Why Seeing Your Film With a Live Audience Changes Everything 
How to Make Your First Short Film: A Step-by-Step Guide 
How to Get Your Film Selected at UIFF 
Young Filmmakers Make Awesome Movies 
Adopt A Filmmaker 
Why Seeing Your Film With a Live Audience Changes Everything
Every filmmaker remembers the first time they watched their work on the big screen with a real audience. It's a...
How to Make Your First Short Film: A Step-by-Step Guide
Do you want to make your first short film but don’t know where to start? Making your first short film...
How to Get Your Film Selected at UIFF
Recently, I sat down with Rebekah Louisa Smith, the Film Festival Doctor, to pull back the curtain on how we...
Young Filmmakers Make Awesome Movies
"My favorite thing about the Utah International Film Festival is watching the movies that the kids in Elementry school made....
Adopt A Filmmaker
Every year, filmmakers travel from across the world to attend the Utah International Film Festival. Through the Adopt a Filmmaker...
Make Your First Short 5 Minutes Max
You've been thinking about it for weeks. Maybe months. You have an idea—not even a complete one, just a feeling,...
Top 10 Indie Blockbuster Franchises
While massive studios manufacture hits, the independent film scene builds empires. Let's take a closer look at the 10 scrappy...
Plan Your Festival Strategy During Pre‑Production
You write the script, secure the funding, shoot the movie, endure the grueling post-production process, and then look up to...
What Great Cinematography Actually Looks Like
The Academy Awards reminded filmmakers of something important this year when Autumn Durald Arkapaw took home the Oscar for Best...
How to Perfect Your Film Pitch
Stepping into the Pitch Tank at the Utah International Film Festival can feel scary. You may have spent years writing...
Blueprint For Your 1st Short Film
If you’re a brand-new filmmaker with a goal to submit a short film to the Utah International Film Festival by...
Patterns of “Programmed” Shorts
When filmmakers ask, “What kind of short films actually get selected by festivals?” they’re usually hoping for a shortcut. There...
Do Film Festivals Really Watch Every Film?
Yes — real festivals do. But not all festivals are the same, and that’s where a lot of filmmaker anxiety...
Top 40 Actors Over 40
There's a certain kind of actor every filmmaker knows. The one who shows up memorized, makes the other actors better,...
Why Horror Is the Perfect Genre for Indie Filmmakers
When the lights go out, imagination takes over. That’s why horror has always been the filmmaker’s secret training ground —...
Use Festivals to Market Your Movie
Many filmmakers see festivals purely as exhibition windows, wishing that a distributor will magically swoop in. But festivals are far...
Before the Blockbuster, There Was the Short
When Utah filmmaker John Lyde was grinding through the early 2000s, he wasn't on a studio lot. He was editing...
Screenwriters are VITAL to Film Festivals
Submitting your screenplay to film festivals can be worth far more than the laurel you collect or the trophy you...
If Everyone’s Telling the Same Story, How Will Yours Stand Out?
Every year, the Utah International Film Festival receives hundreds of submissions from storytellers all over the world. And while each...
Is My Film Good Enough for Film Festivals?
This might be the most common question filmmakers never say out loud. You’ve finished your film. You’ve watched it a...
What Length Should My Short Film Be for Film Festivals?
If there is one factor that influences your chances of getting into film festivals more than almost anything else, it’s...
Why Did My Film Get Rejected?
If you’ve ever opened a rejection email and thought, “What did I do wrong?” you’re not alone. Every filmmaker hits...
What Makes a Film Stand Out to a Festival Programmer?
When filmmakers imagine a festival programmer, they often picture someone hunting for perfection. That’s not what we’re doing. We’re hunting...
How Many Film Festivals Should I Submit My Film To?
When filmmakers ask how many festivals they should submit to, what they’re really asking is: How do I do this...
Should I Submit My Film to Big Festivals or Smaller Ones?
It’s the classic filmmaker dilemma: do you go big and aim for the star-studded festivals, or do you keep it...
What Kind of Festival is Right for My Film?
Once you’ve got a finished film in hand, the big question is: Where does it belong? Not every festival is...
Why Your First Scene Is Killing Your Film
There's a reason film festival programmers can tell within the first few minutes whether a film is worth their full...
How Do Film Festivals Actually Judge Films?
For many filmmakers, the judging process can feel like a black box. But at the Utah International Film Festival, we...
What Gets Selected — and Wins — at the Utah International Film Festival?
One of the questions we hear most from filmmakers is a fair one: “Is my film a good fit for...
How Is BAFTA-Qualification Different from Oscar-Qualification?
“Oscar-qualifying” and “BAFTA-qualifying” are phrases that get used a lot in the festival world, but they don’t mean the same...
How much does it cost to produce my script?
This question comes up every year at the film festival and the answers the producers give has been consistent. The...
Top Actors Over 40 – Now Accepting Nominations
Once actors hit a certain age, the opportunities start to slow down.... right? That hasn’t been our experience. If anything,...
What should I look for before submitting to festivals?
With thousands of festivals and awards programs out there, being selective is smart. The challenge is knowing what to look...
Is Winning Best Screenplay a Good Way to Fund Your Movie?
You write a screenplay you love. You start thinking about how to make it. Then you notice a film festival...
Locations You Can Film for FREE
A lot of new filmmakers make the excuse that they don’t have any money to make their first short film,...
50 Horror Story Prompts for Your Next Short Film
When you finally have the time to start working on your latest horror short, your brain goes completely blank. Fear...
How to Use AI to Create A Better Movie
Yeah I heard you, "AI Slop is bad". So if you are the type of person that thinks AI in...
Incarcerated Filmmakers are Festival Winners
FOX13 Utah recently ran coverage of one of our Audience Choice award winners this year Breaking Chains in which it...
Why Micro-budget Screenplays Are Becoming More Popular
A shift is happening in independent filmmaking over the last decade. More writers are intentionally creating screenplays that can actually...
Private Actor’s Guide to Social Media
The phrase “social media marketing” has a terrible taste when we say it out loud doesn't it. Especially if you...
How Film Festivals Lead to the Oscars in 2026
Short films do not reach the Oscars by being discovered on YouTube. Almost every nominated short has a long, carefully...
Top 35 Most In-Demand Actors in Utah
The Top 35 Most In-Demand Actors in Utah (2025 List) highlights performers who are consistently booking work across the state....