OGDEN -- The offerings selected for this year's Foursite Film Festival seem to reflect a specific theme -- a look into morality, religion and politics.
It's a combo that festival founder Scott Halford hopes might stir things up a bit, "create a lot of electricity in the community and really get people talking."
The films showcased at the ninth annual festival, opening Thursday, June 14, range from "The Religious Test," billed as a documentary about Mormons and politics, to "Miss Representation," an exploration of women's portrayal in the media, to "Cleanflix," a look at companies that clean up R-rated films on DVDs to make them more family-friendly.
All are timely issues that should jump-start some good after-screening conversations, Halford says.
"Some of these topics, people are going to want to get in fights over, but in our forums we're going to promote healthy, respectful discussion," he says.
"The Religious Test," being made by Genesis Media Works of Salt Lake City, is an ongoing project that's still being edited, Halford says. The documentary looks at Mitt Romney's run for president of the United States and examines the reasons why some 20 percent of Americans say they would not vote for a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to hold that office.
Halford has no doubt folks will have strong opinions on the film, leaving the screening either upset or "totally fulfilled," but he says the documentary addresses the controversy well.
The festival's aim is to present all subjects in good taste, Halford explains, adding, "We don't showcase anything that would be considered gratuitous in any way."
Made in Utah
On the lighter side, another film with a religious bent is "We Have a Pope," a fictitious and comedic tale of a man elected to be pope who doesn't want to deal with the pressures of that calling.
"It's kind of the what-if in Vatican life," Halford says.
The closing-night film will be "Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed," the sequel to the 2007 film "Saints and Soldiers." The movie, which doesn't debut in theaters until August, is the tale of three paratroopers on the front lines of World War ll.
Although it isn't necessarily a religious film, the movie does have spiritual undertones, Halford says.
Just more than half of the festival's 35 new films are created by Utah filmmakers, Halford says, including the "Saints and Soldiers" sequel and also "Boy With Blue," the story of a couple dealing with the loss of their son.
"Boy With Blue" takes place over the course of one day -- and because of its low budget, its makers prepared to shoot it in less than 24 hours, Halford says.
"The performances and the writing are so compelling that it just goes to show that a good story and good writing are what will make a film successful," he says.
A new tactic
The festival also includes children's films, which will be screened at the Treehouse Children's Museum. One of them is "Who's There?," a "really sweet" film from Slovakia about kids who build a fort to keep out a wolf.
Two Utah-made flicks are also designed for the younger set: "My Hero" and "The Blindmen and The Elephant."
Ogden's Art House Cinema 502 joins the festival as a new venue this year; its small size -- just 28 seats -- is perfect for screening foreign films such as "Meherjaan" from India, Halford says.
"Typically, the foreign films will get a handful of people, maybe enough to fill that venue, but not enough to fill the (Peery's) Egyptian Theater," he says.
Traditionally, the Foursite Film Festival issues an open call for entries and may receive 200 to 300 films to screen. But Halford says the selection committee tried something different this year and went out looking for the films instead, which he admits is "kind of backwards."
However, the director says, that means "every single film this year has been hand-picked so we can ensure every single one of them is of a high caliber that we want to show."
THE SCHEDULE
Here’s the lineup for the 2012 Foursite Film Festival:
Thursday, June 14
• Children’s films — 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., Treehouse Children’s Museum
• “Miss Representation” — 6:30 p.m., Wildcat Theater
• “Doc Block” (three documentaries) — 7:30 p.m., Art House Cinema 502
• “Cleanflix” — 8:30 p.m., Wildcat Theater
• “Machines of the Working Class” and other shorts — 9 p.m., Art House Cinema 502
Friday, June 15
• Children’s films — 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., Treehouse Children’s Museum
• “We Have a Pope” — 7 p.m., Peery’s Egyptian Theater
• “Doc Block” — 7:30 p.m., Art House Cinema 502
• “Boy With Blue” — 8:45 p.m., Peery’s Egyptian Theater
• “Meherjaan” — 9:00 p.m., Art House Cinema 502
Saturday, June 16
• Short Films 1 — 1 p.m., Peery’s Egyptian Theater
• Children’s films — 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., Treehouse Children’s Museum
• Short Films 3 — 2:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., Art House Cinema 502
• “The Religious Test” — 3 p.m., Peery’s Egyptian Theater
• “Doc Block” — 5:30 p.m., Art House Cinema 502
• Short Films 2 — 5:30 p.m., Peery’s Egyptian Theater
• “Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed” — 7 p.m., Peery’s Egyptian Theater
• “Meherjaan” — 7:30 p.m., Art House Cinema 502
Tickets for the festival are $10 per multi-film block. Blocks are 6:30 p.m.-close June 14 and 15, 1-4:30 p.m. June 16, and 5:30 p.m.-close June 16.
All screenings at the Treehouse Children’s Museum are included in the cost of admission ($6 for children, $5 for age 13 and older).