Every year, the DOCUTAH Film Festival has an amazing assortment of documentaries to experience during that short time. Throughout the rest of the year, there are more opportunities to catch these great films. On the first Friday of each month from September to May, called First Friday, a specific documentary is highlighted for viewing. It takes place at the Center for the Arts at Kayenta and features food trucks, live music, a wine garden, and local vendors, with the highlight of the evening being DOCUTAH Best of Fest. The Best of Fest showcases top films from the previous years’ festival that are chosen to present to the audience at Kayenta. Some screenings will feature a visiting filmmaker, which is always exciting, as a robust question and answer period follows the screening.
Kayenta has been a partner with DOCUTAH since it started in 2010, as a host venue for film screenings during the annual festival. For the last several years, that partnership has expanded to this annual event with a new season each fall following the annual DOCUTAH. This partnership is important because it fosters camaraderie among peers and community engagement, aligning with the missions and visions of DOCUTAH and Utah Tech University. In addition, it brings a different type of entertainment to the residents of Kayenta while also giving DOCUTAH patrons the opportunity to see films they may have missed during the festival run.
Be sure to catch them every month! For more information, including how to purchase tickets, visit https://kayentaarts.org/.
- September 4, 2026 – “Secrets of the Great Salt Lake”
A documentary of how water connects all life on Earth, focusing in the history of the Great Salt Lake of Utah. - October 4, 2026 – “Being Adolph Gasser”
A documentary about a hero steeped deeply in the world of photography. - November 6, 2026 – “Snowland”
A documentary tracking the journey of how a former child bride of a notorious polygamous sect in Utah escapes her painful past by creating a magical fantasy realm she calls Snowland. - December 4, 2026 – “Better Up There”
A documentary following the unique life of Léo Slemett as he faces adversity throughout his rise in freeride skiing. - January 1, 2027 – “Bedrock”
A documentary focused on the lives of Poles who call their home in locations of the Holocaust that everyday life has expanded into. - February 5, 2027 – “Cartapesta: The Carnival of Fano”
A documentary showcasing Italy’s oldest Carnival, located in the city of Fano. - March 5, 2027 – “An American Storyteller: The Art of Arnold Friberg”
A documentary about exploring the life, faith, and legacy of the iconic twentieth-century American illustrator. - April 2, 2027 – “The Hole Story”
A documentary focused on various stories a small California mountain town’s mythology becoming implicated in an unsolved crime through the discovery of a nearby sixty-foot, handmade hole. - May 7, 2027 – “Saffron Robe”
A documentary covering revered Buddhist abbot, Oneko Sittivong, navigating the challenges of a sacred life under a communist regime. - June 4, 2027 – “Driven by Angels”
A documentary following Vaughn Shafer coming out of retirement in an attempt to reclaim his title as the fastest man on a motorized skateboard.
By Allyson Twitchell, Marketing Coordinator for the College of the Arts