ST. GEORGE — Independent filmmaking can be challenging, but it also allows an opportunity to spark change in the hearts and minds of viewers.

This year’s Docutah film festival brings filmmakers and film lovers to the MegaPlex Theater Sunset Stadium, located at 1091 N. Bluff Street in St. George, to celebrate the art of documentary film. The festival began at Utah Tech University as the brainchild of veteran filmmaker and professor Phil Tuckett in 2010.

In an email to St. George News, festival director Karman Wilson said Docutah, which is in its 14th season, is a cooperative partnership produced by Utah Tech University and the city of St. George.

“We believe these stories on film have the power to change hearts and minds and are a catalyst to spark change in the world,” she said.

Submissions came from 20 different countries, and in addition to the 55 newly released documentary films, she said the festival also includes a unique student showcase featuring work by Utah Tech film students.

“We anticipate nearly 100 filmmaking personnel visiting from all over the world,” Wilson said.

One of the festival’s entries is “Firebird: Built to Burn,” which takes place in a small town in Pennsylvania. Director Charlie T. Hudson told St. George News that the production follows independent artists who create a large piece of community art. These artists build a giant wooden bird over 20 feet tall every year. Then, the vast structure is burned to the ground while the whole town gathers to watch a cathartic festival.

“To the attendants of the Firebird Festival, it’s a piece of art that reflects their town’s rebirth and resiliency,” Hudson said. “The uplifting documentary, which I produced along with award-winning filmmaker Colleen C Brady, delves into these themes while covering two years of the festival’s life.”

Hudson said he thinks St. George is a perfect place for the documentary film festival. He said the town in his film, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, is similar to St. George, with a lot of news coverage of the arts, many art galleries and an art museum.

As an independent filmmaker, he said, you’re only as good as your team, the other creatives.

“We were very lucky to have so many people we know who are creative artists and passionate artists who like working on independent films,” Hudson said. “We incorporated their talents and their skills in the film.”

Troy Paff, another director with a project in Docutah, told St. George News he hopes his film “Texas Music Revolution” touches audiences.

This documentary follows Joshua Jones, general manager of Dallas-based indie Americana radio station KHYI-FM, as he struggles to produce the silver anniversary of a beloved roots music festival in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The COVID pandemic was perhaps the greatest disruption to American society and pop culture in this country’s history,” Paff said.

As a nonfiction filmmaker, he said it’s an honor to be recognized by a documentary-driven film festival that upholds and promotes a specific, often under-appreciated form of storytelling.

“It feels like I’ve been invited to an exclusive club,” Paff said. “I can’t believe it, but this will be my first documentaries-only film festival, and I can’t wait. I’m looking forward to being surrounded by other nonfiction storytellers and their films and an audience as passionate about the form as I am. I feel like these are my people.”

Residents of Southern Utah may relate to the film “First We Bombed New Mexico,” filmmakers said in a news release. This is the story that the film “Oppenheimer” doesn’t show. Director Lois Lipman’s award-winning documentary exposes the untold story of multigenerational cancers and abandonment suffered by local communities in New Mexico since the 1945 Trinity Bomb detonation in their state.

“We want the residents of Utah who have suffered so much from the Nevada Cold War Tests, to also know the untold tragedy of Oppenheimer’s Trinity Bomb which radiated New Mexico’s land and water and triggered multigenerational cancers,” the news release states.

Tina Cordova, a New Mexico Hispanic cancer survivor and activist, is featured in the film.  Cordova organized a movement seeking compensation for families, primarily Hispanic and Native, who suffer multigenerational cancers tied to that bomb and who continue to be ignored by Congress.

In her investigation, Cordova learns that Manhattan Project physicians warned that Trinity’s fallout would be catastrophic and urged the evacuation of residents. Ultimately, the military left New Mexico following the blast but residents were never informed about any of this — or given medical help.

New Mexico and Idaho downwinders are campaigning to extend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act before it sunsets in June. This act would provide compensation, health care and an apology to the many American downwinders who have never been acknowledged or helped, according to a news release. 

The filmmakers and downwinder activists hope to educate Utah voters about this legislation to pressure Utah’s members of Congress to vote to extend the compensation act before it sunsets in three months.

Docutah film awards will be presented in 10 categories: Best Feature, Best Short, Audience Favorite — Feature, Audience Favorite — Short, Best International Film, Emerging Artist, Humanitarian, Enlightenment, Distinctive Piece, Trailblazer, Best Editing, Best Cinematography and Best Score.

According to the Docutah website, the film festival “seeks to open hearts and minds to the world through beautifully crafted stories on film, promoting education while creating an atmosphere of camaraderie and community.”

To see the Docutah schedule, click here. Also, new in 2024, Docutah is partnering with the Center for the Arts at Kayenta for First Fridays.

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