Logan Film Festival opens doors for local student filmmakers

Independent filmmakers were given the cinematic treatment this weekend at the fourth annual Logan Film Festival.

“It’s really cool to show your film to a real crowd in a real theater setting, not just on your computer,” said Salt Lake City-based director Bryan Hansen. “This festival brings in people who would have never seen the film otherwise.”

The festival presented 38 films this year, including local and student-produced projects, with featured presentations shown at the Cain Lyric Theater, Dansante Theater, The Waffle Iron and The Factory Pizzeria.

“We hold true to the independent vision of film as an art form,” said Mason Johnson, the festival’s director. “We are looking to provide a hub for filmmakers across the state to network with the resources we have up here.”

Utah State University film professor Jeremy Jensen was the only featured filmmaker affiliated with the university this year. His sports documentary “White Waves” was filmed in Logan canyon, and won “Best Sports Documentary” at Colorado’s Intendence Film Festival.

“It’s cool for the Logan audience to see what’s in their own back yard,” he said.

For short film “Running Home” producer Dallin Van Blerkom, this weekend was his first time seeing his work on the big screen.

“From a student perspective, we have tons of talented filmmakers throughout the state,” he said. “They’re ambitious and they’re motivated. People everywhere need to take notice of what we’re doing here in Utah.”

Animated short director and Utah Valley University student Renza Fechser added that the festival is a great way film makers can network and, “bounce ideas off of other film directors and get inside their heads.”

Fechser ‘s “Relic” was shown at the festival, her first ever directing project.

“It’s probably the biggest thing I’ve done,” she said. “There’s a level of satisfaction that comes with this tedious, time consuming work.”

Zach Christensen, a character animator for Fechser’s “Relic,” sees film festivals as a conduit to get particular attention from people in the larger film industry.

“Those people come to festivals frequently,” he said. “You don’t often get your ideas seen by those big names.”

And fortunately for Christensen, more people attended the festival this year than ever before.

“This year has seen a big improvement,” said David Wall, the president of the festival. “We hope to become a well-established fixture on the calendar for Northern Utah to see films in Logan.”

A movement like this could benefit future film students looking to further their career in film.

“Utah isn’t that big of a market, so the chances of your film being shown to an audience of people who can help you climb that ladder is exponentially large,” said “Far Away” director Hansen. “We’re just all-guns-blazing trying to get into every film festival we can. No one’s going to notice your work if you aren’t showing it.”

And Johnson said the festival isn’t just good for filmmakers, but for the Cache Valley community as well.

“There’s an economic dynamic from tourism, bringing people into Logan,” Johnson said. “The whole idea of a film festival is to bring a community of people together, both the public and filmmakers, to appreciate film as a proper art medium.”

Anyone can submit their work to Logan Film Festival, but not everyone makes the final cut. Johnson said over 70 films were looked at this year. But Jensen had some advice for those hoping to make it in the film industry.

“Work on something you’re passionate about and get used to not sleeping,” he said.

Logan Film Festival is a non-profit organization. Contact David Wall or Mason Johnson on how and when to apply for next year.

— scottehall3@gmail.com