Festival Coverage
SXSW Film Festival: The Infinite Man
Director Hugh Sullivan leads this awkward yet charming tale of jealousy and redemption with a delightful cast of characters. McConville is provided with the entertaining opportunity to portray a love-starved mess to a conniving mastermind as his versions compete against one another. … read more
Utah’s 13th Annual Belly Dance Fest @ Utah State Fairgrounds...
Utah State Fairgrounds once again hosted another amazing event. This time it was the 13th Annual Belly Dance Fest, better know as Spring Fest 2014. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Three Night Stand
Trying to get away for a weekend and focus on their relationship, Carl takes his wife Sue to a mountain lodge for some skiing and wine tasting. Unfortunately for Carl, upon arrival, he discovers that his ex-girlfriend Robyn—who he used to bring quite often to the same lodge back in the day—is now the owner of the lodge. Wackiness ensues as Carl tries to keep as much of his previous relationship hidden from his wife as possible.
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Slamdance Film Review: We Keep On Dancing
In this touching short film about reminiscence, Jessica Barclay Lawton reminds her audience that the things we keep in our memories and our hearts are never truly gone from our lives. When Alan brings in a very old, very out of condition VW to the mechanic Danny, we soon learn that the car was much more to Alan than something to get him from A to B.
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Slamdance Film Review: Forever Not Alone
Walking into this documentary about a group of immature, teenage girls, I can honestly say I had very low expectations, and, if I’m being completely honest, I only reviewed this film because I lost a coin toss. Now, that being said, I was completely blown away by Forever Not Alone.
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Slamdance Film Review: Love Letter
Using a combination of live action, animation and puppetry in this short film, Lindsey Martin offers the tale of a young girl who creates an imaginary earth-worm friend to help her make sense of a strange “love letter” from her father to her mother, but as the worm points out her concerns and fears around her parents’ seemingly doomed relationship, the girl must face the worm head on or risk being consumed by her own worry.
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Slamdance Film Review: Glass Eyes of Locust Bayou
Director Simon Mercer provides a look at the lifetime of work by amateur filmmaker Phil Chambliss. Toiling from a (very) small town in Arkansas, Chambliss has been using his friends and fellow citizens—and the striking Arkansas backdrop—to fashion films of his own, unique creation for over 30 years.
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Slamdance Film Review: After Arcadia
After Arcadia is a ’50s-science-fiction-themed short shot in black and white wherein the protagonist’s internal monologue opens with his guilt for having accidentally decimated humanity with a seemingly nuclear invention that he created. He dilapidates in the boredom of solitude in the bunkers in which the film is shot, which spurs him to create a time machine to reverse his misdeed. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Rezeta
Rezeta (Rezeta Veliu) is an Albanian (well, Kosovoan) model looking for more opportunities and advancements in her career in México, but, more so, adventure. Once she’s there, she befriends thasher/hesher/metalhead/punker Alex (Roger Mendoza) as a bit of guide for the city she’s in, who also helps her learn español. Rezeta—very much a free spirit—engages in a couple sexual exploits, and eventually tries to drunkenly kiss Alex, much to his surprise and subsequent abashment. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Ping Pong Summer
From the goofy, ’80s-themed opening credits, this film doesn’t pretend it’s going to be anything other than what it is, and that I can respect. It’s a nod to the campy (in both the cinematic and genre definitions of the word) teen movies of the ’80s and ’90s, the underdog championship dramedies of the early aughts, with a dry, Napoleon Dynamite–styled deadpan sheen—and at times, it succeeded in coaxing a sincere smile of nostalgia or a light chuckle from a good joke, but it’s not quite enough. … read more