Donald R. Marshall

One of the founders of modern Mormon literature is Donald R. Marshall, who passed away October 25, 2022. A gathering is planned in his honor for July 1 in Provo, Utah, titled "A Celebration of the Life and Impact of Donald R. Marshall, 1934-2022". He personified creation as a maker of fiction, non-fiction, painting, photography, music composition, theater directing, and criticism. At his death remains unfinished a manuscript of tremendous importance to the field of cinema: interviews with dozens of the world’s greatest film directors of the 20th century, often conducted before fame (and self-censorship) changed them. For his BYU job of running International Cinema, he visited the major global film festivals, traveling almost constantly. He often slept often on my studio apartment floor on his way to and from festivals. He once told me a story of how he edited out “objectionable” content before showing foreign films at BYU. He would cut out swear words and scenes of nudity and violence, and then he would splice them back in before returning the rented reels. But to keep track of it all, he would tack the errant strips to a board in his office with the swear word, the revealed body part, or whatever labeled with a post-it note prompt. He laughed telling me how anyone visiting his office potentially could have received quite an education. – Glen Nelson (The celebration is to be held July 1, 2023, Rock Canyon Ward Relief Society Room, 3-5:00 p.m.)