The DOCUTAH International Documentary Film Festival is an annual

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

, held in the Fall, that strives to recognize some of the best in international

documentary films A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

. Hosted by

Utah Tech University Utah Tech University (UT), formerly known as Dixie State University (DSU) and similar names, is a public university in St. George, Utah. The university offers about 240 programs (4 master's degrees, 53 bachelor's degrees, 18 associate degrees, 4 ...

(UT; formerly known as Dixie State University/DSU.) the festival screens films at the Red Cliffs Theater behind the Red Cliffs Mall in St. George, Utah, with special events throughout Southern Utah. DOCUTAH, also, has an educational focus, and features “master class educational seminars.”

History

, then known as DSU, founded DOCUTAH in 2010. From the beginning, this festival has aimed to provide attendees with not only a meaningful film-going experience, but also an educational one through its “master class educational seminars.” The originator of the festival idea, Phil Tuckett, serves as the director of DSU Films. When he returned to his junior college (DSU) in 2006, after 38 years of working for

NFL Films NFL Productions, LLC, doing business as NFL Films, is the film and television production company of the National Football League. It produces commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries for and about the NFL, as well as ...

and receiving 30 Emmy Awards, he felt that the southern

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

area would serve as the perfect place to hold an international documentary film festival. After working for several months to make his vision come to fruition, Tuckett officially announced DOCUTAH on 24 September 2009. The City of St. George, the St. George Convention and Tourism office, the City of

Kanab Kanab ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Kane County, Utah, United States.Find a County
". ''N ...

, and Kane County’s Office of Tourism and Film Commission (along with the Center for Education, Business, and the Arts) were some of the first to support and sponsor DOCUTAH.

Structure

The festival runs for 7 days annually, in the fall.

Screenings

The festival screens films at the Red Cliffs Theater behind Red Cliffs Mall and the Eccles Performing Arts Center at Utah Tech University, with various locations for special events. Special events location involves the O.C. Tanner Amphitheater in Springdale, UT.

DOCtalks

Film industry professionals are scheduled to talk about their experiences and the process of making films.

Film Categories

DOCUTAH has two separate film entry categories, one for general entrants and one for students. These both have sub-categories. General: * Short documentaries up to 45 minutes (including titles and credits) * Features more than 45 minutes Student: * College/University Student Film

Awards

Six judges make up the DOCUTAH awards panel. They confer the honors for the following categories: * Best Feature * Best Short * Audience Favorite- Feature * Audience Favorite- Short * Best Foreign Film * Emerging Artist * Humanitarian * President's Award * Dean's Award * Mayor's Award

References

External links

Southern Utah International Documentary Film FestivalDixie State University
{{Utah Utah Tech University Documentary film festivals in the United States Film festivals in Utah Film festivals established in 2009