Park City Film engages the community through a variety of programming, from their weekend film series to foreign language immersion for children. Pictured here: the annual Filmmakers Showcase, featuring projects made in Utah.

Image: Park City Film Series

In a majority of small towns across the country, if you're looking to catch a film in the theaters, the movie options are typically limited to the latest big-budget blockbusters. Thankfully for cinephiles in Park City, this isn't the case. Sure, the long and storied relationship with the Sundance Film Festival puts our town at the forefront of the film world for a couple of weeks every year, but the work of connecting the community to independent cinema and thought-provoking documentaries year round is primarily carried out by the non-profit art house cinema Park City Film.

Known as the Park City Film Series (after their flagship weekend film series) until this month, the independent film gem recently rebranded under the new name of Park City Film in an effort to better describe who they are and what they do in the community. "Over the past years, we've been building out our community programs and have been more intentional about the curation process," explains Executive Director Katharine Wang. "We've simply outgrown the 'film series.' Shifting the name brings attention to the diversity of programs." Since Wang started working with the organization, Park City Film has expanded beyond the weekend screenings, developing a multitude of film programs including the Reel Community Series, Art On Screen, Made In Utah, and kids-specific: Books 2 Movies, Foreign Cinema for Kids, and school-break screenings.

Park City Film's ongoing mission to engage the community in a meaningful way is at the heart of all the efforts. As Park City continues to change, the non-profit is attempting to keep pace looking for ways to reach more people and expand access to the arts. This includes offering discounted tickets to SNAP card holders and their families and a recent endeavor with the Sundance Institute to provide assisted listening devices for all of the films, closed captions, and audio descriptions. So what of Netflix and other streaming services that have made films more accessible at home? Wang insists watching films together in a theater is still critical to community engagement. "As access has grown online, we've become isolated. Indie cinema is the antidote," says Wang. "Indie storytelling brings to light the local and national zeitgeist we don't see in normal theaters. With Park City Film we create a physical place to bring us together, start conversations, unpack issues, and reinforce emotions." To that end, Park City Film is constantly searching for opportunities to collaborate, bring in panels of speakers, and engage with underrepresented members of the community, particularly women and minorities.

On November 8 at 7 p.m., Park City Film hosts its 13th Annual Filmmakers Showcase. The event is free and includes more than a dozen short films produced in Utah. There will be a reception and art exhibit ahead of the screenings at 6 p.m. See below for Park City Film's full line-up this November.

If you'd like to support independent cinema and the work Park City Film does, consider donating to the non-profit this year during the annual Live PC, Give PC fundraising event (donate here). If you love the screenings, consider becoming a member. Membership includes discounted tickets and invitations to member-only events. See you at the movies!

Park City Film, Community, Film, Non-profits, Arts

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