Editor’s Note: Day 3 of the Utah Arts Festival coverage is devoted to the Fear No Film Festival. Tomorrow, the MASS Ensemble and the Earth Harp will be highlighted.

Among the 62 short films to be featured at the Fear No Film portion of the Utah Arts Festival are a vivid portrayal of a woman suicide bomber in the Middle East, the unique blend of break dancing with Buddhist culture and ritual, and an adventuresome team of outdoor enthusiasts who have turned the sport of kings into a rollicking game of polo on mountain bikes. And, a festival jury of film-making and media industry peers along with audience members will select the festival winner from among seven short productions by Utah filmmakers.

However, what may be the signature statement of the sixth annual version of the Fear No Film Festival is coordinator Topher Horman’s intriguing categorization of the films for the rotating series of screenings that will be held in the City Library auditorium, adjacent to the festival grounds. Taking a cue from this year’s revitalized sense of political and civic engagement, Horman’s paradigm for scheduling reads like a grassroots cheer for civics and democracy:

Lean to the LEFT! (politically)
Lean to the RIGHT! (politically)
STAND UP! (and do something)
SIT DOWN! (and think about something)
FIGHT! (internal struggle)
FIGHT! (inter-personal conflict)
FIGHT! (societal or global)Even more remarkable is the fact that Horman and his team were able to slot the broadly diverse set of films into these seven themed categories for screening presentations. And, Horman assures the films — selected from a pool of more than 200 submissions — underscore the genuine independent spirit which propels filmmakers to create stories compellingly and expertly told to audiences who already have been primed by intensely competitive festivals such as Sundance and Slamdance. Collectively, the films suggest an egalitarian approach to civic engagement in which every segment of the political spectrum is represented.“Many of these films are already quite active on the festival circuit,” he says, adding that the Utah competition, the second year for such an event, has brought forward seven exceptionally strong candidates for Utah Short Film of the Year.

Festival screenings will begin on the first day of the festival (June 26) and continue through the last day on June 29, with showings every two hours. Entries for the Utah Short Film of the Year competition will be screened June 25, 26, and 27 at 8 p.m. and the winning entry will be screened at 8 p.m. on the festival’s last day. For more information about screening times and the schedule of when short films will be aired, go here.

Of particular interest are the following films, along with information about the seven short films for the Utah competition. Horman advises that many of the screenings will include films with mature content so parental guidance is strongly advised. Each screening will include family-friendly programming during the first 20 minutes of each scheduled slot, he says, adding that festival organizers are mindful that some families will enjoy the opportunity for a brief respite from the near-record high temperatures expected during the festival.

Featured films in general screenings:

Rabia — Muhammad Ali Hasan (23 minutes)

A strong award contender on the festival circuit, Rabia tells the story of is a woman determined to complete her suicide mission, She tricks Israeli soldiers, sneaks past checkpoints, and resorts to personal violence in order to achieve success. Hasan, a Colorado native and a graduate of Chapman University’s exceptional master’s degree program in filmmaking, has created a compact film remarkable for its urgency and tension in following Rabia’s mission, along with flashbacks of her past, filled with abuse rejection and struggle.

Hasan leaves the question of the epiphany to the viewer — evil or heroism — at the moment when she steps onto a crowded Israeli beach, awaiting to kill hundreds of innocent civilians in a massive explosion. The film already has garnered nine awards, including a gold medal of excellence at last January’s Park City Film Festival.

Hasan, a passionate advocate for establishing productive, collaborative political dialogue among American Muslims and their fellow citizens, is co-founder of Muslims For America. He also was recognized as a Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker Finalist of 2006 and a Panavision Emerging Filmmaker of 2007 for his directing work on Rabia.

Cutting a Rug, Turning the Wheel: Beats and Buddhism in Northern India — Harrison Blum (13 minutes)

The film highlights the exchange of cultural and religious dance from Buddhist festivals to Blum’s breakdancing instruction. Since 1994, he has taught creative movement and breakdancing to all ages, primarily in Boston but also in Canada, Israel, Jamaica, and India. In the winter of 2006, he launched Dance Path, a monthly, spiritually-oriented dance jam in Boston. More information about Blum’s work can be found here.

