DOCUTAH celebrates films, 14th season of igniting active change through filmed storytelling

It’s a wrap! The 14th season of Utah Tech’s DOCUTAH International Film Festival is in the books, and what a celebration of igniting active change through the creative business of filmed storytelling it was!

Supported by a team comprised of individuals from Utah Tech Creative Studios, the UT Film department, UT Live, and the College of the Arts as well as a host of volunteers, DOCUTAH featured over 56 films over the course of three incredible days. This year’s documentary film festival hosted more than 60 filmmaking personnel from all over the world to ignite their imagination, spark creativity, and power their passion for storytelling.

The festival ended with an awards show, presented by Love Today Productions. Honored films include:

• Trailblazer Award for Extraordinary Contributions to the Industry: Dr. Andre’ Singer
• Trailblazer Award for Extraordinary Contributions to the Festival: Brian Christiansen
• Activist Award: First We Bombed New Mexico, directed by Lois Lipman
• Best Cinematography: April in France, directed by David Boaretto
• Best Editing: Unredeemable, directed by Todd Kapostasy
• Best International Film: April in France, directed by David Boaretto
• Best Original Score: Blue Baby, Lorenzo Emmanuel
• Best Production Design: Cassino Then & Now, directed by Paolo Ameli
• Distinctive Piece: Neighbour Abdi, directed by Douwe Dijkstra
• Emerging Artist: Lifeblood of the Southwest, Don Pelayo Smith
• Enlightenment Award: Call Me Mule, directed by John McDonald
• Environmental Award: Fracking the System: Colorado’s Oil and Gas Wars, directed by Brian Hedden
• Humanitarian Award: Into the Spotlight, directed by Thaddeus D. Matula
• Best Short Film: Bubjan, directed by Nicholas Mihm
• Best Feature Film: Much Ado About Dying, directed by Simon Chambers
• Audience Favorite- Feature: Go On, Be Brave, directed by Miriam McSpadden & Brian Beckman
• Audience Favorite- Short: Then Comes the Body, directed by Jacob Krupnick

In addition to the 16 award categories, the ceremony featured the Aspiring Filmmakers Competition, which awarded two film students and UT Associate Professor of Art Alex Chamberlain’s animation class with prizes totaling $7,500, thanks to generous support from Love Today Productions.

Thanks to wonderful filmmakers and documentaries from around the globe, the 14th season of Utah Tech’s DOCUTAH International Film Festival was a great celebration of documentary filmmakers actively changing the world through the creative business of filmed storytelling!