EDITOR’S NOTE: For preview coverage of the 50th Utah Arts Festival, which runs June 18-21, The Utah Review is presenting individual or group profiles of artists, performers, entertainers and some newcomers to the event. The curtain raiser highlights the history of the Festival which is marking its golden anniversary. BANDALOOP, among the most prominent pioneers of vertical dance, returns to UAF for the fourth time, having appeared in 2005. 2013 and 2018. Once again, the Oakland-based arts company will perform on the 240-foot-high curving glass façade of the City Library, as part of a June tour in four cities featuring a work with ecological roots that will resonate with collective concerns about the Great Salt Lake’s ecological crisis, as the dance artists perform FLOCK while integrating company repertoire pieces including Downstream and its new creation, life || lines, all with an original score featuring music by four composers. Salt Lake Acting Company will appear for the second time at the festival, offering a sample from its upcoming summer show, The Gaslight Zone. Make-and-take opportunities will be among the most extensive in history, with Make Salt Lake as well as Secondhand Salamander which is bringing back the classic Mad Hatter project, and, of course, the Kids’ Art Yard. Urban Arts is offering its largest live graffiti mural installation featuring eight artists in four Festival campus locations, while a row of several other artists will be demonstrating their creative process in real time. Holdman Studios, based in Lehi with an international portfolio of commissions to create stained glass in religious and civic buildings, including a recent update to the Utah State Capitol rotunda, is offering an unprecedented series of free workshops for participants to create their own stained glass artwork. The City Library auditorium will be the home to the 23rd edition of the international Fear No Film program, with 84 short films on a slate of 15 programs, the second largest in the event’s history. Of course, dance, who wears the empress jewels in performing arts, will be represented by Repertory Dance Theatre, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, Sock Opera Dance, and, of course, the ever-popular 1520 Arts, which will feature Trash Panda Drum Group and competitions featuring Sol Tribe as part of the Salt Open Styles Battle along with the Red Bull Dance Your Style battle and a collaboration with Utah Valley University’s ESPRIT in Rep Your Set Choreo Competition, with choreographers who specialize variously in hip hop, contemporary, salsa, reggaeton, afro, popping. Headliners this year include Digable Planets, well known among jazz musicians as well as hip hop artists (June 18); Yola, six-time Grammy-nominated artist, songwriter, and actor (June 19); Austin-based musician Alejandro Rose-Garcia, better known as Shakey Graves, who has been cited for creating new musical experiences tailored to each fan, ranging from Bandcamp-exclusive releases to hosting interactive scavenger hunts while on tour (June 20) and Rubblebucket, a band well known for its hybrid genre blend of psychedelia and electronic dance music (June 21). For tickets and more information, see the Utah Arts Festival website.
FEAR NO FILM 2026
For its 23rd edition, Alex Vejar, new Fear No Film program coordinator, has fully embraced the historic legacy found in Utah’s largest offering of short films which has solidified its international reputation. With 84 short films from 20 countries, the second largest slate in Fear No Film history, Vejar has added his own touch to curating them in 15 programs, which include new comedy, drama and experimental categories. The signature Midnight program is now known as After Dark. Some 38% of the slate is represented by students and/or first-time filmmakers. The kids program is as big as ever and the Utahn programs comprise 15 films either made by local directors or are connected to the state.
Vejar also has selected four short films which screened at Sundance last winter, including Living with a Visionary, directed by Stephen Neary, which won the Sundance Short Film Jury Award for Animation. James Cutler, who won Fear No Film’s Grand Jury Prize Best in Show last year with Confused Blood, returns with Can I Put You On Hold, which was supported by the locally based The Davey Foundation.
