DRIGGS, Idaho — Four days, 32 films, live music, a handful of Hollywood celebrities, breathtaking scenery and the Spud Drive-In combine for a unique, family-friendly atmosphere at Spudfest, the Teton Valley's first film and music festival.
This film festival is a bit different from Sundance. The addition of live bands, food vendors and themed events, such as "Cowboy Night," " '50s Night" and "Decorate Your Pickup Night," make for a sit-back-and-relax atmosphere.
In addition, most of the films are appropriate for families, according to Dawn Wells, Spudfest executive producer and president of the Spud Film Institute . . . although she is still better known as Mary Ann on "Gilligan's Island."
"The character of Mary Ann, the wonderful valley here that's all family oriented, the Spud Drive-In, which is about as family as you can get going back to 1953 — I thought it was a great combination," Wells said.
Spudfest will be showing a variety of dramas, comedies, documentaries and animated films in three locations near Driggs, Idaho. Titles include "Saints and Soldiers," "Danny Deckchair," "Burying the Past" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark: An Adaptation."
The festival will also show golden-oldies "Footloose" and "Winterhawk," along with the premieres of "Sons of Provo" and "The Easter Egg Escapade."
Peter Brown, a producer for "Sons of Provo," a mock documentary that follows the stardom of boy-band Everclean, a Mormon trio, is eager to see how the Teton Valley audience reacts to the film. "Spudfest seemed like kind of a nice combination for us," Brown said. "Driggs, Idaho, would be a type of place that (Everclean) would play."
Brown added that "Sons of Provo" is a film that tries "to show people that (a film) can be really funny and not have something really crude."
The festival celebrates the creation of the Spud Film Institute, a nonprofit organization that Wells put together to facilitate various film-related projects she has been operating for the past five years. In addition to the Spudfest, Wells runs the Film Actor's Boot Camp, a weeklong summer workshop to prepare actors for careers in show business. The camp has expanded to include classes for directors, producers, screenwriters and score writers and a vocational school for film-crew members.
"This camp has meant a great deal to me, because I have no children, to be able to see and guide some young people and help them a long the way . . . and believe in them where a lot of people are always saying, 'Don't go into show biz, it's so tough,' " Wells said. "I always say, if you've got talent, if God has given you a gift to sing or to dance or to paint, you really sort of owe it to yourself to try it, because we all don't have those talents."
The Spud Film Institute also plans to use its facility as a small film studio to give filmmakers an opportunity to create movies with trained personnel and crew members on hand. The object, Wells said, is to bring more business to the Teton Valley while allowing talented artists to live and work in an environment they love.
"I've seen what's here," Wells said, "and everybody wants to leave because they can't make a living, and why would you want to leave here?"
If you go. . .
What: Spudfest Film and Music Festival
When: Aug. 3-7, 10 a.m.-1 a.m. each day
Where: Spud Drive-In, Grand Targhee Resort, Pierre's Playhouse, Driggs, Idaho
How much: $25 (day pass), $40 (night pass), $65 (all-day pass)
Phone: 1-877-778-3345
Web:www.spudfest.org
E-mail: ltaylor@desnews.com