Park City, UT — Sundance Institute today announced four of the five films that will be featured at eight free outdoor film screenings for the 2013 Sundance Institute Summer Series.  The Utah community is invited to vote online from July 1 to August 15 for the fifth film, which will be announced and screened in late August.

Now in its 16th year, the series kicks off on July 31 at Salt Lake City’s Red Butte Garden and August 2 on Main Street and at Canyons Resort  in Park City. All films have screened at the Sundance Film Festival or participated in the Institute’s artist-development programs such as the Directors Lab, the Documentary Editing and Storytelling Lab and the Film Composers Lab. All screenings are free of charge and seated on a first-come, first-served basis. Attendees are encouraged to bring picnic baskets and blankets to sit on.

Sarah Pearce, Co-Managing Director, Sundance Institute, said, “This year’s Summer Series pays tribute to the films the local community responded to at our Festivals, and we’re excited to invite the community to share in the programming. We look forward to enjoying these films with our neighbors and friends in Utah during the gorgeous summer months.” 

Sundance Institute is once again joining forces with other Utah-based organizations for the Summer Series. This year’s collaborators include Canyons Resort, Kimball Arts Festival, Park City Performing Arts Foundation and Red Butte Garden.

Films screening as part of the 2013 Sundance Institute Summer Series are:

Senna / UK (Director: Asif Kapadia) — The story of Ayrton Senna, perhaps the greatest race car driver who ever lived, is an epic tale that literally twists at every turn. Facing titanic struggles, he conquered Formula One and became a global icon who was idolized in his home country.

• Wednesday, July 31 at 9:00 p.m. at Red Butte Garden, Salt Lake City

Muscle Shoals / U.S.A. (Director: Greg ‘Freddy’ Camalier) — Down in Alabama Rick Hall founded FAME Studios and gave birth to the Muscle Shoals sound. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Gregg Allman, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Bono and others bear witness to the greatest untold American music story.

• Friday, August 2 at 9:00 p.m. at Town Lift Plaza, Park City – Sundance Institute is pleased to be part of the 44th Annual Kimball Arts Festival. More event details to follow.

Little Miss Sunshine / U.S.A., (Directors: Valerie Faris, Jonathan Dayton) — An eccentric family led by an unsuccessful motivational speaker father and a “pro-honesty” mother struggle to deal with building familial conflict.  When would-be beauty queen daughter Olive is invited to compete in the “Little Miss Sunshine” pageant in far-off California, the family piles into their rusted-out VW bus to rally behind her – with riotously funny results.

• Wednesday, August 21 at 9:00 p.m. at Red Butte Garden, Salt Lake City
• Friday, August 23 at 9:00 p.m. at Canyons Resort, Park City

The Summit / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Nick Ryan) — Twenty-four climbers converged at the last stop before summiting the most dangerous mountain on Earth. Forty-eight hours later, 11 had been killed or simply vanished. Had one, Ger McDonnell, stuck to the climbers’ code, he might still be alive.

• Wednesday, August 28 at 9:00 p.m. at Red Butte Garden, Salt Lake City
• Friday, August 30 at 9:00 p.m. at Canyons Resort, Park City

Utah Community Choice Film – Sundance Institute wants YOU to program the last film of the Summer Series.  From July 1 – August 15, visit www.Sundance.org/Utah to vote for your favorite film out of four past Sundance Film Festival crowd pleasers (Beasts of the Southern Wild, Garden State, Searching for Sugarman or Sound City).  The winning film will be announced in late August.

• Wednesday, September 4 at 9:00 p.m. at Red Butte Garden, Salt Lake City
• Friday, September 6 at 9:00 p.m. at Canyons Resort, Park City

Sundance Institute gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Principal Sponsor Zions Bank, and Community Supporters Canyons Resort, Promontory Foundation, Red Butte Garden, Salt Lake City Arts Council , Salt Lake County Economic Development, Salt Lake County Zap Tax Tier II, and Summit County RAP Tax.

For more information about Sundance Institute programming for Utah residents and to vote for the Utah Community Choice Film visit www.sundance.org/utah.

Sundance Institute
Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, Sundance Institute is a global, nonprofit cultural organization dedicated to nurturing artistic expression in film and theater, and to supporting intercultural dialogue between artists and audiences. The Institute promotes independent storytelling to unite, inform and inspire, regardless of geo-political, social, religious or cultural differences. Internationally recognized for its annual Sundance Film Festival and its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, film composers, playwrights and theatre artists, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as Born into Brothels, Trouble the Water, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Amreeka, An Inconvenient Truth, Spring Awakening, Light in the Piazza and Angels in America. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

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