Once again, short films from Iranian filmmakers are prominent this year, with ten offerings, the largest single-nation contingent outside the U.S. in the festival’s history. Iranian short films have had a considerable impact at Fear No Film and Vejar has continued curating this distinguished presence. Last year’s Fear No Film featured nine short films from Iranian filmmakers. Also, Iranian filmmaker Mahtab Pishghadam won the prestigious Fearless Filmmaker Award in 2025 for Inside, a tender, understated narrative about gender policing in sports, following a 10-year-old star on a boys’ soccer team whose eligibility is questioned right before a major match. In 2017, the Fear No Filmmaker Award went to Roohangiz, directed by Iranian filmmaker Elmira Bagherzadeh, a sharp, funny film about a séance and how the medium’s unexpected error unleashes a surprising disaster in the spirit that is being conjured up for the client’s sake. The film, which is in Farsi, came from the Tehran University of Art. “This award is presented to the filmmaker whose work bravely challenges audiences to fear no filmmaker vision,” Topher Horman, then Fear No Film coordinator, explained. “Roohangiz, directed by Bagherzadeh at the Tehran University of Art, is an animated dark comedy combining love and laughter, under a theme of the Mongol invasion of Persia, bravely setting the story in a séance, mentions of which are rare in Iran. What an honor it is to present this award to a young woman filmmaker in Tehran who is creating such courageous, magnificently balanced art intended to show the potential of Iranian history and culture for fantasy and horror genres.” In 2015, the Grand Jury Prize for Best of Show went to The Story of a Rainy Night from Iran, directed by Mehdi Fard-Qaderi, which had its third appearance in a U.S. film festival at the time. This film was produced by Iran’s Youth Cinema Association and its narrative is about an elderly man who is celebrating his birthday and takes a new look at the relationships among his grown children. Regrettably, many in the West are subjected to media reports that demonize Iranians and subvert portrayals as loving families that face the same emotional challenges we find ourselves coping with daily. This film fills the gap elegantly with sincere emotion and empathy.
Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Mexico, Greece and Brazil, among others, are represented in this year’s slate.
The kids program includes a short by one of the most frequently appearing directors in Fear No Film history, Julia Ocker from Germany (3 Captains). Also, for kids, The Anomaly by Mateo Zivkovic of Australia, was shot on a smartphone with no budget and just a two-person crew. Tapped as a highly commended semifinalist by SF3 SmartFone Flick Fest, the five-minute short is about a boy who experiments with an AI chatbot, as the digital world bleeds into real life. Surreal horror meets online gaming culture in this cautionary tale about what happens when technology takes over more than just your screen. SF3 is an Australian event known for being one of the world’s largest festivals for films shot on smartphones or tablets.
The record-setting slate of Iranian shorts include:
As If Nothing Happened, a narrative directed by Sonia Panah about a 13-year-old female refugee whose uncle and his family has been shipwrecked and struggles to keep a secret from her ailing grandmother while others in her family keep a secret from her. (Screening: Friday, June 19 at 6 PM Dramatic Program 2);
Bangle, directed by Alireza Shakeri Shakeri and Niko Zarpour, a narrative with Amneh as the principal character who notices that some bangles have been stolen and now prepares to testify falsely in court (Screening: Saturday, June 20 at 6 PM Dramatic Program 3);
Code Red, a narrative, directed by Minoo Taheri and Majid Aziz, which is set amid a backdrop of wailing sirens, as an elementary school teacher reviews her students’ homework and one student confronts a challenge that puts him in a difficult position (Screening: Thursday, June 18 at 6 PM Dramatic Program 1);
the narrative End of the Lamb, directed by Mohamad Kamal Alavi which centers on sweet, sensitive seven-year-old girl who lives in a cruel, violent world and after visiting her parent’s workplace, she changes (Screening: Sunday, June 21 at 6 PM Dramatic Program 4);
the speculative narrative Endless Road, directed by Mehdi Marashi which is set in the near future when drought and scarcity of water plague the planet and residents in a sparsely populated region have delegated a man to find an old water engineer who is believed to have the skills of locating underground water through ancient methods (Screening: Friday, June 19 at 6 PM Dramatic Program 2);
an animated short Holy Heaveness, directed by Farnoosh Abedi, Negah Khezre Fardyardad and Mohammad Ghaffari, which has no dialogue as it explores how the death of a loved one impacts our lives (Screenings: Thursday, June 18 at 8 PM Sunday, June 21 at 4 PM Animation Program);
the narrative Little Soldier, directed by Roxan Karami, about a mother trying to hide from ISIS, but her newborn son’s crying risks giving her cover away (Screening: Sunday, June 21 at 10 PM After Dark Program 4);
Night Shift, a narrative directed by Amir Ali Masoumifar about a diligent employee responsible for cleaning the hospital during a protest discover a girl, who was believed to have been killed in the streets, alive in the morgue shelves (Screening: Sunday, June 21 at 6 PM Dramatic Program 4);
the documentary Soil Color by Farhad Doroudgar about the individual’s heroic resolve to act against deprivation and loss (Screening: Friday, June 19 at 4 PM Documentary Program 1);
the narrative Sonata of Good Women by Mehdi Mahaei, about a woman who is torn between her love for her husband, a soldier on the frontlines in war, and an intense, forbidden romance with a young woman (Screening: Saturday, June 20 at 6 PM Dramatic Program 3).
