FILMQUEST 2017: New City, New Films, Same Mission
FILMQUEST, Utah's second largest film festival, takes over Provo, UT from September 8 - 16.
FilmQuest, the second largest film festival in the state of Utah, returns! For its 2017 edition the fest arrives in a new city, Provo, Utah, with new films, features and shorts, from the fantasy, horror and science-fiction genres. From September 8th to the 16th, the FilmQuest Film Festival will unfold at the Covey Center for the Arts, as well as other venues, in downtown Provo, Utah. The popular festival was previously held just north of the city in Sandy, Utah.
Nearly 20 feature films and more than 200 short films, music videos and web series will be screened. Panels and workshops which filmmakers and fans alike will find informative and educational will also be presented throughout the festival's nine days of programming. Panels include a discussion with film critics, talks with independent distributors and production houses and most notably discussions about minorities and diversity in the industry. Genre fans will find a veritable smorgasbord of films to their liking and will have the opportunity to see them in a theatre, with an audience and on the big screen.
Founded by Provo resident Jonathan Martin, the festival has brought together filmmakers from around the world and provided them with an outlet to share their unique visions with an audience. FilmQuest 2017 received over 1,000 submissions from the world over and of those over 200 will be screened at the festival. Many of the films to be shown will be having their World, North America or Utah premieres at the festival. Many of the films have been nominated to win the coveted FilmQuest Cthuhlu trophy which will be awarded at a ceremony to be hold on September 16th. One of the most significant awards this year is the addition of the Minerva Award which honors female filmmakers of which there are eleven nominees plus one secret nominee.
The coveted Cthuhlu trophy will be presented to the winners on September 16, 2017.
In founder and director Jonathan Martin's Letter of Welcome he says this:
"You have been invited to join us on this unique journey into the fantastic a fourth time. There are realms of wonder that await you here, and dazzling spectacles undreamed of. Now is the time to join together and build a film festival unlike any other, where "we" is more powerful than "me." FilmQuest is yours just as much as it is mine, for together we are FilmQuest."
The "realms of wonder" which Martin and his programming team have collected covers many genres ranging from comedies, fantasies, bloody violence, compelling mysteries to mind-bending tales. The "We" is the community of film fans and filmmakers who gather to celebrate the films and the art of making them. In addition to the new films, FilmQuest will celebrate a genre classic which is beloved by many as Rob Reiner's THE PRINCESS BRIDE will screen for its 30th anniversary. A themed after-party will take place the same evening. Inconceivable! FilmQuest will also celebrate music in film with MUSIC IN THE MOVIES, a concert featuring Chelsie Hightower, from DANCING WITH THE STARS, and the Salt Lake Pops Orchestra. The Orchestra will perform themes from popular movies and TV shows such as STAR WARS, STRANGER THINGS, HARRY POTTER and more.
The films and panels will be held at the Covey Center for the Arts at 425 Center St. and at the Velour Live Music Gallery at 135 N. University Ave. in Provo, Utah. The fest will also be hosting events at various local venues. Schedule and event information can be found
at www.filmquestfestival.com. Online tickets may be purchased at www.coveycenter.org.
