Salt Lake City's youth media nonprofit Spy Hop is turning the outfield grass of the old Smith's Ballpark into a movie theater for a night. The inaugural Backyard Film Bash lands at the former home of the Salt Lake Bees on September 19, running from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. and screening 12 finalist films from across the country for a $10,000 first-place prize, all free and open to the public.
The event is Spy Hop's first-ever Backyard Film Bash, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Spy Hop, based in Salt Lake City's Central Ninth district, has offered free media arts education and mentored young people in film, music, audio, and design since 1999, per the same report. The nonprofit's Backyard Film Bash National Challenge invited filmmakers of any age from across the country to submit work, with one catch: every entry had to tell a complete story in seven minutes, including credits, and incorporate this year's signature item, salt.
Spy Hop's executive director, Larissa Trout, said keeping the festival free is intentional, according to the Tribune's report. “Artists entering these industries need welcoming places to experience their work alongside professionals, peers, and community partners,” Trout said, per the same account. She added that the Backyard Film Bash is meant to welcome everyone, and that it will give emerging artists a public platform, with some finalists getting their first-ever screening before a live audience.
A Stadium in Transition Finds a Second Life
The choice of venue is no accident. The Salt Lake Bees wrapped up a 30-year run at Smith's Ballpark at the end of the 2024 season before opening their 2025 season at the new 8,000-seat Ballpark at America First Square in South Jordan, as Hoodline has reported. That departure left the 14-acre stadium site searching for a new purpose, and Spy Hop describes the ballpark as a place that feels open, welcoming, playful, and familiar, according to the Tribune's account.
In December 2025, the Salt Lake City Council, acting as the board for the city's Community Reinvestment Agency, unanimously approved the “Ballpark NEXT” design plan for the site, according to Building Salt Lake. The adaptive-reuse strategy preserves part of the stadium grandstand for an outdoor community entertainment venue while adding residential housing, a public library, and green space. Spy Hop's festival follows Hoodline's recent coverage of the Utah Arts Alliance bringing its 16th annual Urban Arts Festival to Smith's Ballpark in August.
What's Happening on the Field
Spy Hop's Backyard Film Bash will pack the grounds at 77 W. 1300 South with more than screenings. Organizers describe a lineup that includes art, food, music, film, youth art, live performances, art vendors, food trucks, and hands-on experiences led by Spy Hop teaching artists and community partners, according to the Tribune. The festival is open to all ages and is pitched at filmmakers, families, artists, and neighbors alike, with tickets available through spyhop.org even though admission is free.
Spy Hop's mission centers on connecting young people with mentors, creative tools, and room to experiment, giving kids and teens ages 8 to 25 a welcoming third space, per the Tribune's reporting. The nonprofit says it serves 10,000 Utah youth and offers free media arts education across film, music, audio, and design. That mission got a major financial boost in June 2021, when philanthropist MacKenzie Scott donated $3 million to Spy Hop, the largest single gift in the organization's history, according to Wikipedia. Spy Hop is based in Salt Lake City's Central Ninth district.
A Quarter-Century of Youth Storytelling
Spy Hop was founded in 1999 by Rick Wray and Erik Dodd, starting with a single 12-student documentary project before growing into the organization now hosting a citywide festival. In November 2015, the group was honored at the White House by First Lady Michelle Obama with the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, according to Wikipedia. The Backyard Film Bash National Challenge builds on that legacy by emphasizing new voices and early-career storytellers, giving festival finalists a shot at their first public screening in front of a live audience.
Riding a Bigger Wave in Utah's Creative Economy
The festival arrives as Utah's cultural and film industries show sustained growth. Utah's motion picture and sound recording employment grew 35.5% between 2021 and 2022, according to a 2024 Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute report cited by the Tribune. The same report found that Utah's cultural industries supported 69,820 direct jobs and generated $14.9 billion in direct spending in 2022.
State lawmakers have leaned into that growth. In March 2022, the Utah Legislature passed S.B. 49, expanding the Motion Picture Incentive Program with an additional $12 million available for two years for productions that spend at least 75% of their production days in a rural Utah county, according to the Utah Film Commission. A 2021 economic impact study commissioned by the Motion Picture Association of Utah and cited by the commission found that every $1 spent on state film tax incentives returns $7 to Utah's economy. Utah marked its state film centennial in 2024, celebrating 100 years since the 1924 premieres of the silent films The Covered Wagon and The Deadwood Coach alongside the film commission's 50th anniversary.
Utah's film sector is part of the state's broader creative economy. Against that backdrop, Spy Hop's Backyard Film Bash offers a hyper-local counterpoint: a free stage at a repurposed ballpark where thousands can discover musicians, creative tools, and arts organizations without spending a dime.