In the weeks leading up to the festival, Vejar has been posting concise summaries with thumbnail images about individual offerings on the 2026 Fear No Film slate, which can be found at FNF’s Instagram.
The following is a partial list of The Utah Review’s must-see recommendations from this year’s Fear No Film slate:
A witty palate cleanser from this year’s Sundance, Balloon Animals, directed by Anna Baumgarten, has a novel premise between a customer and two supermarket employees. Arriving just before the store is set to close, a customer wants a balloon bouquet for her brother’s surprise birthday party. But when the employees learn that the balloons and the surprise are part of a ritual that the customer’s family has done every year since the brother died, the employees help out the woman. With helium gas and cake, the trio enjoy quite a few laughs, as the store’s closing time approaches. (Screenings: Saturday, June 20 at 8 PM Sunday, June 21 at 2 PM Comedy Program)
Bond, directed by J. Manzo, is one of two offerings by the filmmaker, who previously worked as a film mentor at Spy Hop Productions and has been working on his master of fine arts degree at the University of Texas in Austin. In Bond, a couple explores the artistry and emotional complexity of rope bondage (Screening: Sunday, June 21 at 10 PM After Dark Program 4). Mira follows a pious young man who discovers a hole in his apartment wall, forcing him to confront a difficult test of faith as he is tempted to watch his neighbor, whose lifestyle conflicts with his religious convictions (Screening: Saturday, June 20 at 10 PM After Dark Program 3).
Bubba, directed by Canadian filmmaker Kayli Koonar, emerges from abstract, non-literal imagery, as it explores the experience of belonging, assimilation and how recollections change over time for a 12-year-old boy who has emigrated from India to Canada (Screenings: Friday, June 19 at 8 PM Sunday, June 21 at 8 PM Experimental Program).
Can I Put You on Hold?, directed by James Cutler, is about a man trying to deal with the bureaucracy surrounding immigration as he waits on hold with his immigration lawyer, hoping to be with his fiancée, only to encounter a devastating setback that forces him to reconsider everything (Screening: Friday, June 19 at 2 PM Utah Program 1). Last year, Cutler took the Grand Jury Prize Best in Show for Confused Blood, which was exceptional for its cinematic approach along with its intricate, nuanced layers of storytelling. That story centered 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. This newest short was supported by the locally based The Davey Foundation.
Final Frame, directed by twins Andrew and Adrian Nuño, is a narrative about a gay film editor at a crossroads when he must choose between his career or his love (Screening: Saturday, June 20 at 6 PM Dramatic Program 3). The project successfully raised over $20,000 through crowdfunding and completed filming in November 2024. This short marks the second collaboration between the Nuño Twins and Creative Cypher, a Chicago-based entertainment brand.
How We Hamsters Die, directed by Phoebe Burdick and Mio Gribskov, is an animated mockumentary produced in San Jose State University’s animation and illustration program (Screenings: Thursday, June 18 at 8 PM Sunday, June 21 at 4 PM Animation Program). As absurd as the premise might seem, the content is based on more than 40 true stories the filmmakers collected from friends, students and family. The hamsters who have died recall the details of their untimely deaths. For a six-minute short, the enterprise is outstanding: interview and flashback sequences are clearly delineated; mixed media elements are used in flashbacks, with photographic backgrounds layered with animation and pint effects. The comedic effect nevertheless does not dilute the message about the importance of responsible ownership of pets.
From Sundance, Nicolas Fong’s psychedelic-rich Hugs is warm-hearted animation, with cuddles galore that need no dialogue (Screenings: Thursday, June 18 at 8 PM Sunday, June 21 at 4 PM Animation Program).
Running just four minutes, Ivar, a live action puppetry animation made by Oslo director and puppeteer Markus Tangre, was a bona fide audience pleaser at Sundance in January. Infused with a dark comedic vibe, the woman is irritated and frustrated by her husband’s snoring but, more so by his odor. As she contemplates whether or not she should leave him, she faces the camera, as a rapid-fire list of images and montages pass by which document everything she sees wrong in him. (Screenings: Thursday, June 18 at 8 PM Sunday, June 21 at 4 PM Animation Program).
