Electric Theater hosts Film and Media Alliance of Southern Utah’s Filmmaker Spotlight
The Film and Media Alliance of Southern Utah continues to champion southern Utah-based filmmaking talent. The Guerilla Filmmaking Challenge has been a St. George staple since 2005, and now FMASU is bringing Southern Utah’s Filmmaker Spotlight to town. The goal is to inspire, encourage, and nurture aspiring and seasoned filmmaking talent in the area by creating a platform where community-based storytellers can share their work in a theatrical setting.
Southern Utah’s Filmmaker Spotlight will consist of six film projects from six wonderfully diverse, talented, and supremely creative storytellers. These filmmakers will be on hand to present their work and engage in an insightful Q&A.
Matt Black, untitled homeschool documentary (11 minutes)
Matt Black is the award-winning filmmaker behind the inspirational Boston Marathon documentary, “Boston: Still Going Strong.” He’s also the founder of Matt Black Productions. While Black specializes in producing high-end story-based promotional videos, he has a wide range of projects he’s developing himself. Black is currently deep in production on an insightful and entertaining documentary about homeschooling. During Southern Utah’s Filmmaker Spotlight, he’ll share an early peek at what promises to be a very engaging film about an often misunderstood subject.
Caleb Hatton, “Flowers and Rainfall” (7 minutes)
Caleb Hatton is a gifted storyteller who, along with his talented crew, loves to make films that don’t simply spell everything out for the viewer. He has a handful of short films to his credit that are as beautiful to look at as they are thought provoking. Currently, Hatton is in the midst of shooting what is sure to be a unique adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher,” but he’ll take a break from that project so that he can be on hand at the event to share one of his latest efforts, a lovely relationship drama called “Flowers and Rainfall.”
Preston Taylor, “Love, Jean” (3 minutes)
Preston Taylor is a lover of all things film. One look at his work and you’ll see his undeniable passion on full display. Recently, Taylor put together an incredibly moving project for a filmmaking competition called “My Rode Reel.” “Love, Jean” is a powerful father/daughter drama fueled by outstanding performances by Sarah Osmond, Dan Fowlks, and Jessica Staples. Taylor will be on hand to present a special screening of this short film, and you’ll see instantly that he’s a storyteller well worth keeping your eye on.
Lori Lyle, “Glass Cages” (23 minutes)
Lori Lyle is no stranger to writing. It’s been a passion for her for many years. She’s penned a handful of screenplays, both shorts and features, and just two years ago, she brought one of those scripts to fruition in the form of the dramatic short film, “Gallop.” The gifted Lyle recently took her second directorial effort, “Glass Cages,” on the film festival circuit where it enjoyed a very healthy run. Now she’s bringing this psychologically charged character drama to share with us. With shades of “Rear Window,” this well crafted short is as moving as it is disorienting.
Dan Fowlks, “Maven Baxter” (4 minutes)
Dan Fowlks eats, drinks, and sleeps film! In the last decade, he’s put together an impressive resume consisting of screenplays, commercials, and short films. He’s also an actor and has appeared in various ads, TV shows, and feature-length films. More recently, he’s been the talk of the town after a sweet serenade to his daughter resulted in the ultimate viral video. While grateful for the exposure, this humble family man professes that was just a happy accident. The award-winning Fowlks has a myriad of film projects in the works, but his primary focus is the upcoming romantic comedy, “Maven Baxter,” a quirky feature film that he’s writing, directing, and co-starring in. Be the first audience to see an exclusive scene from “Maven Baxter” on the big screen, then sit back and listen to the gifted Fowlks tell you how you can get involved in this fantastic project.
Jeff Sanders, “The Murder of Crow” (5 minutes)
This extraordinary talent has been writing, producing, editing, shooting, and directing his own films for over a decade. He’s also the ultimate collaborator, having had a hand in multiple projects spearheaded by other filmmakers. Yes, Jeff Sanders does it all. For the last three years, Sanders has poured blood, sweat, and tears into his first feature, a provocative voyeuristic thriller called “Lay Me Down to Sleep.” Outside of that, he’s continued to work on various film projects to keep the creative juices flowing, including a darkly hilarious horror short called “The Murder of Crow.” He put this short together for Kanab’s “Little Hollywood Shoot-Out,” a 48-hour filmmaking competition, and given that the witching season is upon us, this feels like the perfect time to screen it.
The 2018 Horror-Fest edition of the Guerilla Filmmaking Challenge theme revel (11 minutes)
Southern Utah’s Filmmaker Spotlight will close out with the big theme reveal for the upcoming Halloween edition of the increasingly popular Guerilla Filmmaking Challenge. The theme will be presented by a special guest, and all the films made for this challenge will be screened during the Film and Media Alliance of Southern Utah’s annual Horror-Fest spooktacular Oct. 27. There will be over $1,000 in cash prizes awarded to the best guerilla shorts of the bunch!
Southern Utah’s Filmmaker Spotlight promises to be a fantastic evening for filmgoers and filmmakers alike, and there may even be a few surprises along the way.
Come on out and lend your support to community-based filmmaking!
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