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.

Photo taken by Luise Gubb

Under African Skies (click for trailer)

Directed by Joe Berlinger
102 min., color & b/w, 2012 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection

June 20, 2012 9:00 p.m., Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre, Salt Lake City
June 21, 2012 9:00p.m., Canyons Resort Plaza, Park City

Paul Simon's historic Graceland album sold millions of copies and united cultures, yet divided world opinion on the boundaries of art, politics, and commerce. On the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Graceland's release, Simon returns to South Africa for a reunion concert that unearths the turbulent birth of the album. Despite its huge success as a popular fusion of American and African musical styles, Graceland spawned intense political crossfire.

Renowned filmmaker Joe Berlinger brilliantly intertwines both sides of a complex story as Simon revisits old ghosts and gains insights on his own musical journey.

CSNY Déjà Vu (click for trailer)

Directed by Bernard Shakey
96 min., color, 2008 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection

July 11, 2012, 9:00 p.m., Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre, Salt Lake City
July 12, 2012, 9:00 p.m., Canyons Resort Plaza, Park City

Part performance, part commentary, and very much a call for activism, CSNY Déjà Vu documents Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young's 2006 Freedom of Speech Tour. Featuring music from Neil Young's controversial album Living with War, this evocative and edgy film documents reactions from fans to a band that has remained committed to issues of politics and art for more than four decades.

Photo taken by John Castillo

Filly Brown (click for trailer)

Directed by Youssef Delara, Michael D. Olmos
100 min., color, 2012 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection

July 25, 2012, 9:00 p.m., Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre, Salt Lake City
July 26, 2012, 9:00 p.m., Canyons Resort Plaza, Park City

"Majo" Tonorio, a.k.a. Filly Brown, is a raw, young Los Angeles hip-hop artist who spits from the heart. When a sleazy record producer offers her a crack at rap stardom, Majo faces some daunting choices. With an incarcerated mother, a record contract could be the ticket out for her struggling family. But taking the deal means selling out her talent and the true friends who helped her to the cusp of success.

A portrait of an artist forced to discover her authentic voice, Filly Brown percolates with the raw energy of hope sprung from desperation.

Photo taken by Grant Britain

Bones Brigade: An Autobiography (click for trailer)

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, 8:45 p.m., City Park, Park City, In Collaboration with Kimball Arts Festival

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.

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.