CEDAR CITY — It’s that time of year again when international actors and directors fly into Southern Utah, and filmgoers wanting more films at the movie theater will have more than 90 choices over the nine days of Cedar City’s Red Rock Film Festival.
Now in its 10th year, the festival has made an effort to provide more genres and more variety than any theater in Utah.
Even though the Red Rock Film Festival placed extra restrictions on its rules for more recent films, it received 678 films from 60 countries.
“With over 9,000 film festivals worldwide, there are several that are slipping away from what film festivals used to be about: discovering new independent films, and we definitely want to keep the selections fresh,” festival director Matt Marxteyn said. “Next year we’ll be even stricter, so if you have a film ready for next year, you are already too late.”
The more than 90 films accepted at this year’s Red Rock Film Festival and Market are represented by 23 countries and 17 states. The top foreign countries with the most accepted films include Germany with eight films and France with seven.
The most popular states are California with 15, New York with 11 and Oregon coming in third with five films, thanks to this year’s featured artists, Jim Pattiz and Will Pattiz, and their “More than Just Parks” new media series.
With just a few exceptions, most of the films at Red Rock Film Festival this year are premieres of one kind or another. Thriller, documentary, comedy, horror, adventure, western, drama, sci-fi … it’s all there. The festival will also host seminars, panels and parties with film directors, Marxteyn said.
Tickets range: $3, designed for business owners and those who want to see a couple of quick shorts; $5 for competition features; and $10 for special headliners.
Passes available to the public range from $40 to $250, substantially more affordable than other multi-genre festivals and other red carpet premieres.
With only a few locals passes left, main passes that are available in advance are two-day, three-day, four-day, five-day Section B passes and the nine-day VIP Section A pass that includes exclusive receptions, dinner parties and other patron events.
The festival runs from Nov. 11-19 at the Heritage Center in Cedar City, 105 N. 100 East, with showtimes on most days from noon to 9 p.m.
There are more than 120 showtimes — enough for any pass-holder to indulge in a variety of screenings and events, Marxteyn said.
Passes and tickets are sold online at RRFF.eventbrite.com or by calling (435) 705-5555.
A limited amount of individual tickets will be available at the rush line at the Festival. The full schedule is available at 2016RRFF.Sched.org.
Event details
- What: Red Rock Film Festival.
- When: Begins Friday, Nov. 11; ends Saturday, Nov. 19.
- Where: Heritage Center, 105 N. 100 E., Cedar City.
- Cost: Varies; passes and tickets are sold online at RRFF.eventbrite.com
- Festival schedule can be found at 2016RRFF.Sched.org.
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