A Dreamy Night at F&MAD Film Festival
“A Dream of Lettuce” playing at the Post Theater for the F&MAD Film Festival
On a brisk early autumn night, the Department of Film & Media Arts community came together to celebrate the best of student films from the past academic year at the F&MAD Film Festival.
This year, the festival was held at the historic Fort Douglas Post Theater on campus. The theater has recently been restored, and in addition to state-of-the-art projection and sound, it had a vintage charm that made this year of F&MAD Film Festival particularly special. From marquee lights to the old-fashioned ticket booth, the scene was set for movie magic.
Loaded up with concessions, the crowd took their seats in the theater. There were filmmakers, friends, family, professors, and community members, all excited to see the 9 films programmed for the night.
Dr. Nelson congratulating Riley Mortenson on her win, as featured on the @UniversityofUtah instagram account.
These films showed a huge variety in craft, voice, and genre, which Dr. Andrew Patrick Nelson, chair of the Department of Film & Media Arts, noted as a distinct success. “This year’s festival was among the best in recent memor,y,” he said. “From comedies to dramas, analog to digital, and live-action to animated, the program of films showcased the depth and breadth of the film and media arts work being produced by our talented students.”
With so many wonderful and unique films, there was no telling where the festivals Audience Award was going to go. But when the votes came in, the winner was clear: “Blue Bedroom,” by Riley Mortenson. Mortenson was thrilled by receiving the award, saying, “I feel incredibly grateful to have accepted the Audience Award on behalf of my cast and crew. We worked tirelessly to bring Blue Bedroom to life, so this recognition is incredibly validating for all of us!”
“Blue Bedroom” is a surreal piece wherein a young woman believes her dreams are bleeding into reality— and maybe vice versa. Mortenson cited the film Skinamarink (2022) as an inspiration, as well as the work of David Lynch. Mortenson says that the risks she took in making the film (which obviously paid off) were largely due to the encouragement of Professor Trent Harris. “He has pushed me to take risks I didn't think possible—I couldn't possibly be more grateful,”Mortenson said. “I highly recommend his FILM 4590 class, Directing Ind. Film, which is where Blue Bedroom originated from.”
Poster for “Blue Bedroom”
Mortenson doesn’t have any immediate plans for “Blue Bedroom,” but is already working on her next project. “Myself and my composer Tony Soto are putting the finishing touches on a new 16mm film I shot called ‘ZION USA.’ The film is a short, intimate portrait of Salt Lake City and some of its famous—and unusual—landmarks. We're expecting it to enter the festival circuit before the year's end.” Perhaps the film will be in the F&MAD Film Festival next year!