Utah Film Market Awards Films for Hooking In Its Audience
– By James McFadden –
The Utah Film Market is a result of the ever-expanding international Red Rock Film Festival which was formed in 2007 in Southern Utah and began as a film series in 2004. The Market was added in 2010 to show more films out of competition. Red Rock quickly became an internationally recognized festival with award-winning judges with its rigorous pre-selection process. Festival Director Marxteyn said,
“The film market grew out of a need to showcase more films that we felt deserved an audience whereas the main Festival was mostly a competition for the art of film.”
The international Utah Film Market began as mostly a media center marketplace for international film with extra screenings then called the “Red Film Market” in the 2010 season of the Annual Red Rock Film Festival. These market films were shown out-of-competition and just last year added a Best Hook competition to its Red Grid public screenings. A hook is the part of the story at the beginning of a film that hooks the viewer into the film.
Last Year’s winning Feature Hooks, for example, went to Dimitris Bavellas’ comedy “In the Strange Pursuit of Laura Durand” and Ramsey Denison’s revealing documentary “Money Machine”. Grand Jury member Marco Magni who is the director of international sales for EuroObscura defined the hook for “Laura Durand” as when “The two protagonists find a hidden message in an old VHS from their favorite porn actress, Laura Durand, who recently vanished, asking them to save her.” Needless to say, the two manchildren cannot watch their womanizing tape and instead go on a road trip where they find a need to grow up.
For Jury member and Mongolian producer Tsogtbayar Namsrai the hook for “Money Machine” is “when the Route91 male survivor says, ‘This lady in front of me said – Is that a gunfire?'” during the Mandalay Bay concert shooting in Las Vegas.
One such hook is in Daniel Troia’s “We Are All in This Together” which reexamines the divisiveness of our nation in 2020 and sets off on a cross-country bicycle journey using hidden cameras, with no food and no money. What he discovered was just the opposite of what the internet news and social media were reporting: people of all walks of life, flags, colors, and economic background welcomed him into their lives. Even homeless people offered him money and help.
“We Are All in This Together” plays on Saturday at the Utah Film Market. Several other films and seminars join this St. George festival event at the Dixie Convention Center on 1835 S. Convention Center Dr, St. George, Utah August 25-28 from noon to 11 pm. This is a passes-only event with passes sold at www.RedRockFilmFestival.com and at the door.
Viewpoints and perspectives expressed throughout The Independent are those of the individual contributors. They do not necessarily reflect those held by the staff of The Independent or our advertising sponsors. Your comments, rebuttals, and contributions are welcome in accordance with our Terms of Service. Please be respectful and abide by our Community Rules. If you have privacy concerns you can view our Privacy Policy here. Thank you!
Click here to submit an article, guest opinion piece, or a Letter to the Editor