Mallethead — Jon Bailey (20 minutes)

Based in Telluride and Durango, the film chronicles a team of men — some with scruffy faces and bad haircuts — who play mountain bike polo and are about to embark on their first earnest competition with another group of bike polo enthusiasts. Film aficionados may recognize that the title is a reference to the classic film Cool Hand Luke but any further logical connection would be spurious to make. It is worth quoting from writer Leanne Goebel’s take on the movie:

“Not bad for local filmmaker Jon Bailey and his friend and movie-making partner Chad Cheeney. The guys have been playing bike polo for nearly a decade in Durango. They always thought it would be a good subject for a documentary, but hey, who has time to film when you can be whacking a ball with a homemade mallet from a mountain bike? Bailey and Cheeney decided a trip would be a way to force themselves to focus on the filmmaking. They had the idea for a beginning and an ending of their documentary, but not the middle. So, they just started interviewing their close friends and polo-playing buddies.”

And … the seven entries in the Utah Short Film of the Year Competition:

Anthems of War — Murray Triplett (13 minutes)

An award winner in the 2008 Foursite Film Festival, the film is set after an intense battle during World War II in which a soldier’s sanity is tested when he questions the loss of human life in war.

The Deep — Alex Haworth (7 minutes)

Haworth, a University of Utah film studies student, was among the youngest filmmakers to have a film screened at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. At the center is a machinist whose thoughts are situated in the heart of a future dystopia even as he works deep underground tending to the machines that fuel the city above. His jobs are precise, almost compulsive, and he is unable to stop.

Kick Like A Girl — Jenny MacKenzie (24 minutes)

Narrated by Lizzie, a resilient eight-year-old soccer girl undeterred by juvenile diabetes, elbow blocks or grass stains in her desire to compete, the film is rapidly gaining an award-winning portfolio on the festival circuit. The documentary follows what happens when The Mighty Cheetahs, an undefeated third-grade girls’ soccer team competes in the boys’ division.

MacKenzie, a PhD social worker with extensive background in nonprofit organizations who returned to school to learn filmmaking, has been noticed by many critics and competition judges for a gently humored, honest portrayal of the reality of gender issues and the underlying epiphanies on and off the soccer field. More information about her work can be found here.

Method — Wendy Santiano (7 minutes)

Made by Team Matador and written by Santiano, the horror film — selected from 44 entries — was named Best of the Salt Lake City division in the recent international 48-hour Film Competition. More information can be found here.

Pajama Gladiator — Brigham Young University’s Animation Program (5 minutes)

The computer-animated short concerns aliens battling a small boy, Eli, who should be asleep but is up and armed only with his treasured blanket. A team of BYU students and graduates finished the project in late 2007, two years after starting it and with each student working at least 40 hours a week on the project. BYU’s animation program is often heralded as one of the best in the nation.

Through The Lens — Bobby Bowden (2 minutes)

Fresh from a screening of this short at last month’s Cannes Festival, Bowden and Ben Braten, students at Dixie State College, have accomplished cinematic poetry in brevity. The short film takes place amid southern Utah’s distinctive red rock scenery as a novice filmmaker and his son assemble and set the camera for filming. The father goes to his car to retrieve an item, leaving the boy alone with the camera. The boy takes advantage of the moment to look through the viewfinder and see his own dreams being realized as he directs his own film. While not part of the official competition, the film was screened at Cannes in the short film category presentations. And, for the record, the Internet Movie Database record for this short film has the wrong Bobby Bowden (the famed football coach).

Two Loves — Hannah Long and Michelle Ripplinger (20 minutes)

This film, a product of last year’s Pitch-Nic presentations sponsored by Spy Hop Productions, has been featured on this blog. Simply, this is an extraordinary film of sensitivity, dignity, and honesty, an appropriately contemporary expression of the iconic poem by the British poet Lord Alfred Douglas that became famous at Oscar Wilde’s trial: “Then sighing, said the other, ‘Have thy will, I am the love that dare not speak its name.’” Smartly edited, the film chronicles the experiences and expressions of five individuals who continue their personal challenge to find the balance between affirmation and their Mormon faith. Remarkably comprehensive in depth and perspective given the compact frame, the film conscientiously explores the complex continuum of reconciliation without the filmmakers drawing their own conclusions.