Community Screening of:
“9,963,000 Frames: The EXTRA Years”

RSVP FREE here.

An unlikely creation born out of the marriage of independent filmmaking and investigative journalism, EXTRA debuted just a few weeks before the release of Star Wars.  From 1977 to 1984, it shined as a showcase of independence in the world of television.

EXTRA was unconventional and unpredictable, at times running against the grain of conservatism that dominates Utah. Inspired by 60 Minutes and born out of the passions of documentary filmmaker Diane Orr and Utah journalist Lucky Severson, it featured some of the best visual storytelling of the era.

Now, that revolutionary idea is being honored by the Utah Film Commission as part of 100 Years of Film and Television in Utah, with a screening of 9,963,000 Frames: The EXTRA Years.

Post-screening Q&A participants to include:

• Ken Fall: Cinematographer, Producer

• Judy Hallet: Former National Geographic Explorer Producer/Director

• Trent Harris: Rubin & Ed, Plan 10 From Outer Space, The Beaver Trilogy

• Karl Idsvoog: Investigative Reporter

• Diane Orr: Documentary Filmmaker

• Bill Lord: Middle East Correspondent, NBC News

• Lucky Severson: Former NBC News Correspondent

• Larry Warren: Investigative Reporter

Screening to be held at the Salt Lake City Main Library: 210 E 400 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84111

This event is FREE, but we ask that you RSVP here so we have an idea of attendance numbers.

• Tagged: Documentary, Utah Film Commission, Utah Documentary Association, Utah Film, Documentary Film

The Business of Filmmaking:
Funding Your Documentary

December 14, 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Location: Utah Film Center

$100, Artist Foundry Members receive a discount

This season’s Business of Filmmaking Workshop series will be a comprehensive deep dive into the business aspects of making your short film, feature film, documentary, or TV pilot/series, providing you with resources to create an effective infrastructure in order for your project to succeed.

With industry expert instructors, including local PGA Producer, Marcie Gibboney, and independent producers, Nicole Docta and Jenny Mackenzie, this educational series consists of presentations, discussion, and workshopping your project.

This workshop, co-presented by the Artist Foundry and Utah Documentary Association, will focus on various paths for funding nonfiction projects. We will work through best practices for writing grants and crowdfunding, the DPA’s waterfall guidelines, equity investments, and how to create a budget. There will also be time for direct support on individual projects, whether that’s taking the first steps to outline your crowdfunding campaign, making a list of project-aligned grants, or creating a first draft of your budget.

The cost of this workshop is $100.

• Artist Foundry members receive a 25% discount – see member portal for code.

• Due to generous grant funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (brought to us by the Salt Lake Mayor’s Office of Economic Development), we were able to provide scholarships through August 31st, 2024 for Salt Lake City residents with additional workshop discounts during their 1-year free membership. If you participated in this scholarship program, reach out to amadden@utahfilmcenter.org for a 75% discount.

Register for the Workshop

Jenny Mackenzie

Dr. Jenny Mackenzie’s films have aired on top broadcast and VOD channels such as HBO, HULU, PBS, and Amazon, and have received praise in the New York Times, The LA Times and The Hollywood Reporter. Her films include KICK LIKE A GIRL, SUGAR BABIES,  LEAD WITH LOVE, DYING IN VEIN, QUIET HEROES and THE RIGHT TO READ. Jenny has a bachelor’s degree from Brown University, a Ph.D. from the University of Utah and is an assistant professor in documentary film production at Utah Valley University.

Nicole Docta

Nicole Docta (she/her) is an award-winning documentary filmmaker who has focused her career on producing socially provoking BIPOC stories and managing their impact campaigns. Nicole was part of the producing teams on Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated THE JUDGE (TIFF 2017) and Emmy Award-winning BELLY OF THE BEAST (HRWFF 2020) with Director Erika Cohn, and duPont Award-winner THROUGH THE NIGHT (Tribeca 2020) with Director Loira Limbal. Nicole worked as the Special Initiatives Producer at Firelight Media for three years co-curating the Beyond Resilience Series and helping to implement new artist programs to support BIPOC filmmakers. She volunteers on the DPA Equity & Inclusion Committee and for Asian American Documentary Network (A-Doc) and is an active member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia (BGDM). Nicole is also a USC CPD NextGen Creative Fellow, one of DOC NYC’s 40 Under 40, a PGA Create alum, Sundance Producer Fellow, and Impact Partners Producer Fellow.

Utah Documentary Association Work-in-Progress Screening

Join us for our February 13, 2025 Work-in-Progress screening of Outstretched Hands, directed by Jared Jones.

Outstretched Hands (Working Title) is a story about two seemingly very different groups coming together and developing a strong connection. Despite cultural, religious and other differences, a group of American soldiers and this remote village in Afghanistan formed a kinship that transcended the apparent divide.

What we found: we had more in common than not. This is a story about different cultures who – more than anything else – wanted to get to know and understand one another, and in doing so, forged a bond that should not be forgotten. More than that: it should be celebrated. Come join us in getting a rare glimpse of a misunderstood people in a faraway land, and understanding “the other.”

This film is not yet rated and deals with some mature themes, such as: facing the unknown, life in combat, dealing with PTSD, looking for and finding a purpose, human rights, and perhaps most importantly… friendship and faith in each other. But that was 20 years ago, and we worry about the everyday people of Afghanistan, especially due to declining rights of women there.

Filmmaker Bio:

CW5 Jared Jones is a retired Warrant Officer, having served in the Utah National Guard for over 25 years.  He is a former AH-64 Apache helicopter pilot and has deployed to Afghanistan three times.  Each deployment was of course very different – the first one was truly unique.  In 2004-5, his Aviation Task Force found a village in the remote mountains of Afghanistan and formed deep relationships with the people there.   

Jared is a graduate of the University of Utah's Film/Media program, but on this first deployment was a new pilot in the middle of film school.  He brought his Canon GL-1 camera with him and returned with over 50 hours of footage and some truly unique footage.

WIP screener intro

Utah Documentary Association Work-in-Progress Screening

Join us for our May 2025 Work-in-Progress screening of Diverted: Indigenous Stewardship and Saving Great Salt Lake, directed by Valene Peratrovich.
Utah Documentary Association Work-in-Progress Screening

Join us for our May 2025 Work-in-Progress screening of Diverted: Indigenous Stewardship and Saving Great Salt Lake, directed by Valene Peratrovich.

Logline: Great Salt Lake is a natural wonder that is disappearing before our very eyes. Indigenous stewardship over natural resources has been carried out successfully in other states and the time has come for Great Salt Lake before it fades away forever.

Diverted trailer