Lights, Camera and a Whole Lot of Action
Larry Bywater surprised himself when he added up the numbers. “We’re showing 40 Weekend Film Series movies, 10 Sundance films, four Slamdance films, four Global Lens films and 10 Reel Classics. That’s almost 150 viewings in the Santy Auditorium each year and more than 20 percent of them are free.” Bywater, president of the Park City Film Council (PCFC) is referring to the 40 independent and small commercial films that screen on three weekend nights over a 10-month period, as well as the Sundance documentaries, the Best of Slamdance films and the Reel Classic series that fill up three monthly Thursdays. “We’re screening films at the Santy 14 or 15 evenings a month for 10 months each year!”
When the Park City Arts Council began showing independent films in 1994, the auditorium was open one night a week for sixteen weekends, according to Frank Normile, PCFC executive director. “In response to the demands of local residents to see more Sundance films, the arts council raised the community interest in starting a film series.”
From that beginning, PCFC now coordinates a menu of programs targeted to Park City’s interest in quality cinematography. They include:
The Weekend Film Series
In order to find films that fit the Park City market, Park City Film Board members visit movie Web sites; attend viewings; and read about or go to film festivals around the country to see which independent and small commercial films are getting attention and winning awards. “Some, but not all [of the films we select] come out of the Sundance Film Festival screenings,” says Bywater. “Collectively, we reach a list of potential films. We meet and discuss the collection to find what will work for our market, and what is available from our supplier.” Board members also look at the circulation of a given film to see if it has reached mass distribution or has been published on DVD, avoiding those that have already had wide exposure.
Sundance Documentaries
PCFC and The Sundance Institute have partnered to bring Sundance documentaries to the Santy Auditorium on the first Thursday of each month. Often a member of the film’s production staff attends the movie viewing and is available to interact with the audience for “Question and Answer” sessions after the screening.
Best of Slamdance
Once a year, the best films from the Slamdance Film Festival are shown to Park City audiences. The Slamdance Film Festival, which co-exists with the Sundance Film Festival each January in Park City, was created for the film industry to discover new talents. The highly acclaimed “Mad Hot Ballroom,” which premiered at Slamdance in 2005, was shown to Park City audiences through the Park City Film Series and later was widely released in commercial theaters.
Reel Classics
Reel Classics is an educational series, started in the spring of 2006, which offers quality classic films for viewing and audience discussion on the third Thursday of each month. Past showings have included Otto Preminger’s “Laura” and Alfred Hitchcock’s “Dial M for Murder.” This season’s series was kicked off by the screening of “Mildred Pierce,” a classic post-war film noir drama that earned an Oscar for its star, Joan Crawford.
Global Lens Series
With a limited screening each September, Park City is the happy recipient of the Salt Lake Film Society’s generous sharing of films from the Global Film Initiative, which promotes cross-cultural understanding through the medium of cinema. Showing films from such diverse locales as Brazil, Iran, and Mozambique, these award-winning films help to expand the filmgoer’s world view through the universal art of storytelling.
New Reel Competition
A single weekend of screenings provides local filmmakers a venue to show their work. This competitive series was created to expose local talent to the community.
New This Season
The film board is working in collaboration with the Salt Lake Film Society to add Spanish-language movies to its roster, providing entertainment and education to both Spanish and English viewers.
In a three-way partnership, PCFC, Sundance and the City of Park City have purchased a new projector, replacing the old one with a Mercury 5000 HD (High Definition). “The picture is sharp, the colors are warm and vivid and it’s light years ahead of what we had in quality,” says George Dymalski, PCFC member and projectionist.
Sundance Festival
In addition to the 10 months of screenings, the film board coordinates with Ken Davis, owner of Cows and Java Cow, to provide concessions at the Santy auditorium during the Sundance Festival. With an expanded service offered both in the ticket tent outside the theater as well as inside the building, drinks, snacks and sandwiches are offered from 6 a.m. to midnight during the 10 days of the festival, and is completely volunteer-driven.
Most local cinephiles, however, are aware of the cheap and varied concessions offered at all the week-end films in the Santy. Where else can film viewers enjoy great films with their families, friends and neighbors and get popcorn and a drink for pocket change?
Sedona Callahan is a Park City-based writer and photographer, and a member of the Park City Film Council.
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