Logan Film Festival provides cultural experience for students

The Logan Film Festival brought art-involved opportunities for Utah State University students. The event was on Friday and Saturday and was held at two historic theatres in downtown Logan: the Dansante Theatre and Caine Lyric Theatre.

The event had lots of students involved, according to Mason Johnson, director of the film festival.

“We have students that volunteer for the event and we also give a 90 percent discount on our tickets to students,” Johnson said.

A volunteer at the event and USU student, Ember Bradbury believes it’s hard to find art events in Logan, and she likes to take every opportunity of attending these events when they happen.

“If USU were to make more art opportunities, it would draw in more artsy people and it will make USU a culture instead of a school,” Bradbury said.

The majority of the festival was put on by volunteers. Student volunteers have the incentive of putting this experience on their resumes and in their portfolios, while other volunteers get to feel the satisfaction of bringing art and culture to their community.

USU helped prepare Lindsay Barlow, a volunteer manager for the film festival and USU graduate, to help put on this event.

“College did so much more for me than I initially realized,” Barlow said. “It did what it is supposed to do: it stretched me. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and into scenarios that prepared me for life outside of college. A world that seemed so vast and overwhelming but also full of opportunities.”

The festival was comprised of 30 independent films that were submitted from all over the world. More than a third of the films were made in Utah. There were different categories of films including a category for student and local filmmakers, as well as those for short films, documentaries, feature documentaries, narrative and animation.

“We really try to promote films and filmmakers in Utah,” Johnson said. “The festival also allows filmmakers to network.”

Independent filmmaker Darrin Smith, entered his film, “How Beautiful,” a pictorial history on the Logan temple. He said he was honored to have his film accepted by the film festival.

“I have a burning desire to tell the story about the Logan temple,” Smith said. “It is a way for me to ensure that these early pioneer stories aren’t lost.”

Smith was not alone in making his video. He found help in the USU art department by having students do voice-overs in his film.

“I promised the students that did voice-overs in my film that they would be given a free DVD to use in their portfolio,” Smith said. “They also had a voice coach that worked with them.”

There is a jury that rates all films that are submitted, each category has its own ratings and then there is an overall rating for the film that the jury decides is the best.

The festival also integrated sponsors and vendors that provided food and prizes. The president of the festival, David Wall, who is also a professor in the fine arts department at USU, thanked the sponsors in a press release and said that the festival would have been impossible to put on without them.

The festival has given students a chance to be involved in their community and meet new people.

“Be engaged with school activities and community events, learn what you can from the variety of people you will meet, and step out of your comfort zone,” Barlow said.

The Logan Film Festival will be back next year and will need volunteers.

“Come be involved with the Festival next year,” Barlow said. “We want and need you. It will be a great start to stretching yourself and seeing another side of things.”

For more information on the Film Festival, or to volunteer for next year’s event, visit http://www.loganfilmfest.com.