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- The 25th Zions Indie Film Festival in Orem runs through Saturday at the SCERA Center in Orem.
- Michelle Moore emphasizes its inclusivity bridging filmmakers and audiences. Marshall Moore's cancer battle continues.
- The festival opened with 'Gabriella' and concludes with an award ceremony Saturday.
OREM — Independent filmmakers from across the globe are descending on Utah County this week for the 25th annual Zions Indie Film Festival.
Running through Saturday at the SCERA Center for the Arts in Orem, the event in its 25th year brings movie buffs, critics, film-industry leaders and aspiring filmmakers together for a week of cinematic storytelling.
The event features films of different genres from documentaries to comedy and horror movies.
While the five-day festival also includes filmmaker Q&As, various panels, workshops and special events, Michelle Moore, owner and co-director of the Zions Indie Film Festival, said it's not just designed for people in the film industry.
"This festival is about inviting everyone, kind of bridging that gap between the filmmaker and the audience," she said.
Michelle and her husband, Marshall Moore, took over the festival five years ago and later rebranded it to offer a more diverse array of film selections that resonate with movie lovers of all backgrounds.
Moore said it's a pleasure to see the connections and community the festival breeds amongst creators from Utah and beyond.
"Each year (it) continues to grow — more filmmakers from out of the state and even out of the country that have showcased one of their movies since we've been the owners of the festival over the last five years — and they'll come back, even if they don't have a movie premiering," she said.
The Zions Indie Film Festival opened Monday night with a premiere of the Rob Diamond directed film "Gabriella."
"Last night was a magical night at the Zions Indie Film Fest. Celebrating its 25th year, my film Gabriella was chosen as the opening night film. Lots of tears and laughter celebrating a beautiful film," Diamond wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday.
Moore said the film, which is a story of power and faith, felt like the right one to kickstart the event's 25th anniversary. The night was also personal for her, as the film resonated with the Moores' current health journey.
An ongoing battle
Marshall Moore has been fighting cancer on and off for roughly two decades. Last July, he learned that the cancer had returned and moved into his central nervous system and spread into his spine and brain.
Michelle Moore said he'd already been through dozens of rounds of chemotherapy during his fight with cancer. But he had to undergo more chemotherapy treatments and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR T therapy). The procedure used on patients to treat different types of cancers when other forms of treatment are no longer working, according to the American Cancer Society's website.
Michelle said she knew with Marshall's ongoing fight with cancer that putting this year's festival together could be challenging, especially considering the uncertainty of his condition.
"When we didn't know how much time he had left, we knew that this festival had to go on, and we knew that his responsibilities would certainly be decreased — in fact, most of it's just been taken off his plate this year," she said. "So we did bring on a couple of other key staff members to help, and really, it's been our staff that has carried us through this year."
Between treatments and hospital visits, Marshall Moore was able to make it to the festival's opening night and plans to attend a screening of the 1972 Robert Redford film "Jeremiah Johnson" on Saturday.
"(It's) just kind of a nod and our appreciation to Robert Redford and the beautiful legacy that he created for independent film," Michelle Moore told KSL.
The film festival wraps up Saturday evening with an award ceremony and after-party.
Tickets for Friday premieres of the films "Curse of Crom 2" and "Buster Brooks," in addition to several short films and documentaries for the remainder of the festival, are still available online or at the SCERA Center.
In light of the Sundance Film Festival's move to neighboring Colorado beginning next year, the Zions Indie Film Festival aims to continue building on its legacy while looking forward to the future and supporting emerging filmmakers.
"What we're kind of looking at, (is) what we can shape for the next 25 years, what (will) the future of independent film look like? What (are) the new, bold voices that can tell stories and inspire," Moore said.
