It’s always been an ambition for Utah Film Center to have a fixed home to host all of our programming. We are excited to announce that this August, we celebrated our 22nd birthday with a huge milestone…
For 22 years, we’ve felt a little like your couch-surfing friend: a house guest looking for a place to land temporarily, share in the good times, and then move on to the next place. Don’t get us wrong—we love popping up all over the state with free film education, artist support, and film exhibitions, and will continue to do so where we can, but it has not been without its challenges.
Our programming has had to change dates to fit various venue schedules. Our staff, in addition to their direct programming expertise, has had to develop an expansive knowledge of traveling film exhibition models. While this has been worthwhile, it can be inefficient at times. Additionally, without one physical location where audiences could interact with all of our programs, our biggest fans couldn’t enjoy the depth and breadth of opportunities available through Utah Film Center.
Coming out of the pandemic, the Film Center pivoted so much that we became dizzy! From the get go, we got straight to work putting films on our own streaming channel and producing online Q&A sessions with chat features for audience participation. By the summer of 2020, we were masked up and headed out to provide drive-in movies, most notably, for our neighbors in the Navajo Nation. What we learned most during this time is that people love to see films together, and sometimes, it does not even matter what film. In these moments, we set aside our words and truly listen, discovering that what unites us is far greater than what divides us.
As we traveled around the state, we told people about Utah Film Center: how our resources have been available for two decades, how we bring in filmmakers from around the world to connect with audiences and fellow filmmakers, and how we offer workshops for aspiring filmmakers of all ages and media arts education to thousands of students and teachers across the state. While explaining this for what felt like the millionth time, it became clear that we needed a building to become our lighthouse: a place where filmmakers and film enthusiasts could find an inspiring place to share ideas and explore the power of film.
It’s important to know that over the last 22 years, our staff and board haven’t just dreamt of owning a building; we’ve spent countless hours assessing the feasibility of multiple spaces. When we began to seriously consider purchasing a building, we had a wish list already in hand:
- An accessible space to all.
- Inspired by Utah’s entrepreneurial sectors, close to commercial and retail spaces.
- Somewhere that allowed us to be a contributor to a neighborhood, to know our neighbors and to have conversations on our “porch” about how to better our community together.
- Approximately 10,000 or more square feet and at least 14-foot ceilings for film exhibition.
- Separate areas for filmmakers and Film Center staff to work, and a dedicated space to screen films, host workshops, teach classes, and welcome guests.
So, how did we get to be in the financial position to purchase a building? Some may recall that in 2016, the old Utah Film Center office on Main Street in Salt Lake City caught fire in the middle of the night due to a faulty light in the basement. Because our offices were in the middle of a business district, the alarms didn’t alert anyone until it was a total loss. A generous philanthropist, Dell Loy Hansen, heard about the fire, appreciated what we do for the community, and offered us space in one of his commercial buildings, the Broadway Media Tower. The organization had never paid rent for a building up to this point, and it was a financial stretch to do so at full market rates while rebuilding the organization.
Dell Loy generously decided to impart a valuable financial lesson to our small nonprofit by gifting us a half a million dollars as a rent endowment. His initial gift of 500K allowed us to draw enough money monthly to pay half of the rent, while we tightened budgets and came up with the other half. The principal also continued to gain interest, and when the time came for us to put a down payment on a building, it had grown. This lesson Dell Loy offered on endowments, with scaffolded support over the years, combined with organizational leadership that prioritizes fiscal responsibility, is how we could finally make this dream a reality.
In September of 2023, the search for a building was our top priority. We knew the market for commercial and retail space was volatile, but we wanted to keep our promise to the community to be a beacon for film in Utah. After seeing countless warehouses and old office spaces, our board member, Greg Walker, received a call from a developer who said they toured a building that would be perfect for the Utah Film Center. Greg and Utah Film Center’s Executive Director, Mariah Mellus, toured the building right away, and the minute they entered the building, they agreed. Utah Film Center had found its permanent home!
Over the next few months, our friends who feel like family; Nico and Christain Priskos at Internet Properties, our banker Monika Kominski Lee from Zions Bank, board members Sam Vetas, Dr. Hamid Adid and Pete Ashdown, and Utah Film Center Executive Director Mariah Mellus hammered out the deal. On May 10th, 2024, we officially closed on the new building and by the end of August, our staff had moved their administrative offices from the Broadway Media building into our new home!
But, our story is not complete yet! We have months of industry-specific renovations ahead of us before we officially open to the public. We’re in the home stretch and would love to share our journey with you!
Follow along for updates and news of our upcoming construction and grand opening in the spring of 2025! Subscribe to our newsletter here and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @utahfilmcenter.
If you have any direct questions about the Utah Film Center Capital Campaign, please reach out to:
Mariah Mellus, Executive Director | mmellus@utahfilmcenter.org
Meghan Horner, Development Director | mhorner@utahfilmcenter.org
