Sundance Institute Public Programming

Photo taken by Jill Orschel

Step into the world of the Sundance Institute Artist Programs. From screenings and script readings to musical performances and discussions, we showcase work supported by Sundance Institute and give you an opportunity to meet the artists and discuss their work. These events are FREE and open to the public.

A Place at the Table (click for trailer)

Directed by Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush
84 min., color, 2012 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection

Free Community Screening

Friday, May 31, 8:00 P.M.

• Park City, Park City Library. Filmmaker to attend screening and will participate in a moderated discussion with the Utah Food Bank, Christian Center of Park City, and the YMCA of Northern Utah.

America has lost its way in taking care of its own. The shocking fact is that one in six Americans doesn’t get enough to eat on a regular basis. Even more disturbing is the fact that this new face of hunger is largely invisible. There are no breadlines in the streets, but increasing numbers of soup kitchens and food banks are feeding people who—though employed full-time—can’t make ends meet. A Place at the Table (Finding North) unveils the human stories behind the statistics: a rancher juggling two jobs and a small-town policeman rely on food pantries to survive between paychecks; a single working mom can’t afford consistent meals for her children; a short-order cook must travel more than an hour to purchase fruits and vegetables. As it unravels the real societal costs and applies transparency to the causes of this hunger crisis in the richest country in the world, Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush’s bracing film explores ways that we as a nation can correct this alarming and unnecessary state of affairs.

The Crash Reel (click for film clip)

Directed by Lucy Walker
109 min., color, 2013 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection

In collaboration with the Utah Film Center, part of the Through the Lens Series >> Learn More

Free Community Screenings

Wednesday, March 13, 7:00 P.M.

• Salt Lake City,  Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. Post screening Skype Q&A with Filmmaker Lucy Walker moderated by KUER’s Doug Fabrizio.
• Park City, Park City Library. Post screening Q&A with a moderated panel discussion. Presented in association with the Park City Film Series.
• Ogden, Peery’s Egyptian Theatre. Post screening Q&A with a moderated panel discussion.
• Sundance Resort Screening Room

This eye-popping, yet intimate, story of U.S. champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce uses years of vérité footage to expose the excitement and appeal, as well as the high stakes, of participating in extreme-action sports. Training to compete against longtime rival Shaun White at the 2010 Winter Olympics, Kevin suffered severe traumatic brain injury from a 2009 accident in Park City, Utah. His tight-knit Vermont family flew to his side, and together they began an intensive process of trying to rehabilitate him and help him rebuild his permanently damaged life. Kevin’s determination and the tireless support of family and friends kept him focused on recovery. But when he insisted he wanted to return to the sport he loved, his family objected. As an elite athlete, Kevin was a professional risk taker, but as a brain-injury survivor, his skills were now impaired, and even a small blow to the head could kill him.

Photo taken by Grant Britain

Bones Brigade: An Autobiography (click for film clip)

Directed by Stacy Peralta
90 min., color, 2012 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection

August 1, 2012, 8:45 p.m., Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre, Salt Lake City
August 3, 2012, City Park, Park City, in collaboration with Kimball Arts Festival and Park City Recreation

Take a walk down any street in any town, and you are destined to see someone riding a skateboard. Well, it wasn't always like that. In the early '80s, skateboarding was fading away until Stacy Peralta brought a profoundly talented group of outsiders together and dubbed them the Bones Brigade. Using archival footage and first-person accounts from Brigade members Steve Caballero, Tony Hawk, and Rodney Mullen, among others, Bones Brigade: An Autobiography chronicles the group's epic rise. Through passion, drive, creativity, and a surprising sense of teamwork, they revitalized the sport and influenced generations to come.

Napoleon Dynamite (click for trailer)

Directed by Jared Hess
86 min., color, 2012 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection

August 9, 2004, 9:00 p.m. (film begins at sunset), Canyons Resort, Park City

Napoleon Dynamite's his name … don't wear it out. From the rural town of Preston, Idaho, comes one of the most memorable screen characters in recent memory. With a tight red 'fro, some sweet moon boots, and illegal government ninja moves, he is a new kind of hero. Napoleon Dynamite is a modest film made with a ton of heart, and, like all great comedies, the genius is in the details. Jon Heder gives a truly awe-inspiring performance as the titular character. Writer/director Jared Hess and cowriter wife Jerusha Hess flesh out the world and the characters so brilliantly that it takes multiple viewings to truly savor the magnificence that is Napoleon Dynamite.

500 Days of Summmer (click for trailer)

Directed by Marc Webb
95 min., color, 2009 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection

August 23, 2012, 9:00 p.m. (film begins at sunset), Canyons Resort, Park City

The freshness of Marc Webb’s love-me/love-me-not story is epitomized by its perfectly framed tag lines…Boy meets Girl—Boy falls in love—Girl doesn’t. What else can you say about a postmodern love story? Directed with verve, pace, and confidence by first-time filmmaker Webb, 500 Days of Summer never descends into ordinary romance. The typical premise of the love story—that we want what we can’t have—is fueled by a role reversal (it’s the woman who doesn’t want to commit) and energized by dance numbers, split screens, and two dynamic performances from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. For a new generation of storytellers, 500 Days of Summer is destined to be a template for the future of romantic inspiration.

Sundance Institute gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Principal Sponsor Zions Bank, Community Supporters Salt Lake Convention and Visitor Bureau, Salt Lake County, Salt Lake County Zoo Arts and Parks, Summit County Recreation Arts and Parks, Canyons Resort, Park City Municipal, Promontory Foundation, Red Butte Garden & Arboretum.

If you are interested in partnering with Sundance Institute to put on a community event, please fill out the application here and email it to UtahCommunity@Sundance.org.