A Local Film Festival with Big Dreams and an International Reach

Now in its seventh year, the Utopia Film Festival is broadening its reach, while still retaining its intimate vision, Chris Haley, festival director, said. Haley took a moment out of his schedule during the festival this weekend to talk with Patch at the New Deal Cafe.

In his sixth year directing Utopia, he credits the all-volunteer festival’s appeal to its offering a venue where film buffs, filmmakers and community members can view independent films and talk with the directors and producers.

Mark Stenson, who submitted a film to last year’s festival and writes movie reviews for Patch, happened to be talking with Chris in the cafe and joined in on the conversation. Stenson agreed that the festival provided a positive experience to talk with other filmmakers who have struggled with similar issues and to know that it was possible to persevere and have work accepted into a festival like Utopia.

For Haley, an actor and a film director, the highlight of Utopia is honoring filmmakers who take great ideas—and work and sacrifice to realize them as films. A good example is Heather Taylor’s thirteen-year labor of love to see her vision become the documentary "Breaking through the Clouds," the story of pioneering women aviators and the winner of the 2011 Utopian Vision Award.

The festival’s international reach impresses Stenson, who observed—not only were there films from Landover and Arlington, they also came from Germany, Burundi, and Brazil.

Haley credits the widening international reach of Utopia to an Internet innovation, www.withoutabox.com. The online submission service, allows film festivals to market themselves globally, and filmmakers can safely submit applications and films to over 850 festivals worldwide. Utopia joined this service in Haley’s second year of involvement, and he saw its reach immediately broaden. Before, Haley explained, it was difficult to market outside of this region.

What sets Utopia apart, Haley said, is that the festival is still small enough that an independent filmmaker—who is self-financed through family and friends or balances filmmaking with a day job—does not get lost in the glamour of the bigger-name festivals.

The variable panels also get some of the credit for the festival's success, according to Haley. Consisting of at least three volunteer screeners who rate the submissions, they create a selection process that Haley thinks is more fair and reflective of reality.

The tough economic times present some challenges for the festival. Putting on an all-volunteer festival is an incredible amount of work, Haley shared. He dreams of one day having enough funding and sponsorships to hold a grand gala festival opening that honors the filmmakers. The dream also includes being able to provide lodging for festival winners, so they could all attend the awards ceremony.

Haley would love to see Utopia become an Oscar-qualifying event, which would attract more filmmakers and a larger audience. In this town born of a Utopian vision, stranger things have happened!