Remembrance of the transatlantic slave trade and its abolition

“Battle for Palm Tree Hill” (1845)
by January Suchodolski

In 1998, UNESCO designated August 23 as the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. (emphasis added)

This date was chosen because, in August of 1791, self-liberated slaves overthrew the colonial government of the island, on which—up to that point—they were considered property and not people. History would remember this event as the start of the Haitian Revolution, the first of several events leading to the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.

The Utah Filmmakers™ Association's Core Values include Integrity. At its core, integrity means being honest. Genuine honesty requires acknowledging and accepting painful truths—about our world and ourselves—like the veracity and horror of what has been described as the American Holocaust. “America,” in this sense, refers not just to the nation of the United States but to the North American and South American continents, more simply, the entire western hemisphere.

While some would choose not to discuss—or even admit—the role that slavery had in our history, often arguing that “the past should be left in the past,” the fact that its effects continue to be felt in our society today, renders such dismissiveness as the worst form of denialism. It also serves to perpetuate attitudes and beliefs that were used to justify chattel slavery in the first place, which also left an indelible mark on the history of Utah and that of its Mormon founders.

These factual statements are not presented to criticize any particular state, people, or community because integrity also means being willing to have frank conversations about such complicated topics. The art of creating motion pictures, including those for the cinema, broadcast, and streaming, can help start conversations and keep them going. To that end, we would like to recommend the following titles:

Amistad (1997) (Streaming on multiple platforms as of this posting)

13th (2016) (Netflix, YouTube)

Exterminate All the Brutes (2021) (HBO/Max)

Roots, Race & Culture (2022) (PBS Utah) hosted by Utah Filmmakers Danor Gerald and Lonzo Liggins.

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and—especially where guest posts are concerned—do not necessarily reflect the official policies and/or practices of the Utah Filmmakers™ Association, its Officers and/or Associates.

Filmmakers, Know Your Industry

In 2023, Utah Filmmakers™ published “Forget the Door, Find the Bridge.”

Originally a four-part series on this blog, the essay featured a Venn diagram illustrating how industry and community overlap and how amateurs can transition into working professionals.

While the essay focussed on Utah’s film industry and the local film community, the diagram itself was less specific and could be applied to any creative profession.

Other blog entries throughout that year took a brutally honest look at some of the challenges, distractions, pitfalls, and red flags that can undermine the careers of aspiring Utah filmmakers before they even get started, all in addition to a rapidly evolving industry—and set against the backdrop of one of the entertainment industry’s most important labor strikes in a generation. As local filmmakers struggled to find work and weighed the pros and cons of relocating or giving up and finding another way to make a living, this author reflected on their own efforts, encapsulated in the UFA™’s Vision Statement:

“...to bridge the local film community with Utah’s film industry…”

The aforementioned diagram has been revised to offer some clarity on Utah filmmakers’ challenges, keeping in mind the organization's Core Values of Professionalism, Integrity, and Respect.

While the organization maintains a broad and inclusive definition of what defines a “Utah Filmmaker”—regardless of how they earn a living—we feel it’s also important to acknowledge another distinction beyond that of “community” and “Industry” that tends to get blurred in discussions about making a living as a filmmaker that can be described with the following syllogism:

“The film industry provides work for many filmmakers, but not all filmmakers work in the film industry.”

This brings us to the revised diagram, which illustrates that there are, in fact, two distinct industries that employ Utah filmmakers: The film industry and the video production industry.

(Current Revision: August 24, 2024)

While there is some overlap between them—especially regarding many of the tools they use—they remain two distinct industries serving very different types of customers. Aspiring filmmakers need to know this to make informed decisions about their long-term career goals, especially when they are looking for mentorship opportunities.

Most of the job opportunities shared in the Utah Filmmakers™ Official Forum are in the video production industry, i.e., corporate videos, television commercials, online advertising, etc. At the time of publication, the author has not accessed any economic impact data from that particular industry, but anecdotally, it does appear to represent a significant source of income for many of Utah’s working filmmakers. Unfortunately, I have observed some filmmakers blurring the line between these industries. To be fair, they may not even realize they’re doing it.

In our efforts to help novice filmmakers recognize red flags such as “faux-professionals”* and “working amateurs,” the revised diagram reveals a common thread: an overstated affiliation with the “film industry.” While a few might get lucky on occasion with an actual film industry gig, faux-professionals are objectively delusional, and working amateurs have managed to find some financial stability in video production despite themselves and view getting paid as the only qualifier needed to call themselves “professionals.” Such an individual once criticized the author for expressing opinions about filmmaking despite an assumed lack of experience. They felt justified because the author didn’t “work in the industry,” pointing out that “they don't even shoot weddings.”

This begs the question, what “industry” were they talking about? Video production, obviously! In fact, the author has experience in the video production and film industries, but their particular focus leans heavily toward the latter with documentary and narrative filmmaking, not the former, which includes shooting wedding videos, commercials, etc. Again, a videographer is as much a filmmaker as a cinematographer, but professional videographers are not in the habit of claiming to work in the film industry.

No one has ever seen a movie trailer with an opening title card that read:

*Formerly "quasi-professionals."

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and—especially where guest posts are concerned—do not necessarily reflect the official policies and/or practices of the Utah Filmmakers™ Association, its Principals and/or Associates.