Davey Fest

Overview

Davey Fest is an annual short film festival in Salt Lake City organized by the David Ross Fetzer Foundation for Emerging Artists (the Davey Foundation). The festival screens the short films supported by Davey Foundation grants alongside standout shorts from Utah, the United States, and internationally. It functions as both a celebration of the Foundation's grantees and a curated short film program open to a broader range of submissions.

The Davey Foundation is named for David Ross Fetzer, a young filmmaker who died in 2009 at the age of 22. The Foundation was established by his family to continue his passion for short filmmaking and to support the next generation of emerging filmmakers. Davey Foundation grants -- awarded separately from the festival submission process -- are given to narrative short film projects, with past grant recipients going on to Emmy nominations and BAFTA nominations for their supported films.

What It Funds

Davey Fest itself is a festival exhibition opportunity rather than a grant program. Films are selected for the festival through submission on FilmFreeway. The associated Davey Foundation grant program provides production funding for narrative short films -- grants ranging up to $10,000 -- and grant recipients are automatically invited to screen at Davey Fest. Grant recipients also receive mentorship from established filmmakers and access to the Davey community of alumni and jurors.

The grant and the festival are closely linked: being a Davey grantee provides a guaranteed exhibition context alongside the production funding, which is a meaningful combination for short filmmakers building their careers.

Eligibility

Davey Fest accepts short film submissions from Utah filmmakers and from US and international filmmakers through its open FilmFreeway submission process. The associated Davey Foundation grants are open to filmmakers in the US developing narrative short film projects. Both emerging and established filmmakers are eligible for the grant program.

Filmmakers should consult the Davey Foundation website for current grant cycle dates and the FilmFreeway page for current festival submission windows.

Who Should Apply

Short film directors at any career stage who want both a production grant and an exhibition context within the same program. The Davey Foundation grant is particularly well suited to narrative short filmmakers in the US who are building their portfolio and who value the mentorship and community access alongside the funding.

See Also

For understanding how short film festivals and grants connect to a broader career development strategy, see Film Grants and the Development Pathway. For planning a short film production budget and timeline, use the Post Production Timeline Calculator.