Films From M.A.R.S. hosts outdoor screening at Park Discovery amphitheater

Films From M.A.R.S. hosts outdoor screening at Park Discovery amphitheater

Films From M.A.R.S. will have its next screening at the amphitheater at Park Discovery. The first films outdoors will be Red Rock Film Festival’s grand jury winner for best documentary, “Coming to my Senses,” preceded by the grand jury winner for best fiction short, “Nicole’s Cage.” The film presentation will begin May 26 at dusk, around 8:45 p.m., at the Park Discovery Amphitheater on 2077 W. Royal Hunte Dr. in Cedar City, next to the school district and across from the Aquatic Center. The event is free and open to the public. It is suggested to bring a seat cushion and blanket.

At the time when the Red Rock Film Festival began showing films over a decade ago at the O.C. Tanner Amphitheater, no one in southern Utah was doing outdoor screenings. Soon, the City of St. George and others followed. Two years ago, the festival’s organization presented “Films From M.A.R.S.,” a film series that screened winning films from the Red Rock Film Festival and on one occasion screened a selection of shorts in a drive-in movie setup on top of the Cedar City downtown parking garage.

“It was a windy night”, said festival director Matt Marxteyn. “But it was so cool to see the films outdoors overlooking the town with the trees and mountains in the backdrop. We knew if we found the right place we would bring it back.”

The festival organization returned its film series April 14 with the Winners Showcase of shorts, and with special requests from several locals, the second film program in the series is moving outdoors. With recent surveys on Facebook, the two most popular answers were “In an open lot away from town” and the “Amphitheater Park Discovery.”

“Nicole’s Cage” is a fantasy comedy about a young and ambitious couple moving to an unusual high-rise apartment in an exciting real estate location in the city. Based on two short stories and filled with “safe words” and vibrant set design, the German film is directed by Josef Brandl, who was a set designer for “Bridge of Spies,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Captain America: Civil War,” and the upcoming “Robin Hood.” The film also won a special achievement award at last year’s festival for visual effects. Venue manager Phoebe Bock said that the film has a Wes Anderson feel.

Directed by Dominic Gill and produced by Nadia Gill and Julian Cautherley, “Coming to my Senses” is an inspirational documentary feature about the horrific accident of motocross champion Aaron Baker that left him paralyzed from the neck down. Despite doctors’ grim prognosis over the next 16 years, Aaron decided not to listen to those who said “he had a million-to-one odds of ever feeding himself again” and instead, through painstaking effort, endeavored to regain as much mobility as possible.

In the film, Baker takes one final journey that symbolizes his recovery, crossing a 20-mile tract of Death Valley on foot without a support team and only a push cart. The film is recommended for teens and parents due to language (think motocross riders and skater dudes).

Priority seating is available online only. More information is available on Facebook. Other films in the series will be shown June 9, July 28, and Aug. 4 with plans for a ski film, a ’50s drive-in sci-fi film, and a new independent film.

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