Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival 2022 is in-person, virtual

Utah Film Center is rolling out the rainbow carpet once again for the 2022 Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival. Damn These Heels is one of the Center’s most popular events and explores LGBTQ+ issues, ideas, and art through dramatic and documentary films from around the world. This year, the Festival will screen 15 full-length films and five shorts.

This year marks the Festival’s 19th anniversary, making it the longest-running LGBTQ+ film festival in the Mountain West.

“While the name ‘Damn These Heels’ may sound a little silly, the origins are inspired by the notion that when you walk in someone else’s shoes you come to understand their unique perspective which can ultimately foster empathy and kindness toward our fellow humans,” organizers said in a statement.

This year, the Festival will have live screenings at the Regent Street Black Box Theater at The Eccles and select films will be available virtually.

The Festival kicks off with an opening night screening of “Unidentified Objects,” followed by the opening night party on Friday night, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m.

Films screen from 10 a.m. to midnight on Saturday, Oct. 15, and from10 a.m. through 8 p.m. on Sunday Oct. 16th.

On Sunday at 10 a.m., a workshop by filmmaker Raja Feather Kelly will be held, with the title, “Honest Reactions to Imaginary Solutions: On Film.”

The workshop teaches the methodology Honest Reactions To Imaginary Situations. It is an approach to creating and performing that above all “relies upon, centers, and fights for truth.”

“This work regards the performer as the creator and the creator as the performer — on and off the stage. Built from his approach to Devised Theatre, Raja Feather Kelly works candidly with repetition and failure as key ingredients toward, reactive, responsive, and unrestricted theatricality. Particularly focusing on the editing process as a way of choreographing,” organizers wrote. “This workshop offers every practitioner unfiltered insight into Raja’s creative process. This approach is both a compendium for creative work and a field guide. The workshop will have two parts — Part 1: Improvisation, Movement, and theatre exercises; and Part 2: Translating our work on video via iPhone.

GET INVOLVED

Volunteers are needed to help the Festival at events and spread the word beforehand. You can sign up to help the events team or street promotions team by emailing info@UtahFilmCenter.org. Include your area of interest so they can get you to the right department.

Group Tickets: If your family, friend group, book club, or organization of 35 or more is interested in experiencing the Festival together, reach out to development@utahfilmcenter.org.

Sponsorship: If you are interested in sponsoring a Damn These Heels film screening, please contact development@utahfilmcenter.org.

Short Film Submissions: While this year’s short films have already been chosen, consider submitting for next year if you have a Utah-made short film you hope to screen during the festival.

TICKETS

Individual film tickets are available through the film schedule at damntheseheels.org. They are on a sliding scale with a suggested cost of $10, $15, and $25.

Full festival passes are now available at $80

A full guide to the Festival begins on the next page. You can also see damntheseheels.org