October 3, 2025, 11:00 AM
Silco Theater
311 North Bullard Street, Silver City, NM 88061
SILVER CITY, NM — Next month, in addition to showcasing 58 independently produced regional films, the Silver City Film Festival will host several events aimed at nurturing the filmmakers themselves.
On Friday, Oct. 3, award-winning independent filmmaker Jill Orschel will screen her recently completed documentary, "Snowland." The film paints a vivid portrait of one woman's life within a polygamous cult and her battle to gain independence. The carefully crafted narrative follows Cora Witt's, journey from child-bride and mother of eight children to successful artist and author.
Over more than 10 years, Orschel gained unprecedented access to the notoriously secretive Short Creek enclave on the Utah/Arizona border where she filmed a series of intimate interviews with Witt about her experiences including her marriage at age 14 and the challenges she faced raising her own, and a sister-wife's children.
Orschel continued gathering footage as Witt tried to extract herself from her forced marriage and endured pushback from the fundamentalist community.
In the meantime, Orschel's role as a filmmaker was evolving too. She went from handling all aspects of the project herself, to bringing on collaborators, including an animator, an editor, sound engineers and a composer. With a finish line finally in sight, Orschel also took on responsibilities for fundraising and promoting "Snowland," essentially expanding her duties to that of producer.
In 2022, her deep commitment was recognized by Mountainfilm, a Telluride, Colorado nonprofit that supports socially, politically and culturally themed documentaries. The organization awarded her a substantial grant to help complete the film which is currently screening at numerous film festivals around the country. In February, Snowland earned a finalist award at the prestigious Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Missoula, Montana.
Orschel's films have achieved recognition in numerous regional and international festivals including Sundance and SXSW. In Utah she is also known as a tireless champion for emerging filmmakers, having established a popular Local Filmmakers Showcase that gave many first-time filmmakers the opportunity to see their work on a big screen. The annual event attracted enthusiastic audiences in Park City for over 15 years.
Orschel's passion for independent filmmaking and her experience with nearly every aspect of the craft — from earning a masters degree in the field to serving as a staff photographer for the Sundance Film Festival, volunteering as a hometown movie projectionist and ultimately becoming an award winning producer and director herself — is contagious.
"I'm very excited to share this documentary in Silver City and speak about the collaborations and community efforts that brought this film to the finish line," Orschel said.
Attendees will have the option to include a lunch box from Diane's Bakery & Deli when purchasing advance tickets for this event, including a choice of a turkey, ham or veggie sandwich, chips and a cookie.
Tickets for Orschel's presentation and discussion about "Snowland" at the Silco on Oct. 3 at 11 a.m. are $5, or $20 for the lunch box option, and available through the Silver City Film Festival's website: silvercityfilmfest.org
In addition to her presentation on Friday, Orschel will join the festival's panel "Creative Collaboration and Community in Filmmaking" on Saturday Oct. 4 at 10 a.m. at The Silco Theater. Admission to the panel on Saturday, Oct. 4, is free.
For more information about the Silver City Community Film Festival, visit the website silvercityfilmfest.org and follow the event on Facebook and Instagram.
