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X-Dance Film Festival founder Brian Wimmer says his baby is all grown up and ready to go it alone.

The 12th annual GoPro X-Dance Action Sports Film Festival runs Jan. 12-15 in Salt Lake City, marking the first time the event will be affiliated with neither the granddaddy Sundance Film Festival, slated for Jan. 19-29 in Park City, nor the mega Outdoor Retailer Winter Market convention, running Jan. 18-22 at the Salt Palace Convention Center.

"We are breaking away," Wimmer said. "We acknowledge that Sundance was important initially, but we have grown up. We felt like we were in a position where our festival deserved its own spotlight. We timed it with Outdoor Retailer on purpose because we thought we could tap into a lot of the energy of that show, but those people are here to work."

This year's X-Dance, at Gateway's The Depot, includes 30 action-sport films from around the world, spotlighting surfing, skiing, kayaking, longboarding, climbing, cycling and snowboarding. In addition to world premieres and other screenings, the festival includes opening and closing parties and an awards ceremony. Filmmaker Jack McCoy will receive a lifetime achievement award.

All events and screenings are open to the public, something the festival's previous associations with Sundance and Outdoor Retailer made unclear. "There seems to be some lack of knowledge about X-Dance on the local level, but the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau is really stepping it up and helping us with a big outreach effort," Wimmer said. "The public is welcome. We want them to see what we have brought to Salt Lake. It's funny to look in the audience during screenings because you see athletes like Tony Hawk and Laird Hamilton just hanging out and watching with everybody else."

Each screening is followed by a Q-and-A session with producers, directors and athletes from the films.

Technological advances have lowered the bar for many would-be action-sport filmmakers and videographers, but it takes more than just a quest for adventure to make a film accepted by X-Dance, Wimmer said.

"This is probably one of our strongest lineups ever," he said. "The diversity and quality is exceptional. Young artists [if we put the right equipment in their hands] can do so many things we only dreamed about. Technology allows them to paint in colors that never existed before in this industry."

A good example is "All. I. Can" from Sherpas Cinema. The film is a spiritual journey of adventure skiing with a not-so-subtle environmental message about owning up to your personal impact. The film includes scenes of deep powder and steep chute skiing, as well as developing the theme of the clear connection skiers have with the planet, the seasons and each other.

For surfing fans, there's "A Deeper Shade of Blue" by McCoy, which explores the roots of the sport as seen through his eyes as a longtime action-sports filmmaker. Of special note is the screening of the music video "Blue Sway," produced by McCoy and featuring music by Paul McCartney.

Wimmer said more than 8,000 people attend X-Dance screenings annually. He hopes that number will grow this year, without the distraction of Sundance and Outdoor Retailer events. In the future, he expects the film festival could expand with another event in November. "And we will probably do some smaller version satellite tour at different action sport meccas, but we will always have Salt Lake as our home base."

brettp@sltrib.com; facebook.com/nowsaltlake —

X-Dance Action Sports Film Festival

The 12th annual GoPro X-Dance Action Sports Film Festival will be held Jan. 12-15; 30 feature and short films will be screened.

Where • The Depot, 13 N. 400 West, Salt Lake City.

Tickets • $8 per film, $5 for students, $15 for a day pass and $30 for a three-day pass; available at http://www.depotslc.com or at smithstix.

More • Each screening will include a Q-and-A with a combination of filmmakers, producers, directors and athletes.

Schedule • Visit x-dance.com for screening and event times.