HiveFest brings international film to South Ogden this Friday
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- South Ogden’s Ziegfeld Theater will host HiveFest 2025 on Friday, April 4, 2025.
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- Patrons file into South Ogden’s Ziegfeld Theater for the 2024 WATIF International Film Festival. Now dubbed HiveFest, the festival returns to the venue Friday, April 4, 2025.
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- Dubbed “Ogden’s International Film Festival,” HiveFest returns to the Ziegfeld Theater on Friday, April 4, 2025.
SOUTH OGDEN — After debuting last year as the WATIF International Film Festival, HiveFest — billed as “Ogden’s International Film Festival” — returns to the Ziegfeld Theater on Friday.
The festival celebrates short films and independent filmmaking in Northern Utah, across the Beehive State and around the cinematic globe. The festival will run from 7 to 11 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30. Admission is $5 at the door.
“Most of these films are from film students, but all the films are independent, ranging from all over the Wasatch Front, which we’re really excited about having those directors attend — but we even have people all the way out in Portugal,” HiveFest Director Adam Enslow told the Standard-Examiner.
The festival also received submissions from places like India and Ireland.
HiveFest’s operations and outreach coordinator, Dustin Bessire, added that there was “a large variety of diverse genres and diverse casts and stories” among this year’s crop of submissions.
Originally started through a student club at Weber State University, HiveFest was established as “a festival that prioritized student filmmakers, independent shorts and people who are just getting started,” according to founder Zander Cooper. And despite the international component, organizers still strive to feature those who “don’t usually get spotlighted in the typical festival circuit.”
HiveFest’s return to the Ziegfeld comes mere days after the Sundance Film Festival announced its eventual migration from Park City to Boulder, Colorado. According to Bessire, the festival’s move will be a big loss for fledgling filmmakers at WSU and throughout the region.
“Weber gave us the opportunity to go and volunteer at Sundance and see what an institution of a film festival looks like. We worked theater crew and we saw the inner workings, and I think Sundance is what inspired us to try to grow this because we had the opportunity as ushers and theater crew to see directors and producers and actors come through,” Bessire said. “There’s no other environment like Sundance, right? So, we’re really sad to lose it.”
In Sundance’s absence, HiveFest’s organizers hope that their festival can similarly contribute to the growth of Utah’s film scene and the artists therein.
“We don’t want the film community to stop growing in Utah. That’s the last thing we want to do, so we hope we can still cultivate that community alongside the other film festivals that are sticking around,” Enslow said.
Festival submissions were made through the FilmFreeway platform and were adjudicated by a board comprised of student filmmakers, alumni and industry professionals.
Said Bessire: “It was really hard this year. There were quite a few films I would’ve loved to have screened and we encourage all the filmmakers who weren’t selected to resubmit next year.”
For his part, Cooper hopes that HiveFest can be an annual tradition for local film lovers and a vehicle for aspiring filmmakers to realize their dreams.
“Looking ahead, I’d love to see the festival grow — not just in size, but in impact. I’d love to expand to venues like the Egyptian, bring in guest speakers and industry professionals, maybe even show some features. But we’ll always stay rooted in where we started. Short films get overlooked a lot, and we want to make sure they have a home here,” Cooper said.
“Eventually, I’d love to create a grant or scholarship for student filmmakers. Weber doesn’t currently offer one, and it could make a real difference. More than anything, my hope is that HiveFest helps build an inclusive film culture right here in Ogden, a city that’s already full of creativity and deserves to be known for it.”
