Is the Sundance Film Festival obscene? That's what a conservative group in Utah is saying. The group want Utah to stop funding the festival as they believe the content goes against family values.
The Sundance Film Festival is about to kick off on Thursday in Park City, Utah but the Sutherland Institute thinks Utah should stop providing financial backing for Sundance due to its obscene content. For instance, "Lovelace" starring Amanda Seyfried is about porn stars and "Two Mothers" starring Naomi Watts and Robin Wright is about two women having affairs with one another's sons, according to the Associated Press.
The conservative group isn't necessarily saying that Sundance shouldn't be in Utah. They just don't want Utah to provide the money for it.
"There are a lot of people here that find that kind of thing objectionable," Derek Monson, Sutherland Institute's director of public policy told AP. "We are a family friendly state and we endeavor to be so because we value the benefits that strong families bring to society."
Despite their objection, Utah will not back down on funding the festival as it is good for the state's economy and it brings focus to the area. It is one of Utah's largest money-makers and it is estimated that the festival brought $80.3 million to the state.
"If we lost the film festival, we would be giving up $80 million," Michael Sullivan, a spokesman for the Governor's Office of Economic Development told AP.
Sundance officials suggest that those opposed to certain films should only watch the films that appeal to them. Nobody is being forced to view the R-rated films and visitors can purchase tickets for what films they want to see.
Yet the Sutherland Institute is still set on Utah stopping it's funding as they feel that the festival doesn't need the state's financial backing and that the taxpayer money would be more useful for other programs.
"If Sundance wants to put it in the private film festival, fine. But it's government-endorsed," Monson said. "But now you're asking for taxpayers to help pay for those kind of movies to be shown. That doesn't reflect the values of state of Utah."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
