[Event Review] FilmQuest Film Festival

At the base of towering snow-tipped mountains sits Provo, Utah, an idyllic town upon which, once a year, a mob of creative, horror-loving, bloodletting, eccentric filmmakers and screenwriters congregate for FilmQuest, the most fantastic genre fest in the galaxy. 

If that intro feels overly hyped, it’s because I attended not as press, but as a screenwriting finalist, and it was the most fun and fulfilling experience I’ve ever had at a film festival, and I’ve been to a few. 

Celebrating its eighth year, FilmQuest is a festival built by truly passionate lovers of film, led by founder and Director Jonathan Martin, a charming and supportive advocate for every creative who walks through the doors of the festival venue, the Velour Live Music Gallery. The second you enter the velvet red curtain and walk through the door you’re transported to a Cthulhu-coated dreamscape, with the gorgeous FilmQuest artwork of the season, the Bowie/Aladdin Sane-Cthulhu (created by artist Richard Luong) brilliantly displayed on high quality posters and the large projector screen.  

FilmQuest is the equivalent of a summer camp for filmmakers. Whether you’re the life of the party or a wallflower, it is impossible to walk away left wanting, because it’s impossible to be surrounded by like-minded people who share a love for film and not make friends and creative connections. With tightly packed blocks of short films, filmmaker Q&As, workshops, a chat with A Quiet Place screenwriter Bryan Woods, parties, and luncheons, it’s amazing that Jonathan and the collection of volunteers running the festival were still standing at the end of the nine days. But they weren’t just standing, they were partying until 6 a.m.! 

My personal favorite one-two punch was a raucous all night karaoke party followed the next day by an 80+ filmmaker speed dating, a feat of organization that entailed three minutes of quick intros between directors, screenwriters, composers, actors, producers, and others that allowed for an explosive and exciting networking experience. 

In addition to the hours spent making lifelong horror friends, the films programmed were incredible. There was not a single bad film in the bunch, and both the short films and features were given ample and much deserved fanfare. The feature films, including The Old Ways, The Free Fall, Ghosts of the Ozarks, Not Alone, and The Parker Sessions all stood out as great achievements in independent film with original concepts and beautiful, often wonderfully disturbing imagery. 

As fun as watching feature length independent horror in a theater with a big crowd is, the crowning achievement of FilmQuest were the short films. The wealth of creativity and unique ideas that were displayed was downright inspiring. 

Winners of a Director’s Prize for Unique Concept & Execution included #NOFILTER from Nathan Crooker, a timely story of the dangers of social media, Sink from Curtis Matzke, telling a bloody body horror tale entirely from the perspective above a sink, and The Pey from Ramone Menon, featuring a truly terrifying entity that goes viral and a concept that is ripe for a feature length film.  

Winner of a special award for Overall Cinematic Achievement was Young-H. Lee’s Raze of the Cyborg, a spectacle of outstanding effects and action that follows a man desperate to save his love from cyborg human traffickers. A cool, brutal, slick take on the zombie sub-genre came from Jason Ragosta with ZTV Sympathy for the Devil while Solmund MacPherson’s Wolf in Dude’s Clothing explores the surreal life of a wolf as he navigates the world in new skin. 

Out of Australia comes Michael Anthony Kratochvil’s I Call Upon Thee, featuring some of the creepiest and best kid acting of the fest. Joanna Tsanis’s Mourn is a well-written exploration of grief and guilt, while Muse from Camilla Demichelis witnesses an obsessive artist create his masterpiece to the detriment of his muse. 

There were some hilarious shorts that stood out as well, because we all know how valuable a good horror comedy is. Krsy Fox’s What the Spell shows uproarious consequences after a woman scorned is encouraged to conjure a spell against her cheating boyfriend. Vaccinated from Matt Devino cracked the crowd up with some well-conceived practical effects and a conversation that we’ve probably suffered through in the past two years. Make a Wish, directed by Dinh Thai flipped the script on the lengths a girlfriend will go to get her boyfriend the perfect birthday gift. And the bubble-gum tinted rom com of gore from Anthony Cousins wins for sweetest story and best title with Every Time We Meet for Ice Cream Your Whole F*cking Face Explodes. 

Listen, I could continue for another three pages, and I can’t include every one of my favorite films because they were all so great. The crowd was always supportive and respectful, and I sat in awe with my merry band of screenwriters while immense talent was displayed, hour after hour, on the screen at FilmQuest. Jonathan Martin is a god amongst festival Directors, offering the most inclusive and joyful experience while maintaining astounding energy into the wee hours of the morning. I can honestly say that FilmQuest is the most fantastic film festival, honoring the best horror, sci-fi, comedy, and fantasy in all the galaxy. 

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