Inaugural Desertscape International Film Festival arrives at The Electric Theater
The Desertscape International Film Festival will showcase films from all over the globe for a look at the world through the undeniable joy that is film.
Inaugural Desertscape International Film Festival arrives at The Electric Theater
The state of Utah is no stranger to film festivals. As host to larger-scale fare like the iconic Sundance Film Festival and southern Utah’s amazing decade-long-running DocUtah, the Beehive state is also home to The Utah Film Awards, The Red Rock Film Festival, and the up and coming Kanab Film Festival, just to name a precious few. Now the Film and Media Alliance of Southern Utah — A nonprofit known primarily for hosting community-based film events — throws its hat into the ring with the Desertscape International Film Festival.
Don’t let the “International” part of the title lead you to believe that the Desertscape International Film Festival will turn its back on the beautiful state and city it calls home. This first-year fest will welcome Utah-based storytellers with open arms. At the same time, though, the Desertscape International Film Festival is looking to showcase films from all over the globe as a means to offer up a culturally expansive look at the world through the undeniable joy that is film.
The Desertscape International Film Festival will present a lineup of features and shorts in multiple genres. The fest will take place from Thursday, June 20th thru Saturday, June 22nd. The 35 plus titles will be broken into blocks over the festival’s three day run. Blocks will include shorts, international, animation spotlight, made in Utah, and Desertscape After Dark. Additionally, the locally presented summer movie edition of the Guerilla Shorts Showcase will also be part of the festivities.
The official 2019 Desertscape International Film Festival Lineup is as follows:
June 20
5:30 p.m.: “When All That’s Left is Love” (80 min.) directed by Eric Gordon,
Q & A with Gordon and special guests
7:30 p.m.: Opening night reception hosted by The Alzheimer’s Association (Utah Chapter)
8:30 p.m.: Sights and sounds shorts block, stories told through images, sound, music, and minimal dialogue:
—“The New Great Depression” directed by Will Kindrick (music Video) (5 min.)
—“Storm” directed by Will Kindrick (10 min.), Q&A
—“The Colour of Your Lips” directed by Annick Blanc (international) (18 min.)
—“The Old Man & the Dead” directed by Amir Reza Falaki (international) (17 min.)
—“Idaho: Art of Nature” directed by Rulon Wood (interpretive dance) (7 min.), Q&A
—“Haunted” directed by Kyle and Carlos Plummer (music video) (5 min.)
—“Contemporary Woody Guthrie” directed by Joel Umbaugh (music video) (3 min.)
June 21
10 a.m.: International shorts block:
—“Brotherhood” directed by Meryam Joobeur (25 min.)
—“Lunar-Orbit Rendezvous” directed by Melanie Charbonneau (15 min.)
—“Oblivion” directed by Fatemeh Mohammadi (15 min.)
—“Escape” directed by Dana Lenets (15 min.)
—“Train Hopper” directed by Amelie Hardy (18 min.)
—“Stari Grad (Old Town)” directed by Jack Beck (9 min.)
—“The Last 40 Miles” directed by Jeff Roth (14 min.), Q & A
—“The Ghost Next Door” directed by Chris Bringhurst (5 min.), Q & A
3 p.m.: Shorts block:
—“Glass Cages” directed by Lori Lyle (25 min.), Q & A
—“Christian’s Second Shot” directed by Kenny Heidt (7 min.)
—“The Boy Hero” directed by Kyle A. Thompson (22 min.)
—“Storm” directed by Will Kindrick (10 min.), Q & A
—“Stream of Dreams” directed by Paul Vernon (35 min.)
6 p.m. “The Dancing Dogs of Dombrova” directed by Zack Bernbaum (100 min.), hosted by RSQ Dogs
9 p.m.: Desertscape After Dark (viewer discretion advised:
—“Midnight Horror Show” directed by Cragun Clayburn (4 min.)
—“Old Haunt” directed by Andre Hyland (12 min.)
—“The Wight Christmas” directed by Levi A. Taylor (30 min.), Q & A
—“Chateau Sauvignon: terroir” directed by David Marire (13 min.)
—“Little Waves” directed by Ariane Louis-Seize (12 minutes)
—“Lay Me Down to Sleep” directed by Jeff Sanders (70 min.), Q & A
June 22
10 a.m.: Screenwriting panel (60 min.): A conversation with Rob York (“Rustlers”), Lori Lyle (“Glass Cages”), Mark Bracich (“Not This Christmas”), and TBA
1Noon: Made in Utah shorts block:
—“Tumbleweed” directed by Jake Clayson (5 min.), Q & A
—“Rustlers” directed by Rob York (15 min.), Q & A
—“Life Support” directed by Sandi Catten (5 min.), Q & A
—“It’s Lonely Down Here” directed by Kreigh Carter (13 min.)
—“The Tell-Tale Heart” directed by Caleb Hatton (26 min.), Q & A
—“Kent Harrison Hayes — The Most Important Man in the World” directed by Shane Hecksel (28 min.), Q & A
3 p.m.: 2019 summer movie edition of the Guerilla Shorts Showcase (120 min.)
Filmmaking teams were given a theme inspired by an upcoming summer movie. Teams then had a limited amount of time to put together a 5-minute short utilizing their theme using any resources available to them. Through this showcase, you’ll see what these wildly creative filmmaking teams came up with.
6 p.m.: “Jeff Lowe’s Metanoia” directed by Jim Aikman (80 min.), Q & A with producer Connie Self and special guests
8:30 p.m.: Awards dinner, location TBA
As you can see, The Desertscape International Film Festival will offer a diverse slate of films throughout what promises to be a magical three-day run. Additionally, programmers have revealed that the inaugural fest will also host a free screenwriting panel as part of the festivities. Further still, attendees can expect an opening night reception, a closing night Awards dinner, and plenty of surprises along the way. Above all, though, the Desertscape International Film Festival is all about outstanding films and the dedicated storytellers behind them.
Schedule subject to change. For detailed Desertscape International Film Festival, including film synopses, individual block tickets, all-access passes, and the awards dinner, click here.
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