Join the original The 501(c)(3) nonprofit Utah Filmmakers™ Association has actively supported local film-related events to the best of its abilities for over 20 years. The organization has typically provided various services as in-kind contributions for events, local productions, and other projects in exchange for acknowledgment of the organization’s efforts in support of Utah’s film industry. In the fall of 2022, Utah Filmmakers™ submitted a sponsorship proposal to the Utah Film Festival. The organization consolidated several assets on behalf of the festival's organizers and presented them as part of an in-kind contribution. The proposal was offered in good faith, was non-binding, open to negotiation, and presented—again—as a strictly in-kind exchange (i.e., there were to be no financial transactions associated with any agreement). The festival's organizers claimed that the proposal “made no sense” to them—despite the level of detail in its presentation. Upon receiving the proposal, the festival's organizers began a surreptitious effort to undermine and usurp the Utah Filmmakers™ Association’s mission. The organizers used their known affiliation with the nonprofit in an attempt to sew confusion in the local film community through various means—including the registration of a business entity, multiple domain names, and social media profiles, all using a name “confusingly similar” to the registered moniker employed by Utah Filmmakers™for two decades. These actions and the quasi-clandestine manner in which they were taken raised serious ethical and legal concerns, most notably when the festival's organizers stated their intention—in the midst of the confusion they had fomented—to use their similarly named entity for their own financial benefit. |
On January 26, 2023, a former moderator for the Utah Filmmakers Facebook group wrote a social media post referencing a Cease & Desist letter they received. In that post, assertions were made that were attributed to the Utah Filmmakers Association and its founder, Joseph Puente. Those assertions sparked several angry comments and questions over the next few days.
Responses by the former moderator and their business partner varied considerably. Their replies to comments and questions can be described as...
- Misleading—as were some of the assertions in the post.
- Factual but lacking context.
- Ludicrously inaccurate.
- Speculative—which was extremely disingenuous considering the specifics addressed in the letter—leading to more uninformed and incorrect speculation.
Several important questions and comments were simply ignored, not because answers weren't available to them—they were—but because any answer would undermine the false narrative that was developing within the comments.
Only a few people contacted Mr. Puente with questions—which was appreciated. Since the post was in reference to a confidential matter with a legal component, little could be said at the time beyond stating that much of what was being discussed was simply untrue. Regardless of whether or not any response was made—publicly or privately—some people will still choose to believe what they want, even when presented with evidence to the contrary.
It is for the benefit of those with patience and open minds who maintain a healthy sense of skepticism or choose to reserve judgment on any matter until all available information has been presented that this statement has been prepared and quietly posted on a publicly accessible but unobtrusive web page.
Regarding the organization’s registered trademarks for its name, initials, and identifier for its members:
Since it was first organized in 2002, the Utah Filmmakers Association has NEVER claimed “that the words ‘Filmmakers’ and ‘Utah’ are their property...” To suggest that such a claim was ever made or that the organization would pursue legal action against others for using any particular word in a generic context or because they happen to be part of the name of a group or organization is as wrong as it is absurd. The Utah Filmmakers Association has also never claimed ownership of any “hashtag,” generic phrase, or common visual symbol.
Regarding the organization’s efforts to help promote, organize, and provide support for other local organizations and events:
The Utah Filmmakers Association—including its founder Joseph Puente—NEVER wanted, asked for, requested, demanded, tried to “manipulate,” attempted to “steal” from, sought to “leverage a partnership” with, nor otherwise tried to usurp “control” over any individual, organization, or event, for any reason, including the UTAH FILM FESTIVAL.
The Utah Filmmakers Association did consolidate several assets on behalf of the Utah Film Festival—similar services have been provided for other UFA Members, including Millquas Productions, Karen Flynn Entertainment, LLC, and Tiny Giant, LLC. The assets were presented to the festival organizers as part of an in-kind sponsorship proposal on November 14, 2022. The proposal—described as “in-kind” because no money was to be exchanged for it—was later withdrawn. The Utah Filmmakers Association then DONATED all of the assets directly to the founder of the Utah Film Festival, Warren Workman, who was provided with all the necessary forms to transfer ownership—completed, signed, and dated—as well as a check for $70 (which he deposited on January 24, 2023) to cover any administrative costs that might occur.
As stated in the December 22, 2022, cover letter that accompanied those documents,
“Ownership of the assets listed below will be transferred at no cost—expressed or implied—specifically to you, Warren Workman, in recognition of your ongoing contributions to the local film community and Utah’s film industry, your continued service as an Official Forum Administrator for the Utah Filmmakers™ Association, and all your efforts related to the development of the Utah Film Festival™...”
Regarding the organization’s dismissal of an Official Forum Moderator for cause:
On January 16, 2023, a meeting was held between members of UFA Leadership and Warren Workman to address some ethical concerns that had come to light in the previous weeks. The meeting agenda stated—in part:
“What do we want to accomplish?
“...To maintain—and hopefully strengthen—our professional relationship with Warren.
“Warren Workman is an excellent group Moderator, an effective Community Liaison, and his tireless efforts and those of his family have established the Utah Film Festival as a landmark event that motivates and inspires the local film community. We want to see Warren continue to serve in all of these capacities, actively engaging our group Members and social media followers with his entertaining and interactive posts, assessing the needs of local filmmakers, and continuing to promote the Utah Film Festival and its recurring community events.”
Unfortunately, following that meeting, and on the advice of legal counsel, Mr. Workman’s volunteer role of “Moderator” was changed to “Member”—without restrictions—because Mr. Workman had committed and/or was complicit in several infractions of the UFA Code of Ethics & Conduct. He is still recognized as a Community Member of the organization, and elements of the agenda statement above were repeated in Mr. Workman’s January 18, 2023, letter of dismissal.
Additionally, the letter included a sincere invitation for Mr. Workman to remain in the group:
“You’re welcome to continue utilizing the group as a resource as you always have—the highlights of your past participation in the group don’t even require being a moderator—and we look forward to seeing your continued participation as a UFA™ Community Member…”
Despite this request, Mr. Workman chose to leave the group and made the blatantly false statement that it was the organization’s choice to “...push me out of the film community…”
Regarding the organization exercising its legal right to protect its assets:
A cease and desist letter dated January 26, 2023, had NOTHING to do with the Utah Film Festival, and it did NOT ask for any amount of money for any reason or within any timeframe.
Several comments by third parties on Mr. Workman’s social media post, referenced above, were speculative, inaccurate, and jumped to erroneous conclusions that Mr. Workman—having personal knowledge and access to all relevant information—could have corrected but did not.
Not only was the content of the Cease and Desist letter misrepresented, but so were many of the events, actions, and communications that informed the decision to send it.
As of the date of publication of this statement, several of the steps required to avoid litigation have been rendered moot due to a combination of voluntary compliance with some steps and disregard for others by the respondents themselves and the enforcement of terms of service associated with third-party platforms. Moreover, the respondents quietly changed the name of their project on their social media accounts and other accounts without any litigation, settlement agreement, and/or court order, which is a subtle admission that our claims had merit.
The Utah Filmmakers Association has no immediate plans to pursue any litigation at this time and considers the matter essentially closed if not resolved to everyone's satisfaction.
Professionalism, Integrity, and Respect were chosen as the UFA’s Core Values because they are essential to any collaborative effort, private or public, charitable or commercial, functional or artistic.
Because of our commitment to these values and in the interest of full disclosure, this statement is accompanied by links to summaries, online facsimiles, and PDF copies of previously internal memoranda, communications, and analyses documented concurrently with the events leading up to this point.