Reggae Rise Up: Day One @ Liberty Park 07.12

Reggae Rise Up: Day One @ Liberty Park 07.12
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Utah’s Reggae Rise Up Festival was bigger than ever this year, bringing out top name acts like Matisyahu, Stephen Marley, Slightly Stoopid and The Expendables. Breaking into a two day event, this was one event you did not want to miss. … read more

Damn These Heels Film Festival: Mala Mala

Damn These Heels Film Festival: Mala Mala
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This gorgeous and well-made documentary pulls its audience right into the heart and soul of the contemporary Puerto Rican trans* community, through intimate portrayals of nine of its members, including a diverse cast of genderbending drag performers, transgender sex workers, business owners and activists. … read more

Damn These Heels Film Festival: The Way He Looks

Damn These Heels Film Festival: The Way He Looks
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While the world watched a bunch of sweaty men kicking around balls in Brazil, I was watching this coming of age story of a rebellious, blind and gay Brazilian teenager. Leonardo (Fabio Audi) desperately wants to get away from his loving yet overprotective parents; his best friend and sidekick, Giovana (Tess Amorim), desperately wants to turn their friendship into something more. … read more

Damn These Heels Film Festival: Dual

Damn These Heels Film Festival: Dual
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On her last shift working as a shuttle driver in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tina (Nina Rakovec) meets Iben (Mia Jexen), a quirky Danish traveller stranded on her way to Greece. Over the next day, the two quickly develop an intense and cryptic relationship over cakes, beer and kittens. … read more

Damn These Heels Film Festival: Tom at the Farm

Damn These Heels Film Festival: Tom at the Farm
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Tom at the Farm, Xavier Dolan’s fourth feature (preceding this year’s Mommy), retains the striking visual storytelling and smart dialogue of his other films, yet takes them into a different realm altogether—that of the psychological thriller. … read more

Damn These Heels Film Festival: To Be Takei

Damn These Heels Film Festival: To Be Takei
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Even if you’ve never seen a Star Trek episode in your life, Sulu’s … ahem … George Takei’s visage and deep voice is surely seared into your memory nonetheless—he’s a gay national treasure and a damn fine social activist, too. … read more

Damn These Heels Film Festival: Lady Valor: The Kristen Beck Story

Damn These Heels Film Festival: Lady Valor: The Kristen Beck...
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In 2013, former Navy Seal Christopher Beck came out as Kristen, a transgender woman. After 20 years of serving in combat missions in war zones across the world, her new mission—to find inner happiness and to raise awareness of trans issues in the military—has been one of her most exhausting and most challenging. … read more

Damn These Heels Film Festival: Appropriate Behavior

Damn These Heels Film Festival: Appropriate Behavior
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This Brooklyn-20-something-hipster comedy sparkles with Lena Dunham–like wit and relies heavily on the kind of unapologetic humor made famous by Girls, so it’s fitting that the film’s Iranian-American writer, director and actor, Desiree Akhavan, will join the show’s cast for its upcoming fourth season.  … read more

Damn These Heels Film Festival: Compared to What? The Improbable Journey of Barney Frank

Damn These Heels Film Festival: Compared to What? The Improbable...
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The doc serves up Frank in all of his Wildean wittiness, showing how he could demolish his political adversaries in hilarious, rapid-fire debate, while never backing down from his convictions. … read more

Battle at the Rez: Death Pitts Skate Competition 07.05

Battle at the Rez: Death Pitts Skate Competition 07.05
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Over the fourth of July holiday weekend in Salt Lake, I could have seen a hobbit on turntables, LARPing at the Salt Palace or even the new Jonah Hill movie. Instead, I jumped at the chance to help support a cause that is close to my heart—substance abuse prevention. The Ute Tribe Alcohol/Substance Abuse Prevention Center held the Death Pitts Skate Competition at the Fort Duchesne skate park in order to get people off their couches and doing something productive.  … read more

FanasyCon 2014: Larping, Simon Pegg, The Hall of Heroes & How It All Shaped Up

FanasyCon 2014: Larping, Simon Pegg, The Hall of Heroes &...
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The final day of Fantasy Con got off to a bit of a quiet start. The holiday hangover was in full effect, and the crowds on the convention floor were a bit thinner than expected, but that just made the aisles and halls easier to navigate and made everything more accessible. … read more