The Utah Dance Film Festival is a 501(c)(3), an international dance film festival, an arts education organization and a catalyst for movers and filmmakers to connect, collaborate and create.
We host an annual international film festival - submissions are open from September to December, and we screen accepted films in February at the SCERA Center for the Arts in Orem, Utah. During this weekend, we also offer dance and film workshop programming from local and international dance and film artists. Our awards showcase features the winning films, as well as live performances by Utah dance artists like Junction Dance Company, Salt Contemporary Dance and BYU's Contemporary Dance Theater. The annual festival is sponsored in part by the Utah Film Commission.
UDFF also hosts a yearly 24 hour film competition, called MOVE. Participants need not use dance, only showcase the limitless potential of human movement. MOVE will be held February 16th-17th, 2019, and the films created will be screened and adjudicated as part of the film festival the following weekend at the SCERA Center for the Arts.
Our summer series, ACTION! Dance for Film Workshops, is a weekend of classes and filming experiences that takes place in Salt Lake City, Utah. Each year, ACTION! participants get to star in a dance film, and the weekend culminates with a live installation-style multimedia performance called THE SHOW. Guests have included Chelsie Hightower, Tony Bellissimo, David Moore, Dana Wilson, Ivan Koumanev and Marty Kudelka.
Thank you to our filmmakers and photographers who submitted for our 2019 festival! We will announce official selections on January 12th, 2019.
We award outstanding films in our festival for the following categories:
Documentary
Costuming
Editing
Sound Design
Choreography for a Lens
Directing
Ensemble Performance
Cinematography
Audience Choice
For the 2019 festival, we are introducing a photography contest! Submissions from photographers can be made either as a professional or as a student, and outstanding selections will be awarded in the following categories:
DEEPER PERSPECTIVE
In this category, we ask the photographer to submit both a series of images and a body of text that tells the story behind the images. Judges weight both the text and images equally.
SPECIAL PROCESS
This category encompasses digitally enhanced imagery, which can include night photography, stitched panoramas or other special effects.
EVENT
This category covers photographs from competitive events, social causes or gatherings, traditions or cultures.
ARCHITECTURE
This category includes dance imagery featuring bridges, buildings, cityscapes, historic landmarks, interiors or industrial sites.
UTAH
This category features photographs showcasing a landscape or landmark in our state.
If you missed our regular season deadline, you can still enter our 24 film competition, called MOVE! Entries must showcase the incredible possibilities of human movement and physical achievement, the end result must be no longer than four minutes and films must be shot, edited, colored and submitted within the 24 hour time limit. Dance is NOT a requirement, we will accept all films that feature human movement!
Teams can plan their films, create costumes, rehearse movement, stunts or skills and build strategies for shooting or editing before the competition - but you only have 24 hours to to shoot, edit and submit! MOVE is UDFF's 24 Hour Film Contest, happening February 16th and 17th, 2019!
One member from every team of filmmakers and movers must register and pay fees online, then complete registration on our website, http://www.utahdancefilmfestival.org
The cost is $35, ("Student Fee"), for a team consisting of five crew members or fewer, $45, ("Standard Fee"), for a team with six or more more crew members.
