definition would exclude Brigham Young (1940) because its director, Henry Hathaway, was not a member of the church. That film, however, harbored obvious Mormon aspects; church leaders at the time even had a hand in its production. In the absence of definite criteria, the definition of Mormon cinema often shifts to reflect whatever is included in the annual LDS Film Festival. History Early 20th-century Mormon films Prior to the advent of filmmaking, a major shift occurred in the LDS Church from isolationism to a period of growth. In the 1890s, the practice of plural marriage ended, and Utah became a U.S. state. This context provided Mormons with a reason to begin making films once the technology presented itself; they wanted to portray contemporary Mormonism to a wide audience. The church produced institutional films shortly after the industry was born. Independently, however, Latter-day Saints were somewhat hesitant to adopt filmmaking as a method of storytelling. The early 20th-century leaders of the LDS Church warned members against the potentially detrimental effects of cinema on society. However, the abundance of sensationalist pictures with anti-Mormon themes during the silent film era resulted in the desire on the part of Mormons to combat these portrayals with their own. By 1913, an article in The Young Woman's Journal, a Latter-day Saint publication, declared that the new medium of film would "help the world at large to an understanding of our [Mormon] history." Subsequently, the 1920s saw a boom in theater construction in Utah and the number of Mormon moviegoers. By the 1930s and 40s, movies had become key component of Latter-day Saint life. Lester Card's Corianton: A Story of Unholy Love (1931) was the first film within the Mormon niche to be commercially released, though it disappointed both audiences and investors. Twentieth Century Fox's Brigham Young (1940) was much more successful; a celebration was held in Salt Lake City on the film's release date, and Brigham Young became the film with "the largest premiere in American history to that point." Silent film era Between the years 1905 and 1915, nineteen known movies portraying Mormonism were produced. These were not, however, made by Latter-day Saints; many were lurid tales of hypnotic missionaries and Western pioneer stories with storylines revolving around massacres or kidnappings. The LDS church worked with LDS and non-LDS directors alike to create films that painted the history of Utah and Mormonism in a more