What is there to watch at the LDS Film Festival?
"Paladin: Dawn of the Dragon Slayer" will be shown at the LDS Film Festival 2012. Ph: LDS Film Festival
"Unicorn City" will be shown at the LDS Film Festival 2012. Ph: LDS Film Festival
"Corianton: A Story of Unholy Love" will be shown at the LDS Film Festival 2012. Ph: LDS Film Festival
"The Letter Writer" will be shown at the LDS Film Festival 2012. Ph: LDS Film Festival
"Redemption" will be shown at the LDS Film Festival 2012. Ph: LDS Film Festival
The 11th annual LDS Film Festival kicked off last night at the SCERA Center for the Arts in Orem with a screening of the Old West drama “Redemption,” a tale of graverobbing and forgiveness inspired by actual events. If that one sounds intriguing, then you’re in luck — there will be a second screening Saturday on the festival’s final night.
There are plenty of other films to see at the festival, however, and there’s still time to get in the swing of things. The festival runs through Saturday at the SCERA Center for the Arts in Orem, and you can get an all-access pass, one-day pass, or purchase tickets to whatever individual events suit your fancy.
The Daily Herald gave a partial overview of the festival in our most recent Sunday edition, providing information about films like festival founder Christian Vuissa’s good deeds drama “The Letter Writer,” and the coming-of-age sibling documentary “Two Brothers.”
You can find information about every film at the festival at ldsfilmfestival.org, but here’s a brief look at some of what you’ll have a chance to catch before the festival wraps up on Saturday night.
The Book of Mormon movie ”Corianton” (2 p.m. Saturday) was made about 70 years before the LDS Film Festival even existed. Brigham Young University undertook a major digital restoration effort to resurrect the film, which tells the story of the Book of Mormon missionary Corianton (son of Alma the Younger) as adapted for a novella published serially by prominent LDS historian B.H. Roberts.
If you’re in the mood for something a little less scriptural, then you may enjoy the groundbreaking experimental film ”Boy with Blue” (2:30 p.m. today, 12:15 p.m. Saturday). A drama about grieving parents, “Boy with Blue” was filmed in just 24 hours, with a production budget of less than $10,000.
Monetary challenges also play a role in ”Stay Strong” (7:30 tonight, 10 a.m. Saturday), in which a family that loves its possessions loses everything — curse you, sluggish economy! — except each other. Because they are all bodybuilders, the family members have to get creative with their workouts when there’s no more gym membership or Stairmaster — OK, fine, it’s really about their emotional and spiritual fortitude.
Losing everything also happens to young Will in ”Paladin: Dawn of the Dragon Slayer” (9:30 tonight, 9:30 p.m. Friday). Will doesn’t have to reconnect with his personal faith, or learn about what’s really important, though, because his home and father were destroyed by a dragon attack, which means life lessons, schm-essons. When a dragon attacks, the only thing to do is pick up a sword and fight back.
You could probably also glean some tips for dealing with dragons — and other fantastical creatures — from ”Unicorn City” (7:30 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. Saturday). Can dedicated LARP-ers (that’s Live Action Role Playing) come together in a spirt of love, cooperation and violent battles to forge a brave new society? Note: This move contains a burly centaur with a two-wheeled cart where his horse’s (butt) should be.
If that sounds silly, well, nobody said that making movies is curing cancer. Unless the movie is ”Sweetwater” (9:30 tonight, 9:30 p.m. Friday), which is about, um, curing cancer. Former TV Superman actor Dean Cain has a role, which is kind of, er, awkward. Anyone remember when Cain played Joseph Smith in “September Dawn,” the Mormon-demonizing Mountain Meadows Massacre movie directed by his father?
If the LDS film community can say “bygones” to bad movies about Mountain Meadows, well, that’s the measure of a man, isn’t it? No, ”The Measure of a Man” (4:30 p.m. today, 4:30 p.m. Saturday) is a fact-inspired Depression-era drama about a man who lives the American Dream.
And, speaking of the measure of a man, the measure of one local filmmaker’s determination is on display in the short film ”Rocket Boy” (Saturday, 5 p.m.). Writer-director Daniel Parker Smith needed a rocket to blast the main characters into space in his boy-and-dog fantasy adventure film, so he built one — using a welded iron frame!
There are 23 other short films in competition for festival awards, including the likes of “Together Forever” (about a boy and girl who help each other deal with problems), “Life According to a Penny” (sort of like the LDS Film Festival version of “Sucker Punch”), “The Magical Wishing Washing Machine” (sounds like there’s an unholy appliance involved), “Walk the Path of Faith” (imagine running into the Willie Handcart Company at the LDS Film Festival!) and “Catcher of Silence” (a fine arts documentary filmed in St. Petersburg).
The fruits of the annual 24-Hour Filmmaking Marathon — short films made last weekend in a single day — will be shown tonight at 7, and the festival invites everyone to attend its concluding event, the awards ceremony, free of charge at 9:30 p.m. Saturday.
LDS Film Festival 2012
When: Now through Saturday
Where: SCERA Center for the Arts, 745 S. StateSt., Orem
Cost: $50 per festival all-event pass; Thursdayda pas $20; Friday day pass $25; Saturday day pass $30; individualscreenings $7; presentations $4
Info: ldsfilmfestival.org
