LDS women win first place in international film festival

(courtesy Rodger L. Hardy, Deseret News)

Two LDS women, Anne Bradshaw of Mapleton, Utah, and Jeanne McKinney of San Diego, Calif., joined forces via e-mail to write a screenplay that took first place at the recent International Family Film Festival.

The festival took place at Raleigh Studios in the Charlie Chaplin Theater in Hollywood.

The women drew from the history of politico-religious strife to create a tale of time travel that brings about change in today's world. The screenplay, "The Ardanea Pendant," was entered in the science fiction category and competed against hundreds of others from 17 countries, McKinney said.

Mormons in Hollywood's "Bonneville"

Viewers of the film "Bonneville" will hear the LDS Church and related topics mentioned several times in the film. I want to share this NY Times review of the film.  (Overall, the film has received poor ratings.)

The Sundance Film Festival & Mormons

The Sundance Film Festival is the most important cultural event that happens in Utah, and attracts thousands of people to Salt Lake City and Park City.  This year, Sundance film fans enjoyed a whimsical reference to Mormons in one of the films on debut at the festival:

In the film "Sunshine Cleaning," a character explains why she doesn't drink alcohol or do drugs, and the character played by Emily Blunt replies, "You should just tell people you're a Mormon."

:)