On Saturday, September 19, Spy Hop takes on a bigger lawn for the first-ever Backyard Film Bash, an outdoor festival at Smith’s Ballpark from 3 to 10 p.m. with art, food, music, and film. The event is free and open to all ages.
“A great backyard gathering makes room for everyone. One more chair, one more plate, one more story,” says Larissa Trout, Spy Hop’s Executive Director. “That’s the kind of welcome we’re creating.”
Guests will encounter youth art, live performances, art vendors, food trucks, and hands-on experiences led by Spy Hop’s teaching artists and community partners. As evening settles over the field, the ballpark becomes an outdoor cinema for 12 finalist films from across the country. Prizes will recognize storytelling, creativity, and craft, including a $10,000 first-place award.
(Spy Hop, sponsored) | Spy Hop puts on an annual benefit event to provide free media arts education for 10,000 Utah youth, bringing transformational opportunities to our rising generation of artists, dreamers, and change-makers.
“Spy Hop is part of this neighborhood,” Trout says. “Our home in Central Ninth sits within a growing and changing community, and we wanted the Bash rooted here. Smith’s Ballpark feels open, welcoming, playful, and familiar. Families gather here. It feels like a backyard with fabulous sightlines.”
Utah’s cultural economy is growing. A 2024 Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute report, drawing on 2022 data, found Utah’s cultural industries generated $14.9 billion in direct spending and directly supported 69,820 jobs. Employment in motion picture and sound recording grew 35.5% between 2021 and 2022—the fastest rate in the nation.
Growth alone, however, does not create a public platform. For some finalists, the BFB will mark a first public screening before a live audience. “Artists entering these industries need welcoming places to experience their work alongside professionals, peers, and community partners,” Trout says. “A film can be made almost anywhere, but something changes on a big screen before live audiences. People lean in, laugh. That response says, ‘Your story belongs here in Utah.’”
(Spy Hop, sponsored) Tinted Noise performing at Spy Hop's Heatwave event in 2026
Access matters, too. “Keeping the BFB free is intentional,” Trout says. “Thousands can discover a musician, try a creative tool, meet an arts organization, or watch a film. Bring your people. Come play.”
At the center of BFB is a national challenge open to filmmakers across the country, with an emphasis on new voices and early-career storytellers. The assignment: Tell a complete story in seven minutes, including credits.
“This is what we do at Spy Hop,” Trout says. “We offer young artists a mentor, creative tools, and room to surprise us. Give artists a creative prompt or constraint, and something starts moving.”
Filmmakers must also incorporate the Signature Item. For the inaugural competition, that item is SALT. Each film has to make salt part of its story. When asked why the first Signature Item is salt, Trout laughed, “Why wouldn’t we start with salt? It’s a flavor booster, a texture, and a metaphor. Salt is literally on the tip of everyone’s tongue these days, and is wrapped into the very identity of Salt Lake City, Utah! This element places the competition squarely here while leaving plenty of room for filmmakers nationwide to take it in multiple directions.”
The runtime and prompt encourage filmmakers to make bold choices and work resourcefully. “At some point, you have to stop waiting for perfect conditions and start making,” Trout says. “Creative confidence grows through practice, but it also grows when communities take creative work seriously enough to gather around it.”
That philosophy comes from long practice. Since 1999, Spy Hop has mentored young people in film, music, audio, and design, helping thousands turn technical skills into confidence and first projects into creative careers. Its programs give young people hands-on experience while connecting them with mentors and peers who take their ideas seriously. The BFB carries that work beyond Spy Hop’s studios, giving emerging artists a public platform and the community a closer look at what young people are making—and what they imagine for the future.
(Spy Hop, sponsored) | Spy Hop gives kids and teens ages 8–25 a welcoming “third space” to build confidence, find their people, and discover real creative skills in film, music, audio, and design.
“We hope families spread out on the field, make art, enjoy music, and stay for the movies,” Trout says. “We hope everyone has an art moment; an appreciation or reminder of how creativity and art-making enrich our lives and communities. We hope a young person looks at that screen and thinks, maybe next year, mine. Sign up for classes at Spy Hop!”
The Backyard Film Bash invites filmmakers, families, artists, and neighbors to hang out with their neighborhood media arts center and see what’s possible when adults make room for youth voices. Free BFB tickets are available at spyhop.org.
Backyard Film Bash takes place Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, from 3–10 p.m. at Smith’s Ballpark, 77 W. 1300 South, Salt Lake City. Admission is free; tickets are available at spyhop.org.