How do you survive the mud season? By tucking into a healthy dose of adventure films and independent storytelling via the Wasatch Mountain Film Festival and Park City Film Series. Here's what's in store for the month of April. 

Wasatch Mountain Film Festival

Returning in full force, the 2018 Wasatch Mountain Film Festival runs from April 2-8 and will feature 72 adventure and environmental films. While a majority of the festival will be in Salt Lake City at the Leonardo and UMOCA, there will be two days in Park City (April 2 and 4). 

April 2 - Opening Night in Park City 

Opening night of the festival kicks off in style at the Park City Library with a Pre-Show Party at 6 p.m. featuring a live performance by Bill N Diane plus a meet and greet with athletes, filmmakers, and outdoor sponsors. At 7 p.m., the two screenings will get under way.

The Space Within, Directed by Frank Pickell

This short film follows a young boy finds a mysterious treasure washed up on the shore while exploring tidepools on a deserted tropical beach. 

Blood Road, Directed by Nicholas Schrunk

One of the 2018 Wasatch Film Festival Feature Film Nominees, Blood Road follows ultra endurance mountain biker Rebecca Rusch (who will be in attendance) as she pedals her way along the 1,200 arduous miles of the Ho Chi Minh Trial with her Vietnamese riding partner Huyen Nguyen. Her quest: to find the final resting spot of her father, a U.S. Air Force pilot who was shot down over Laos 40 years earlier. While making their way through the dense jungles of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, the two women reflect on the different ways the Vietnam War affected each country and themselves. 

April 4 - Family Night in Park City

The festival returns to Park City for its third day with a program especially for families. Bad Dog Arts will be on hand at 6 p.m. for the Pre-Show Party to help kids get crafting and festival guests Hawkwatch International will be sharing their work with raptors. Screenings will start at 7 p.m.; the schedule for the night is as follows: 

Wild Ice - Backcountry Skating Alaska, Produced by Cale Green and Paxson Woelber

Alaska's backcountry skating community hunt for wild ice on rivers, lakes, glacial lagoons, and caves in south-central and southeast Alaska. 

Shift, Directed by Kelly Milner

Nominated for the festival's Social Awareness Award, this documentary follows the indigenous youth of Carcross, Yukon who have spent the past 10 years transforming traditional trails to a world-class mountain biking destination. 

Sky Migrations, Directed by Charles Post, Forrest Woodward and Max Lowe

Nominated for the Environmental Award, this film explores the fifty year efforts of biologists and passionate volunteers to save golden eagles from extinction. The directors follow the golden eagles for thousands of miles (a fraction of the birds' entire route) to find out how the cumulative work of conservationists have made a tremendous difference.  

INTERMISSION

Brothers, Directed by Randy Kerr

Set in the Pacific Northwest, three brothers find refuge and redemption from their troubled home through their love of fly-fishing for steelhead and the enduring relationships they forge on the river.

The Canoe, Directed by Goh Iromoto

Interweaving the stories of five paddlers, The Canoe explores how this simple water vessel can create deep and meaningful connections against the majestic backdrop or Ontario, Canada. This film is nominated for the festival's Cinematography Award.

Break On Through, Directed by Matty Hong, Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen

Little known climber Margo Hayes pushes her body to the limit as she attempts to become the first female climber to complete a 5.15. 

For more information on the films, screenings, and tickets, visit the Wasatch Mountain Film Festival website. 

Park City Film Series

Apr. 6-8: A Fantastic Woman - Fri./Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 6 p.m.

Winner of Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film this year, A Fantastic Woman explores female solitude, sexuality, and resilience around transgender singer Marina. After her lover Orlando suddenly dies, Marina must confront his family and society to show them who she is: a complex, strong, forthright, fantastic woman. 

Apr. 7: Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie - 4 p.m. (Free)

Dav Pilkey's children's novel series comes to life, following fourth-grade pranksters George and Harold who hypnotize their humorless principal into thinking he's a superhero.

Apr. 9-13: Spring Break Film Series - 4 p.m. Daily (Free)

Looking for a way to keep the kiddos entertained after the resorts are closed? PCFS hosts free, family-friendly daily screenings during spring break. 

• Monday, April 9 - Cinderella (PG) at 4pm
• Tuesday, April 10 - Revolting Rhymes (PG) at 4pm
• Wednesday, April 11 - Wall-E (G) at 4pm
• Thursday, April 12 - Leap! (PG) at 4pm
• Friday, April 13 - Wonder (PG) at 4pm

Apr. 14: Tales of the Night - 4 p.m.

Renowned animation auteur Michel Ocelot (Kirikou and the Sorceress, Azur & Asmar)’s first foray into 3D animation weaves together six exotic fables, from Tibet, to medieval Europe, an Aztec kingdom, the African plains, and the Land of the Dead. Enchanted lands populated by dragons, werewolves, princesses, sorcerers, and more come to life with exquisite Day-Glo backgrounds bursting with color and kaleidoscopic patterns. Screened in French with English subtitles. 

Apr. 18: National Theatre Live - Julius Caesar - 7 p.m.

Starring Ben Whishaw (The Danish Girl, Skyfall, Hamlet) and Michelle Fairley (Fortitude, Game of Thrones) as Brutus and Cassius, David Calder (The Lost City of Z, The Hatton Garden Job) as Caesar and David Morrissey (The Missing, Hangmen, The Walking Dead) as Mark Antony, this live broadcast from The Bridge Theatre in London thrusts the audience into the street party that greets Caesar’s return, the congress that witnesses his murder, the rally that assembles for his funeral and the chaos that explodes in its wake.

Apr. 19: Happening: A Clean Energy Revolution - 7 p.m.

Filmmaker James Redford explores the dawn of the clean energy era by visiting unlikely entrepreneurs in communities form Georgetown, TX to Buffalo, NY. Going beyond technology and innovation, the film touches on themes like human resilience, social justice, embracing the future, and finding hope for our survival.

Pre-film Resource Fair showcasing clean energy and low carbon initiatives in Summit County. Post-film Q&A via Skype with Director James Redford, moderated by Sharon Anderson-Morris of FiReFilms. Presented in partnership with the Summit County Sustainability and FiReFilms.

Apr. 20-22: Foxtrot - Fri./Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 6 p.m.

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, Foxtrot follows Michael and Dafna as they experience gut-wrenching grief after army officials inform them of their son Jonathan's death. As his sedated wife rests, Michael turns to anger, only to experience one of life's unfathomable twists – a twist that can only be rivaled by the surreal military experiences of his son.

Apr. 25: Bugs - 7 p.m. (Free)

Could eating insects be the solution to impending global food shortages? Bugs is both an artful and thoughtful documentary that follows brave food adventurers for three years as they visit forward-thinking chefs, environmentalists, and food scientists around to globe to put a everything from termite queens to desert-delicacy honey ants, venomous giant hornets, and long-horned grasshoppers. But will industrially produced insects remain as diverse and resilient as they are in their ecosystems and cuisines around the world. 

Apr. 27-29: The Death of Stalin - Fri./Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 6 p.m.

From the producer and writer of the hit series VEEP, this hilarious retelling of the frantic power struggle that follows the death of tyrannical dictator Joseph Stalin is a must see. Palace intrigue and rapid-fire farce  are the rule as contending bureaucrats: the dweeby Georgy Malenkov, the wily Nikita Khrushchev, and the sadistic secret police chief Lavrentiy Beria. But as they bumble, brawl, and backstab their way to the top, just who is running the government?