Java Jive, directed by Barrett Burgin, is about a man who is finding it difficult to resist the temptation of a hot beverage (Screening: Saturday, June 20 at 2 PM Utah Program 2). Already this comedic short has attracted attention for its effective take on the quirks of LDS doctrines and covenants. For an excellent take on the film, The Utah Review recommends James Goldberg’s The Truth in the Fun House Mirror, published in Wayfare magazine.
Last year at Fear No Film, The Angel, directed by Burgin and his wife Jessica Burgin, was, to quote the filmmakers, a “Mormon pioneer folk horror story.” Winning well-deserved acclaim, that short, which is now available for streaming, is a proof of concept for the filmmakers’ award-winning screenplay THIRD WIFE, which already has sparked interest among investors, distributors and others, including having been spotlighted by the Sundance Institute. As the Burgins note in their director’s statement, “It wrestles with certainty, spiritual deception, and the complex power dynamics fundamental to our heritage.”
Winning the Sundance Short Film Jury Award for Animation, Living with a Visionary, directed by Stephen Neary, is just as emotionally profound as Ninety Five Senses, an animated film from Jared and Jerusha Hess, which was nominated in 2024 for the Academy Award for best short film (Screening: Saturday, June 20 at 4 PM Documentary Program 2).
Narrated by actor James Cromwell, the film was inspired by a long letter published in 2021 in The New Yorker by John Mathias, an English professor at the University of Notre Dame, after his wife died from a long illness and unique medical conditions that started after she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The letter also chronicled his own startling experiences, which included being committed to a psychiatric hospital ward, all of which coincided with the pandemic. Mathias wrote eloquently about Diana, who worked for many years as an art curator, and how her medications caused her to experience vivid hallucinations and how COVID-19 separated them and their final words came not in person, but by phone.
Neary, who has worked as a story artist for many years, explained in his director’s statement how Mathias’ story resonated immediately with him. “It’s impossible not to draw parallels to your own life–the decline of my grandmother due to dementia years prior, my parents aging as my own family grows, the feelings of powerlessness, all alongside a strange sense of beauty in the absurd,” he wrote. “I reached out to Matthias in 2022 about adapting the article into an animated short film, visually inspired by the work of Canadian animator Frédéric Back. I understood that no major studio would support it, but I felt deeply touched by my conversations with John, who told me, ‘I think it’s something Diana would have liked.’”
By hand, Neary rendered the thousands of drawings on overlapping layers of vellum and watercolor paper, adding that he loved “building up translucent layers to mimic depth-of-field, approaching each unique shot like a paper puzzle to be solved, scanning every scene one frame at a time.”
Sissy, directed by Constance Anderson of Utah, is an impressive screen dance film. Many Utah choreographers have been embracing the art of screendance for setting works specifically created for film, which is notable given that contemporary dance had primarily relied on film to document and archive choreographic movement to preserve the integrity of a dance composition for future staging. Inspired in part by the story of St. Joan of Arc, imagery of women in armor and the tough resilience of her mother and sister, Anderson set out to develop her project. In an interview with The Utah Review, Anderson, whose Sock Opera Dance company also will be performing during the Festival, said, “I really don’t see chainmail very often as a costume and I thought about how that would look on screen or how it would make dancers move differently because it does have the weight to it.” Additionally, as a gardener, she explained, “There’s something about the fragility of plants mixed with this very intense heavy material that feels initially hyper-feminine to me but also is very strong because it takes a long time to grow. And, there’s a patience to them but once they’re there, they’re pretty, and have a lot of longevity and strength. So there’s something about the juxtaposition of these two things that spoke to each other.” To enhance these effects, Anderson used 16-mm film, instead of shooting digitally, and recruited Garrett Ranger as DP. The floral costuming props were provided by Galore Floral artist Meagan Bertelsen. The work features dance artists Addison Cambia, Maeve Friedman, Alex Seager and Mads Ward. The original soundtrack, with march-like rhythms that emphasize resilience and resistance, was composed by Ble Biru (Minas Vakaloudis) (Screening: Friday, June 19 at 2 PM Utah Program 1.)