Foursite: The other film festival

Thursday, March 1, 2007

By Rebecca Palmer
Standard-Examiner staff

Ogden's Foursite event seeks to be something people 'can bring their kids to'

OGDEN -- The kickoff of the Foursite Film Festival packed Peery's Egyptian Theater on Wednesday night with people from up and down the Wasatch Front.

About two dozen attendees of about 900 present wore pirate costumes for the showing of "Pirates of the Great Salt Lake."

Three teens from Davis County came decked out in pirate gear -- wearing everything from ripped, black tights and short, denim skirts to tattoos and bandannas.

They ran around laughing and pretending to sword-fight in front of the Egyptian Theater before the film started.

The 16-year-old girls said they found out about the festival on the Internet back in October, through sites such as www.youTube.com and www.Myspace.com and had been excited ever since. They just love pirates, they said.

Festival organizers and contributors, including director and Top of Utah native Scott Halford, hope the festival will eventually grow to be as big as Sundance. They're expecting up to 4,000 attendees this year. But now and in the future, they said the festival will be family-friendly.

"I think that Ogden's people aren't looking for offensive content," Halford said. They're looking for something they can bring their kids to."

Carolyn Bachman, Ogden special events coordinator, attended the film as well as an opening night gala held beforehand at Ogden's Union Station.

"We think this is going to be a significant event for Ogden," she said.

"A film festival of this caliber -- this is the kind of thing we want here."

Bachman said that in addition to the city's plan to be a recreation hub, it has to offer a cultural aspect, and Foursite is just the kind of cultural outpouring the city needs. Festival public relations director and Weber State University student Eric Turner said he's trying to work with that plan.

Planners scheduled the festival for the end of February so they could bring skiers and snowboarders down from the mountain, Turner said. To add to that, they're giving away a Burton snowboard Friday as part of the festival High Adventure Session.

"This is one of Ogden's jewels," said Michael Burton, who helped sponsor the festival through Ogden-business Capricorn's Lair, located across the street from the theater. "Scott is very inclusive and community oriented. We want to ensure it continues."

Kirby Heyborne, who co-starred in the opening night film and helped produce it said he had a lot of fun creating the film and that he thinks the festival is great.

"I grew up in Sandy," he said. "Ogden 10 or 15 years ago was almost scary. I think it's changed. It's a hip place to come, it's really coming around. This (festival) is a fruit of Ogden becoming a Mecca."

Halford said he was very excited Wednesday. He said this year has been the festival's biggest yet, and that he is very glad for the "buzz" of support he has received.

"I have a massive, massive passion for film," he said. "It's an art form. It's a way of telling stories, a way of communicating dreams and messages to the world. It's the only art form that incorporates every single skill set."

The festival continues through Saturday, with most events taking place at Peery's Egyptian Theater.