From the beginning, this festival has aimed to provide attendees with not only a meaningful film-going experience, but also an educational one through its “master class educational seminars.” The originator of the festival idea, Phil Tuckett, serves as the director of DSU Films.

When he returned to his junior college (DSU) in 2006, after 38 years of working for NFL Films and receiving 30 Emmy Awards, he felt that the southern Utah area would serve as the perfect place to hold an international documentary film festival.

[3] After working for several months to make his vision come to fruition, Tuckett officially announced DOCUTAH on 24 September 2009.

The City of St. George, the St. George Convention and Tourism office, the City of Kanab, and Kane County’s Office of Tourism and Film Commission (along with the Center for Education, Business, and the Arts) were some of the first to support and sponsor DOCUTAH.

DOCUTAH has two separate film entry categories, one for general entrants and one for students.