Filling the void: As Sundance departs, new festivals look to promote Utah filmmakers
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- Viewers watch the 2025 HiveFest at The Ziegfield Theater in Ogden.
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- The Orem Film Festival will premiere Sept. 24, 2025, at the Geneva Megaplex in Vineyard.
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- The Orem Film Festival will premier Sept. 24, 2025, at the Geneva Megaplex in Vineyard.
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- A viewer watches the 2025 HiveFest at The Ziegfield Theater in Ogden.
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- The Orem Film Festival will premier Sept. 24, 2025, at the Geneva Megaplex in Vineyard.
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- The Ziegfield Theater in Ogden hosted the 2025 HiveFest.
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- The Orem Film Festival will premier Sept. 24, 2025, at the Geneva Megaplex in Vineyard.
Dustin Bessire believes the state of Utah has a unique culture of creativity, though he struggles to identify why.
He hypothesizes that it’s spawned from the rugged nature of the state’s mountains, or embedded in the blood of its inhabitants.
This cultivates a “punky, indie film scene,” he believes, that varies from the movie hub of California or trendy cities like Austin and is more grassroots in nature.
And now is a consequential time for Utah’s film scene to embrace its identity.
The state’s premier event — the Sundance Film Festival — is packing its bags and heading across the Rockies to Boulder, Colorado, in 2027. Losing Robert Redford’s internationally renowned festival will create an undeniable void.
But Bessire, the outreach coordinator for HiveFest, a film festival in Ogden, views it as an opportunity for Utah’s grassroots film culture to reestablish itself.
“There’s for sure going to be a void,” he said. “But is it unfillable? No, not at all. I think that the film industry will still thrive (without Sundance) because of our beautiful geographical location and because we have these amazing arts that span the entire state.
“And with Sundance leaving, maybe it’s a blessing in disguise because it will open up the avenue for (other festivals).”
While longer-running festivals, such as Utah International Film Festival and FilmQuest, may seek greater prominence, a pair of new film festivals in Utah and Weber counties are also looking to make a splash.
HiveFest completed its second annual festival in April — and first under its current name — and looks to continue growing in 2026. Further down Interstate 15, Orem native Trevor Allen will premier the Orem Film Festival, or OFF, in September.
“Sundance is maybe the most prestigious film festival in the world, especially the country, and they abandoned us,” Allen said. “They’ve got to do what they’ve got to do, but it’s very exciting at the same time.”
Coincidentally enough, Allen publicly launched OFF a day before Sundance announced it was leaving Utah.
The new business is spurred by Allen’s deep admiration for movies and film. Movies made an impression on him from a young age and he views them as the best art form, a cooperative process that creates something powerful.
“I feel like it’s uniquely communal,” he said. “It’s impossible to make a movie by yourself. I mean, maybe you could, but it would be very bad. So you have to make a movie with other people. And I think this is so satisfying and fun to come together with a bunch of talented artists who are all specialized in their unique fields and unite to make something cool.”
The plan is to show 10 short films made by Utah filmmakers, offering local students, hobbyists and professional filmmakers alike an opportunity to showcase their talents.
Allen said he’s watched a third of the submitted films so far and thinks they’re the “real deal.”
“I was a little nervous going into it,” he said. “I thought, ‘Are we even going to have enough good Utah films to do this?’ But it’s been very humbling. I’m very happy to say that I was wrong and these Utah films are very, very impressive.”
Getting festival exposure is something all up-and-coming filmmakers aspire towards but it’s become increasingly difficult to achieve in recent years, according to Bessire, who believes it was easier for a grassroots film to get noticed in the early 2000s.
He said filmmakers have just over a 2% chance of getting a short film in Sundance and a 1% chance of getting a featured film, making it more difficult for new filmmakers with no budgets to break in.
HiveFest is looking to change that.
“One thing we really tried to focus on,” Bessire said, “is not gatekeeping the festival experience.
“We’ve tried to focus on Utah — specifically, Utah first-time filmmakers. They talk a lot about micro budgets and I think they don’t talk about zero-budget filmmakers. And so we try to prioritize those.”
HiveFest and OFF themselves reflect this push of young film enthusiasts trying to make it. HiveFest is a Weber State student-led endeavor, and Allen is a 2023 Utah State graduate looking to promote filmmaking in another young adult market.
This college influence is seen throughout the state. The Block Film and Art Festival in Logan is run by former Utah State students and views the university as one of its key audiences.
Southern Utah University hosts its own International Film Festival annually in Cedar City. The Wasatch Mountain Film Festival will be hosted in September at Westminster College in Salt Lake City.
“I feel like there’s a very strong film culture in Salt Lake but I think it could be a little stronger in Utah County, and especially with so many film schools and passionate artists and students,” Allen said. “I’m really hoping that this can unite people and be a good gathering place.”
Bessire feels similarly.
“There are other amazing film festivals,” he said, “but in Northern Utah, particularly in Ogden and those surrounding areas, it’s been really hard to find a film festival that felt attainable. … (We want) the college kid or the fresh filmmaker to have a physical festival they can go to and meet other people that are working, and maybe find a director or somebody that’s on the same level as them.”
The Orem Film Festival will be hosted Sept. 24 at the Geneva Megaplex in Vineyard. HiveFest opens up film submissions in two weeks for its next event in April 2026.
