Corey and Parker Lester – Every Street SLC

We were able to chat with the Corey and Parker Lester, the filmmakers of Every Street SLC which will be screening at the Towne Hub in American Fork Utah as part of the Utah Film Festival. After coming to the realization that he doesn’t know well the city in which he lives, Bryant Heath decides to run every street in Salt Lake City. As he ventures, he sees the hidden beauty that composes the neighborhoods and the cultural magnitude of SLC.

What was the inspiration to make Every Street SLC?

At the time, we were looking for a story that captured the heart of the city and when we heard about what Bryant accomplished, we knew that this was the story we wanted to tell.

From idea to completion, how did Every Street SLC change?

The story that we were first going to tell was very much centered on the actual accomplishment of running that much but after having Bryant tell us so eloquently what he learned about the community while running this much, we knew that-that was the heart of the story.

What was the biggest challenge in getting Every Street SLC made? 

This was our first project and learning not only what our style is but also how to portray the city, especially the west side, was something we had to learn and explore outside of the regular trials of production.

What do you think is the most important takeaway from your film?

The biggest takeaway is definitely that everyone should explore their communities and find the beauty in your city because you could live in a city for years without truly understanding what makes it great. We loved how Bryant had the tenacity to be on every street within our community and discover what makes each area special and something more of us should try to do in order to break down unchallenged and toxic stereotypes in our communities.

If you could have a do over with Every Street SLC, is there anything that you would have done differently? If so, what would you change?

At first, we didn’t know how much of what we’d learn would revolve around the west side of Salt Lake, a highly stereotyped area, so we didn’t have many shooting locations over there initially. If we were to go back, we would have spent even more time there so that we could’ve match Bryants eloquence for the area better visually.

What do you have in the works?

We’re currently working on a piece about the African Refugee Goat Farm in Salt Lake City which we are really excited about. We’re also developing a new story about the potential new state flag which is an exciting story.