukraine where a mass grave has been discovered. They have arrived to collect the DNA test results of the father-husband who has been missing. While they hope that he was not killed in the conflict, the test results seem to indicate otherwise. But, the mother is not convinced, as she contends that there are discrepancies that could suggest the results do not incontrovertibly verify that he is among the dead. She finds herself in a limbo that she vigorously contests to be resolved with certainty.
The Grand Jury Honorable Mention for Best Original Story went to Paria Shojaeian for Headache. Many of this year’s Iranian short films were miniature studies in psychology and Headache takes up the challenges of individuals trying to overcome loneliness and discover attachment even when it is objectified and falls short of its idealized symbolism. There is a poetic feel in the story about a lonely garbage collector who finds a discarded orchid in a pot that emanates a sound that immediately enchants him. However, at his home, he eventually is discomfited by the sound coming from it and decides to return it to the original spot where he found it. Yet, he has become so attached to the flower pot that he changes his mind.
Audience awards were made in the following categories:
Emerging Artists Narrative Program: Punter, directed by Jason Adam Maselle
Narrative Program: Convicts & Chocolates, directed by Brandie Lee McDonald
Documentary Program: Then We Saw Those Eyes… Again, directed by David and Jackson Hughens
Animation Program: As I Was a Tree, directed by Jamal Maghout
Midnight Program: Transylvanie, directed by Rodrigue Huart
KIDS! Program: Homeroom, directed by Brandon Orton
ARTIST MARKETPLACE AWARDS:
The 49th Utah Arts Festival has announced nine awards for the Artist Marketplace. All of the visual artist award winners are eligible for invitation to the Utah Arts Festival in 2026. Best of Show and People’s Choice Award winners also will have their booth fees waived.
BEST OF SHOW:
Artist Marketplace Jury: Steve Knox, Glass, Durango, Colorado
Board of Directors Jury: Alex Lanier, Digital Art, Miami, Florida
Community and Inclusion Jury: Gregg Visintainer, Drawings/Pastels, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
Friends of the Festival Jury: Christopher Perry, Wood, Provo, Utah
AWARD OF MERIT
Artist Marketplace Jury: Meghan Hanson, 2-D Mixed Media, Stevensville, Montana
Board of Directors Jury: Sondra Wompler, Digital Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Community and Inclusion Jury: Eric Calvillo, Painting, Las Vegas, Nevada
Friends of the Festival Jury: Richard Curtner, 2-D Mixed Media, Cathedral City, California
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Kimberly Frandsen, Wearable Art, West Jordan, Utah
Wasatch IronPen/UltraPen Contest, The Salt Lake Community College’s Community Writing Center:
Fiction:
Winner: A Place to Grow by Emma Manolis
Honorable Mention: Home Dream by Emily Cook
Poetry:
Winner: When It’s Over by Lin Ostler
Honorable Mention: Obituary for a Dying Art by Michaela Rae
Nonfiction:
Winner: Strawberry Preserves by Katherine Smith
Honorable Mention: Dear Mentee by Emily Howsley
Ultra IronPen:
Winner: We Are Still Here, Our Future, What We Become After by Elizabeth Suggs
Honorable mention: Heart Transcriptions by Grey Bateman
2025 Mayor’s Artist Awards
The tenure of Gretchen Dietrich, the Marcia and John Price Executive Director of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) at the University of Utah, has seen the museum flourish, with increased attendance, award-winning exhibitions, audience engagement, and community outreach. She previously held positions in museum education, public programming, and exhibition planning at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, Connecticut; the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston; and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. She has served on several local and national nonprofit boards, including Alice Walton’s Art Bridges Foundation and the Association of Art Museum Directors.
Laura Durham has dedicated 25 years to the nonprofit sector, bringing a rich background in arts administration to her current role as Director of Programming & Community Engagement at PBS Utah. Her creative insight and passion for storytelling shape every project she undertakes, often incorporating an artist’s perspective to inspire dialogue and connection. Durham is a steadfast advocate for artists and arts nonprofits, working to amplify voices and broaden reach through meaningful platforms. A familiar face in the local arts scene, Durham actively serves on various arts boards and committees and can often be found attending plays, performances, and exhibitions. For Durham, her work is more than a career — it’s a lens through which she sees and shapes the world.
Hot House West is a Salt Lake City–based nonprofit leading a renaissance of acoustic music across Utah. In 2024 alone, the organization produced 380 events — public concerts, free community jams, workshops, dances, and professional gigs — welcoming audiences from toddlers to octogenarians. Its four flagship initiatives — The Swing Orchestra, Swing Collective, Trash Moon Collective, and Westmoon Records — pair emerging players with seasoned pros, host residencies and collaborations with touring artists, and elevate local talent onto national and international stages. Fueled by a genuine love of the craft and community, Hot House West transforms common spaces into joyful, participatory listening rooms, amplifying Salt Lake City’s cultural heartbeat.
Oaxaca en Utah is a community organization dedicated to celebrating and sharing the rich cultural heritage of Oaxaca, Mexico. Through vibrant festivals like La Guelaguetza, educational workshops, art exhibitions, and collaborations with schools and museums, the organization brings the traditions, music, dance, gastronomy, and crafts of Oaxaca to life in Utah. Founded on the values of community, inclusivity, authenticity, and cultural pride, Oaxaca en Utah provides opportunities for individuals of all backgrounds to connect, learn, and celebrate. Its events highlight the beauty of Indigenous traditions while creating a welcoming space for families to build identity, strengthen roots, and foster cross-cultural understanding.
Founded in 2001 by community film-loving locals, Salt Lake Film Society (SLFS) exhibits, creates, and preserves cinematic experiences. SLFS is a robust film nonprofit, screening over 250 independent films annually on six screens at Broadway Centre Cinemas (est. 1989) and stewarding the historic 1928 Tower Theatre. Popular with all film lovers, SLFS ensures independent film thrives daily in a “film festival all year round” model. Through collaborations far and wide, they bring to Salt Lake City FILMEXICO Film Festival, Czech That Film Festival, UNSTOPPABLE, and MASIMA: Pacific Island Film Festival. With 24 years of mission impact, SLFS has contributed over $150 million in arts and economic prosperity to our city.