By Matt Marxteyn, Red Rock Film Festival
The 19th Annual Red Rock Film Festival began with an Opening Reception, screening of trailers and Utah Premiere of “Goddess of Slide” with the Utah short “Free to a Good Home” followed by a Q&A with director Alfonso Maiorana. Later was a perfect evening for outdoor screenings of “Hearts of Stone plus thee World Premiere of This is Pike County” that played with the short “Darcine’s Day”.
“Hearts of Stone” director Tom Van avermaet who has been a judge for the Festival before said,
“The quality of the selection stood out and I very much wanted to be part of the festival, as well as the engaged festival team that showed people that not only care about films and filmmakers, but also about new ways to be a festival.”
“Hearts” and Slava Denisov’s “The Ride” were two of the favorite short fiction films at the Festival with “The Aegean” being a favorite among features so far until the online portion of the Festival tallies the scores. All three films played on opening day.
Director of this Australian feature Jacob Richardson said,
“The Red Rock Film Festival stood out to us because of the quality of their prior programming; this is a festival that truly values showcasing and highlighting some of the best cinema from some of the furthest corners of the world.”
The windy storm the next day proved challenging as the outdoor screen blew down, the frame having to be replaced the next day and a few films rescheduled. Seeing hundreds of films and dealing with weather are only some of the obstacles in running the festival that hosts pre-releases. By Saturday, the word spread with packed crowds for “Blue Zeus” and “Standout: The Ben Kjar Story” two of the more popular documentaries at the Festival. Both “Standout” and “Ride in Paradise” were made may Utah Filmmakers.
“Ride in Paradise” Co-director Kent Thalman said,
“Not only are parts of the film shot in St. George, UT, but we considered RRFF to be the most well run and reputable festival in Southern Utah, and wanted ‘Ride in Paradise’ to have the best possible screening experience.”
Later on Saturday, the filmmakers kept coming as a representative from Glen Canyon was able to answer questions about “What the River Knows”. Some of the films from the September live event are also available in the Festival’s Virtual portion in October. A virtual Pass is just $10 at https://redrockfilmfestival.eventive.org/passes/buy or free for those that purchased the live VIP Pass. Winners will be announced at the second section in the Winter.
