Sundance Film Festival 2013: Utah Conservative Group Wants to Kill "Obscene" Film Festival

Culture

The 2013 Sundance Film Festival kicks off Thursday in Park City, Utah, and according to HuffPo, the films Lovelance, starring Amanda Seyfried, and Two Mothers, starring Naomi Watts and Robin Wright, are prompting protests from the conservative Sutherland Institute for "[being] at odds with Utah's culture of family values."

"There are a lot of people here that find that kind of thing objectionable," said Derek Monson, Sutherland Institute's director of public policy. "We are a family friendly state and we endeavor to be so because we value the benefits that strong families bring to society," he added.   

The Sutherland Institute is stopping short of asking Sundance to leave Utah, but it wants the state to "pull its financial backing." But, according to The Huffington Post, state officials are standing by the backing because the money "is an investment in a festival that brings major economic impact and international exposure to the state."

Utah expects to spend $300,000 supporting the festival again this year, according to Michael Sullivan, a spokesman for the Governor's Office of Economic Development. 

Read on HuffPo.