OREM, Utah — The 7th LDS Film Festival 2008 ended with a strong
finish on Saturday, when more than 2,500 people attended the screenings
and presentations at the Scera Center for the Arts in Orem, Utah.
This brought the total attendance to over 6500, an impressive
35% increase over last year's 4800.
Actress Erin Chambers signs autographs for young
fans after the showing of Errand of Angels.
All photos courtesy of Kjirstin Youngberg.
High attendance for feature films like Forever
Strong, Happy Valley, The Errand of Angels,
Take and The 11th Hour were mainly responsible
for the high attendance numbers, but special screenings and short
film programs also attracted larger audiences.
Kim and Richard Davis with friends Wendy and Ron
Hendry before a screening of the karate thriller, 11th Hour,
in which Richard performed.
"The festival has proven again that LDS filmmaking
is alive and well. We couldn't be more pleased with the program
this year and the excellent films and presentations we were able
to gather for a great festival," said Christian Vuissa, festival
founder and president at the end of a busy weekend. "We are
now already getting excited for next year."
LDS film celebrities Jimmy Chunga, McKay Daines
and Michael Flynn.
The winners of this year's short film competition,
24-hour filmmaking marathon, and script competitions were announced
at an informal award ceremony Saturday night. Feature films are
not in competition at the LDS Film Festival. The festival also
awarded two honorary awards for special accomplishments in LDS
filmmaking.
Crowds filled the Scera Theater in Orem, Utah for
the 7th Annual LDS Film Festival. This group came Thursday Night
for the screening of the 24-Hour Marathon.
The 2008 Pioneer Award recipient is Sterling Van
Wagenen, who was the co-founder of the Sundance Film Festival
and founding executive of the Sundance Institute. Recently, he
directed the films The Work and the Glory II and III,
and is actively involved in helping younger filmmakers succeed
in the industry.
Christian Vuissa (far right), who started the festival,
gathers with cast and crew of The Errand of Angels at
the Q & A.
The 2008 Visionary Award went to Greg Whiteley,
the director of New York Doll , for his accomplishment
of making an LDS film that strongly appeals to both an LDS and
general audience. The film is also visionary because of the nature
of the relationship between the filmmaker and the film's subject.
Whiteley was Arthur "Killer" Kane's home teacher, when
he began to capture his journey.
You can look up all winners at:
http://www.ldsfilmfestival.org/08_winners.php
