For the last couple of years it's been my pleasure to connect with all of you over our mutual passion for cinema. Many of you leave comments or send me messages on Facebook and we've become friends, at least online. What we've been missing is an excuse to get together face to face.

We now have our rallying point: the 2013 LDS Film Festival, being held January 23-26 at the Scera Theatre in Orem, UT. The festival, now in its 12th year, was started by acclaimed director Christian Vuissa (who helmed One Good Man, Errand of Angels, Joseph Smith- Plates of Gold, Silent Night, and Baptists at our Barbeque) as a showcase for Latter-day Saint filmmakers and actors.

From left: Darin Southam, Brady Bluhm, Charan Prabhakar, and Andrea Ciliberti in The Last Man(s) on Earth.

I'm going to be there in support of Charan Prabhakar, one of my closest friends, a great person, and star of two high-profile screenings at the festival. The first, The Last Man(s) on Earth, was the funniest film I saw last year. All nepotism aside, it's a brilliant "end of the world" action-comedy. It co-stars Brady Bluhm (the blind kid from Dumb and Dumber) and Rick Macy (Helam in The Testaments and Joseph Sr. in Joseph Smith- The Prophet of the Restoration). The film debuted at the Austin Film Festival a few months ago and is up for Best Picture and Best Supporting actor (Rick Macy) in the Filmed in Utah Awards. I'll have my review of that one up soon.

Rick Macy in The Last Man(s) on Earth

The other film, The Mine, was a surprisingly effective fright flick that manages to scare without losing its humanity (read my review here). It co-stars Alexa Vega from Spy Kids (she's all grown up now).

From left: Reiley McClendon, Saige Thompson, Charan Prabhakar, and Alexa Vega in The Mine.

I'm not sure what other films I'll attend yet, but I'll definitely be at these two. Tickets go on sale Monday, January 14th. The festival schedule will be posted then as well. Both can be found at www.ldsfilmfestival.org/. The festival isn't officially affiliated with the Church. It welcomes entries from persons not of our faith as well, as long as the entries meet certain standards.

Reiley McClendon and Alexa Vega in The Mine.

Still, heads up, The Mine was rated PG-13 and had a few profanities (none of them harsh), plenty of scares, and mild gore (it specifically avoids sex and unnecessary violence). The Last Man(s) on Earth would likely be PG-13 as well; it has plenty of zombie violence, a mildly suggestive scene (that actually, when you see it, goes for innocent laughs instead of naughty humor) and bloody moments that would be shocking if they weren't so intentionally cheesy and funny (comparable to the gore in Monty Python and the Holy Grail).

Charan Prabhakar and Brady Bluhm, The Last Man(s) on Earth

Make sure to visit the LDS Film Festival site on or after Monday, January 14th to get your tickets. Charan and I will, at the very least, be at the screenings of The Last Man(s) on Earth and The Mine and would love to hang out with you!

Charan and I on the set of Alan Seawright's CTU: PROVO.

For more about The Last Man(s) on Earth, visit the film's site and check out the trailer below:


For more about The Mine, likewise visit that film's site and check out the trailer below:




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