SALT LAKE CITY - This fall, Westminster University welcomed the 10th annual Wasatch Mountain Film Festival to campus for four days of stunning cinematography, inspirational storytelling, and celebration of the passion behind adventure filmmaking. Four Westminster alumni presented their films at the festival.
The Wasatch Mountain Film Festival aims to connect artists, athletes, and the Wasatch community though impactful stories told by explorers, authors, photographers, and filmmakers from around the globe. Along with screenings of this year’s top outdoor adventure films, attendees were invited to join workshops and panels centered on outdoor adventure and environmental documentary films that expand perspectives and empower action.
With its liberal arts foundation, unique opportunities for outdoor experiential learning, and location at the intersection of Utah’s urban and mountain landscapes, Westminster’s campus provided a perfect backdrop for the festival.
“It’s cool to come to a community of people who are already involved and understand the outdoor storytelling space,” said Jacob Oster, local film maker and member of the Wasatch Film Festival Board of Directors. “We’ve had some really great engagement at our panels and people are excited to be here on campus.”
This year’s film lineup featured four Westminster alumni, creating another tie between the Wasatch Film Festival’s mission and a Westminster education. Featured Westminster alumni were Danny Giovale (Physics ’94, subject of “Designed by Disaster); Phillip Hessler (Economics ’16, director and producer of “The Crux”); Tim Jones (Photography ’09, director of “The Last Gunners”); and Zeppelin Zeerip (International Business ’15, director of “Taras”).
Although they come from a variety of majors and backgrounds, these filmmakers all share a passion to tell meaningful, carefully crafted stories. Phil Hessler, who runs a video production company called Think Less Studios, said that he began to think of filmmaking as a serious career while he was at Westminster. Hessler helped make a short film about his adopted brother and roommate, Brolin Mawejje, and his journey to become an Olympic snowboarder for Uganda.
“Westminster overall was incredibly supportive of that project, especially because it was about a student and most of the people working on it were students,” said Hessler. “Westminster has cultivated a pretty unique community with a lot of different backgrounds, and we found a lot of connections to people who could support the film and the story we were trying to tell.”
At the festival, Hessler screened the first episode of “The Crux,” an eight-part docuseries filmed in partnership with National Geographic. The series follows elite climbers competing at the World Championship in Bern, Switzerland.
Westminster alum Danny Giovale expressed his excitement that the festival was held on Westminster’s campus, sharing a deeper level of connection: the film screenings were held in the Vieve Gore Concert Hall—named after Giovale’s grandmother.
“My grandmother was an avid adventurer herself and a huge advocate for getting outdoors,” said Giovale, adding that he attributes much of his love for the outdoors to backpacking excursions with his grandparents. “Being able to show this film here on campus in the auditorium that bears her name is a very cool full circle moment.” Giovale’s film “Designed By Disaster” recounts his efforts to create more a more effective climbing crampon after a harrowing personal experience while scaling the Dolomites in Italy.
Above all else, organizers of the Wasatch Film Festival hope that festival attendees left the event feeling inspired, connected, and changed by the stories shared. Westminster looks forward to continuing to support the mission of the Wasatch Film Festival in showcasing stories of inspiration, perspective, and adventure.
