LDS Film Festival returning to Orem for its 11th year

OREM, Utah — The 11th LDS Film Festival will run Jan. 25-28 at the SCERA Center for the Arts.

The LDS Film Festival has screened hundreds of films since Austrian filmmaker Christian Vuissa founded it in 2001.

"It's not exclusively LDS, but we do want to have an emphasis and focus on films made by LDS filmmakers," Vuissa said.

Festival events include a 24-hour filmmaking marathon, film screenings, opportunities to meet with filmmakers, filmmaker presentations, an awards ceremony, LDS film forum and panel, celebrity wall and a film fair. All events are open to the public.

The 24-hour filmmaking marathon will be held Friday, Jan. 20, at 10 a.m. Groups of up to five people may compete in the event. Participants will be given a theme their films should follow and will be asked to implement a specific object and dialogue line into their films.

Each group will have only 24 hours to write, shoot and edit a three-minute short film. All the finished films will be screened on Thursday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m. The entry fee per group is $45, and includes five tickets to the 24-hour filmmaking marathon screening.

The main events of the festival will begin Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 6 p.m. with a free mingle and greet event, followed by a half-price admission opening night film premiere with live music, special guests and the feature film "Redemption."

Film screenings and filmmaker presentations will take place throughout the festival. Special screenings, short film programs, the 24-hour filmmaking marathon and feature film presentations cost $7. Filmmaker presentations are $4.

Meet and greet opportunities will be available with actors and filmmakers before and after their presentations and the screening of their films, which Vuissa said can be valuable for viewers.

"You really have this direct communication and interaction with the filmmakers themselves," Vuissa said. "After the film, the filmmakers answer questions and you can get a little deeper in what has been done and why it's been done."

The LDS Film Forum, where presenters explore the theoretical aspects of LDS filmmaking, will be held Saturday, Jan. 28, at 10 a.m. and costs $7.

The awards ceremony will be on Jan. 28 at 9:30 p.m. with free admission.