Sundance 2022: Utah’s film industry continues to grow; finds solid representation in slimmer festival slate

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 2022 feature-length and short films, which The Utah Review will cover. It was so close. Three weeks before Sundance 2022 (Jan. 20–30) was slated to open, organizers had … Read more

Sundance 2021: Utah film industry weathers pandemic with resilience, resourceful risk taking

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 2021 feature-length and short films, which The Utah Review will cover. In several hopeful signs, given its size, Utah’s film industry has weathered the pandemic with enough resilience … Read more

Sundance 2020: Nine Days, filmed in Utah, stupendous realization of humanity’s cosmic, spiritual aspirations

After a Salt Lake City screening of Edson Oda’s Nine Days, a friend mentioned that this was the film he had been waiting for years to see that represents what he perceives as having a true Sundance experience. This is not an exaggerated assessment. With a story demonstrating how the metaphysical cosmic dimensions of science … Read more

Sundance 2020: The Killing of Two Lovers superbly crafted, beautifully filmed story about troubled marriage in tiny rural town

The town portrayed in the Sundance premiere of The Killing of Two Lovers is so small that David, who is staying at his father’s home while he and Nikki try to figure out if their marriage is salvageable, easily can see everything going on in the lives of his wife and four kids in the … Read more

Sundance 2020: Utah’s film industry punches well above its weight class, opening doors for indie directors, producers

EDITOR’S NOTE: Part I covers a broad overview of the state’s film industry and Part II focuses on 16 films with a significant Utah connection that are in the Sundance 2020 slate. On the eve of the most inclusive and diverse Sundance Film Festival in its history (Jan. 23 – Feb. 2 in Park City, … Read more

Sundance 2019: Utah’s film industry expands avenues for film culture, creative producers, state and local tourism

EDITOR’S NOTE: Part I covers a broad overview of the state’s film industry and Part II will focus on the fiscal sponsorship initiative of the Utah Film Center as well as an overview of the films with a Utah connection that are in the Sundance 2019 slate. Read part II here. As Utah prepares to … Read more

Utah Film Center announces Artist Foundry to support independent filmmakers, acquires assets of Avrec Art House

As much as the Utah Film Center has served as a major Intermountain West cultural institution of exhibition for independent cinema, especially in documentary storytelling, it also has cultivated its function as a strategic touchstone essential for augmenting the creative filmmaking sector of the state’s film industry. Today, the center announced a major new piece … Read more

Sundance 2018: Audience-pleasing Hereditary, Damsel highlight Utah connections, locations

Utahns will recognize a good sampling of their state’s unparalleled scenery in two films – both containing unconventional elements to represent their respective genres — that premiered during this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Hereditary, directed and written by Ari Aster, an unusual horror film that has attracted much attention in Sundance’s Midnight program slate, and … Read more

Sundance 2018: Utah film industry’s connections strengthen as model for independent film community

Sundance 2018

Utah’s connections to the Sundance Film Festival (Jan. 18-28 in Park City and Salt Lake City) run deeper than what many people likely will see in the press coverage. Not only has the international festival been established as one of the most significant cultural events every year in the state, it has fostered film literacy … Read more