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.

Senna (click for trailer)

Directed by Asif Kapadia
104 min., color, 2011 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection

Free Community Screening

Wednesday, July 31, 2013, 9:00 p.m., Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre, Salt Lake City

The story of Ayrton Senna, perhaps the greatest race car driver who ever lived, is an epic tale that literally twists at every turn. In the mid 1980s, Senna, a young, gifted driver, exploded onto the world of Formula One racing. As a Brazilian in a predominantly European sport, a purist in a world polluted with backroom deals, and a man of faith in an arena filled with cynicism, Senna had to fight hard—both on and off the track. Facing titanic struggles, he conquered Formula One and became a global icon who was idolized in his home country.

Muscle Shoals (click for trailer)

Directed by Greg "Freddy" Camalier
111 min., color + b/w, 2013 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection

Free Community Screening

Friday August 2, 2013, Park City, in collaboration with Kimball Arts Festival and Park City Performing Arts Foundation

In a tiny Alabama town with the curious name of Muscle Shoals, something miraculous sprang from the mud of the Tennessee River. A group of unassuming, yet incredibly talented, locals came together and spawned some of the greatest music of all time: “Mustang Sally,” “I Never Loved a Man,” “Wild Horses,” and many more. During the most incendiary periods of racial hostility, white folks and black folks came together to create music that would last for generations and gave birth to the incomparable “Muscle Shoals sound.” At the heart of the story is Rick Hall; overcoming crushing hardship, he managed to entice talent like Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett to come and record what became their hit albums, backed up by the funkiest white men ever—the homegrown house band, the Swampers. As the word spread about the electrifying musical chemistry in this unexpected place, the likes of Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, the Staples Singers, the Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Simon and Garfunkel magnetically followed suit. Interviewing an incredible roster of musicians, director Greg Camalier unearths a rich history of this unheralded gold mine of American music.

Little Miss Sunshine (click for trailer)

Directed by Jonathon Dayton and Valerie Faris
100 min., color, 2006 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection

Free Community Screening

Wednesday, August 21, 2013, 9:00 p.m., Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre
Friday, August 23, 2013, 9:00 p.m., Canyons Resort

Meet the Hoover family: Olive, a seven-year-old, slightly pudgy, aspiring beauty queen; her father, Richard, a struggling motivational speaker who can't help but push; and her mom, Sheryl, who has to bring her Proust scholar/brother, Frank, home after his failed suicide attempt. Frank has to stay with Sheryl's Nietzsche-worshiping son, Dwayne, who has taken a vow of silence until he is old enough to be a fighter pilot. Then there's Grandpa, recently kicked out of his nursing home for snorting heroin.

When they are all forced to hop into the old VW bus to take Olive to the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant, this is either a portrait of the most dysfunctional family you've ever seen or the absolutely hilarious tragicomic journey of a family whose lives are in for a change. 

The Summit (click for trailer)

Directed by Nick Ryan
98 min., color, 2013 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection

Free Community Screening

Wednesday, August 28, 2013, 9:00 p.m., Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre
Friday, August 30, 2013, 9:00 p.m., Canyons Resort

Although K2 is only the second-highest peak in the world, it is renowned as the most dangerous and revered by mountaineers as their ultimate challenge. In August 2008, 18 of 24 climbers reached the summit of K2. Forty-eight hours later, 11 people were dead. What happened on that fateful day has never been resolved. Utilizing found footage, interviews with survivors, and seamlessly realistic reenactments, The Summit zigzags back and forth in time, interweaving multiple narrative threads and piecing together events, hoping to solve the mystery of what actually happened on that day—the deadliest in mountain-climbing history. At the heart of the mystery is the story of Ger McDonnell, one extraordinary man who chose to risk his own life to save others. With the help of breathtaking cinematography by Robbie Ryan and Stephen O’Reilly, director Nick Ryan creates a tension-filled, experiential film that will have viewers on the edge of their seats.The Summit pits Man against Mother Nature in her most majestic and terrifying extreme.

Community Choice

Free Community Screening

Wednesday, September 4, 2013, 9:00 p.m., Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre
Friday, September 6, 2013, 9:00 p.m., Canyons Resort

Sundance Institute wants #SundanceLocals to program the fourth film of our Summer Series. Voting will begin on July 1, 2013. Vote online or at Summer Series screenings.

Screenings From Earlier This Year...

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.

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.