Utah Film Center offers artist support with an alternative program: fiscal sponsorship. Artists and filmmakers in need of funding can apply to our fiscal sponsorship program online and approved non-commercial film projects are eligible to use the Film Center’s nonprofit status, rather than establishing their own. We’re proud to announce that 8 of our fiscal sponsored films will be making their world premieres at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival! This is the most projects we have had presented at the Festival in one time.
We’re also thrilled to team up for the fifth year with Sundance Institute to program the Kids section at the Festival. Films that have played in this category in recent years include My Life as a Zucchini, The Eagle Huntress and Shaun the Sheep.
Check out the full film lineup for the 2018 Sundance Film Festival HERE.
Fiscal Sponsorship Projects
Documentary Competition:
Directed & Written by Mor Loushy & Daniel Sivan
In 1992, Israeli-Palestinian relations reached an all time low. In an attempt to stop the bloodshed, a group of Israelis and Palestinians met illegally in Oslo. These meetings were never officially sanctioned and held in complete secrecy. They changed the Middle East forever. World Premiere
Directed & Written by Robert Greene
An old mining town on the Arizona-Mexico border finally reckons with its darkest day: the deportation of 1200 immigrant miners exactly 100 years ago. Locals collaborate to stage recreations of their controversial past. World Premiere
Documentary Premieres:
Directed by Lauren Greenfield
Lauren Greenfield’s postcard from the edge of the American Empire captures a portrait of a materialistic, image-obsessed culture. Simultaneously personal journey and historical essay, the film bears witness to the global boom–bust economy, the corrupted American Dream and the human costs of late stage capitalism, narcissism and greed. World Premiere DAY ONE
QUIET HEROES
Directed by Jenny Mackenzie, Co-directed by Jared Ruga & Amanda Stoddard
In Salt Lake City, Utah, the socially conservative religious monoculture complicated the AIDS crisis, where patients in the entire state and intermountain region relied on only one doctor. This is the story of her fight to save a maligned population everyone else seemed willing to just let die. World Premiere
WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?
Directed by Morgan Neville
Fred Rogers used puppets and play to explore complex social issues: race, disability, equality and tragedy, helping form the American concept of childhood. He spoke directly to children and they responded enthusiastically. Yet today, his impact is unclear. Have we lived up to Fred’s ideal of good neighbors? World Premiere. SALT LAKE CITY OPENING NIGHT FILM
NEXT:
306 HOLLYWOOD
Directed by Elan Bogarín and Jonathan Bogarín
When two siblings undertake an archaeological excavation of their late grandmother’s house, they embark on a magical-realist journey from her home in New Jersey to ancient Rome, from fashion to physics, in search of what life remains in the objects we leave behind. World Premiere DAY ONE
WE THE ANIMALS
Directed by Jeremiah Zagar
Us three, us brothers, us kings. Manny, Joel and Jonah tear their way through childhood and push against the volatile love of their parents. As Manny and Joel grow into versions of their father and Ma dreams of escape, Jonah, the youngest, embraces an imagined world all his own. Cast: Raul Castillo, Sheila Vand, Evan Rosado, Isaiah Kristian, Josiah Gabriel. World Premiere
World Cinema Documentary Competition:
THIS IS HOME
Directed & Written by Mor Loushy & Daniel Sivan
Directed by Alexandra ShivaThis is an intimate portrait of four Syrian families arriving in Baltimore, Maryland and struggling to find their footing. With eight months to become self-sufficient, they must forge ahead to rebuild their lives. When the travel ban adds further complications, their strength and resilience are put to the test. World Premiere
Kids
Programmed in cooperation by Sundance Institute & Utah Film Center
LU OVER THE WALL
Directed by Masaaki Yuasa
Kai is a lonely teenage boy who lives in a small fishing village. One day, he meets and befriends Lu, a fun-loving mermaid whose singing is hypnotic to all who hear it. But the townspeople have always thought that mermaids bring disaster… World Premiere.
SCIENCE FAIR
Directed by Cristina Costantini & Darren Foster
Nine high school students from around the globe navigate rivalries, setbacks, and of course, hormones, on their journey to compete at the international science fair. Facing off against 1,700 of the smartest, quirkiest teens from 78 different countries, only one will be named Best in Fair. World Premiere.
WHITE FANG
Directed by Alexandre Espigares
An updated reimagining of Jack London’s classic novel, this thrilling tale of kindness, survival and the twin majesties of the animal kingdom and mankind traces the loving and magnificent hero White Fang, whose intense curiosity leads him on the adventure of a lifetime. Cast: Rashida Jones, Nick Offerman, Eddie Spears, Paul Giamatti. World Premiere.
Utah Film Center inspires and engages diverse audiences to initiate conversation and community building through curated film exhibition, educational programs, and artist support. We continually strives to bring our community together through the powerful and efficient medium of film.
Utah Film Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and generously sponsored by the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation, Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts & Parks Program, and Zions Bank.
Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. For more information visit www.utahfilmcenter.org.
