OREM, Utah — "Singles Ward," "Saints and Soldiers" and "God's Army" are only a handful of LDS-related movies to emerge in the past few years. Whether movies are made by LDS filmmakers, are geared toward members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or have LDS themes, they are all classified under the same genre: Mormon film.
During a forum at the 8th LDS Film Festival on Saturday at the SCERA Center for the Arts, community members, students and filmmakers came together to discuss the curious status of the current LDS film industry. Participants discussed how difficult it is becoming for LDS films to survive in two different worlds: Mormon audiences versus non-Mormon audiences.
Some expressed the need for filmmakers to market exclusively to Mormons. Alyssa Rock, an audience member at the forum, feels Mormon films are a great missionary tool, as well as a way of strengthening testimonies.
"Maybe our goal at this point should be perfecting the Saints," she said.
Others expressed the need to expand to national audiences.
"There is only so much financial viability in the LDS market," said Kathy Cowley, a graduate student at Brigham Young University and mediator at the forum.
Kels Goodman, who created the LDS film "Handcart," agreed that films need to be marketed more broadly, but said it is often difficult to create LDS movies that will appeal to mass audiences. The ultimate quest for many LDS filmmakers, Goodman said, is to create a movie that will "cross over."
"I don't think we've tapped into telling a Mormon story to a national audience," Goodman said. "(Filmmakers) have to find a way to sell the product … to other audiences."
Gideon Burton, an English professor at BYU, said some filmmakers are hesitant to make LDS films with overtly religious themes out of fear of portraying the faith in a wrong or negative light. The best approach, he said, is simplicity. Filmmakers don't need to be so conspicuous about religion to make an impact on wider audiences.
Others, however, believe it is necessary to inform people about the LDS faith and not be ashamed or try to hide it.
Several filmmakers expressed the need for the industry to not be afraid to show Mormons as real people and to show the human side of the faith.
"To be true to our audiences, we need to show flaws," said Jeff Chamberlain, a writer and filmmaker. "If we want our message to resonate, we need to embrace human drama in our own culture … in an authentic way."
Katherine Morris, a recent BYU graduate and mediator at the forum, echoed Chamberlain's sentiments about the need to embrace the culture when making LDS films.
"It takes a self-acceptance of our own culture, including the rough edges," she said.
After much discussion and debate, most people in attendance agreed that the key to success in the LDS film industry is balance between being overtly Mormon and hiding the faith.
"As LDS (filmmakers) we are caught between the secular and spiritual," Morris said. "Maybe there is a space that we can be both."
Chamberlain believes that when LDS films are balanced and portray good, authentic messages, then success will eventually follow.
"Art and commerce go hand in hand, " Chamberlain said. "Hopefully we can find a way to marry the two."
E-mail: ajohnson@desnews.com
2009 LDS Film Festival
Short film competition: First place, "Mind the Gap," Kristal Williams-Rowley; second place, "Le Chevelure," Alla Volkova; third place, "The Interlopers," Ben Hurst.
24-hour filmmaking marathon: First place, "The Infinipede Space Monster from Outer Space" (Colton Chesnut, Mike Alger, John Packer, McKay Stevens, Jarren Bird); second place, "Matchless" (Tom Garner, Issac Goeckeritz, Danor Gerald, Jaclyn Hales, Tyler Harris); third place, "Spin and Meo" (Meghan Burnside, Spencer Burnside, Brandon Orr, Jill Orr, Adelaide Burnside); third place, "Fice Part 1" (Matthew Mattson, Mat Gerow, Jake VanWagenen, Jeff Blake, Garrett Batty).
7-page script competition winners: "I Love You Bernie Summersby," Sally Meyer; "Seeing Stars," Georgia Buchert; "Battle of the Bulge," Spanky Ward.
Log on to MormonTimes.com for a complete list of winners.