The new renaissance in LDS filmmaking will be celebrated in Provo next weekend with the first Young LDS Film Festival.
According to organizer Christian Vuissa, the three-day festival — Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 29-Dec.1 — will spotlight selected films gleaned from more than 70 entries from around the world.
The festival includes a symposium and a panel discussion, both featuring prominent LDS filmmakers and theoreticians, filmmaker's presentations on the art of moviemaking and screenings of films that are not part of the competition. (Filmmakers invited to give presentations include "God's Army" and "Brigham City" director Richard Dutcher, "Pure Race" director Rocco deVilliers and Kurt Hale, whose comedy "Singles Ward" will be released early next year.)
Vuissa said the goal of the festival is to allow selected filmmakers to show their work "and talk about challenges, dreams and aspirations in a Hollywood-dominated market."
The event's centerpieces are two separate competition programs featuring 23 short films by LDS artists or featuring LDS-specific material.
Competition Program A will play Thursday at 5 p.m. Among its selections are Susan Teh's documentary "Of Shoes and Souls"; the children's fable "When the Wind Blows," by Erik Christensen; and the experimental piece "Shattered," by Krisi Church.
Competition Program B will play Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Its selected shorts include Brad Barber's documentary "Inspire or Damage"; the animated "Gestures," by Donald Mustard; and Chris Bowman's "The Wrong Brother."
Selected pieces from each program will also be shown as part of a best-of-competition program on Saturday at 7.30 p.m.
All featured events will be held in the Provo Theatre, 105 E. 100 North. Also, the best-of-competition program will be shown again a week later, on Saturday, Dec. 8, in the University of Utah's Fine Art Center Auditorium.
Tickets for individual programs are $3; $4 for the best-of-competition program. Festival passes are available for $20, which allow pass-holders admission to all programs, and there will be day passes available ($12 for admission to both the Thursday and Friday programs, or $12 for all the Saturday programs).
Tickets can be purchased at the door. Please be at the theater 15 minutes before the program starts.
For more information on the festival, including a full schedule of events, or for information on specific films included in the festival, browse the official Web site www.ldsbox.com.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com