The Sundance Institute is bringing back its free summer screenings for Utah audiences, pooling them into a single weekend to create what’s essentially a mini-festival of independent films.
Nine screenings — all movies that premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival in January — will happen over four days, July 26-29, the institute announced Tuesday. Some screenings will feature Q&As with filmmakers and actors involved with the films, as well as Utah artists.
Tickets are free, and can be reserved online at sundance.org/local-lens.
Here is the schedule of films:
Wednesday, July 26
(Netflix) Diver Alessia Zecchini appears in director Laura McGann's documentary "The Deepest Breath."
“The Deepest Breath” (U.K./Ireland), writer-director Laura McGann chronicles the career of champion freediver Alessia Zecchini as she attempts to break a world record, with the help of safety diver Stephan Keenan. The film debuts on Netflix on July 19. • 9 p.m., outdoors at Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre, 2188 Red Butte Canyon Road, Salt Lake City
Thursday, July 27
(Andrij Parekh | Roadside Attractions/Vertical Entertainment) A couple (Chiwetel Ejiofor, left, and Emilia Clarke, right) learn from a saleswoman (Rosalie Craig, center), about a new form of parenthood — a detachable artificial womb — in director Sophie Barthes' "The Pod Generation."
“The Pod Generation” (Belgium/France/U.K), written and directed by Sophie Barthes, set in the near future, when people can share their pregnancies by way of detachable artificial wombs, or “pods” — and what happens to a young couple, Rachel (Emilia Clarke) and Alvy (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who try it. • 9 p.m., outdoors at City Park, 1400 Sullivan Road, Park City.
Friday, July 28
Artists Event: “Filmmaking Deep Dive: Pitching Your Project,” in which four emerging filmmaking teams from Utah get a chance to pitch their feature-length projects to a panel of industry experts — including producers Andrea Meditch, Anish Savjani and Bob Moore, and Basil Tsiokos, senior programmer of the Sundance Film Festival. Moderated by Eugene Hernandez, director of the Sundance Film Festival and head of public programming. • 11 a.m., location to be announced, RSVP required.
(D. Smith | Magnet Releasing) Dominique Silver is one of the Black transgender sex workers profiled in director D. Smith's "Kokomo City."
“Kokomo City” (United States), director D. Smith’s unfiltered documentary about the lives of four Black transgender sex workers, told in their own words. • 7 p.m., Broadway Centre Cinemas, 111 E. 300 South, Salt Lake City.
(Parisa Taghizadeh | Focus Features) Priya Kansara plays an aspiring martial artist in writer-director Nida Manzoor's action comedy "Polite Society."
“Polite Society” (U.K.), writer-director Nida Manzoor’s fast and funny tale of a British-Pakistani teen (Priya Kansara) who aspires to be a stuntwoman, but must apply her martial arts skills to a more pressing matter: Keeping her older sister (Ritu Arya) from marrying a too-good-to-be-true young doctor. • 9 p.m., outdoors at City Park, 1400 Sullivan Road, Park City.
(Chananun Chotrungroj | Shudder) Marin Ireland, left, and Judy Reyes co-star in director Laura Moss' "birth/rebirth."
“birth/rebirth” (United States), writer-director Laura Moss’s dark horror thriller, about a single mom (Marin Ireland) and a morgue technician (Judy Reyes) who reanimate a little girl’s corpse, with horrifying consequences. • 11:30 p.m., Broadway Centre Cinemas, 111 E. 300 South, Salt Lake City.
Saturday, July 29
(Derek Howard | Dinky Pictures) Francine Coeytaux, a public health specialist, places a sticker to let women know about legally available abortion pills, in director Tracy Droz Tragos' documentary "Plan C."
“Plan C” (United States), director Tracy Droz Tragos’ riveting documentary, which follows the efforts of a grassroots network to expand access to abortion pills across the United States, as state laws change suddenly with the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Tragos will be on hand to introduce the film and participate in a post-screening Q&A. • 2 p.m., Megaplex Theatres at The Gateway, 400 W. 200 South, Salt Lake City.
“Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project” (United States), which won the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary films, by directors Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, is a lively biography of poet, social commentator, futurist and activist Nikki Giovanni — using archival footage, intimate vérité moments, and artfully made treatments of her writings. Brewster will introduce the film, and take part in a Q&A after the screening; before the screening, Michaëlle Martial, owner of Poetry on Main, will read Giovanni’s poetry and her own. • 5 p.m., Megaplex Theatres at Valley Fair Mall, 3620 S. 2400 West, West Valley City.
(Laura Valladao | Music Box Films) Anaita Wali Zada plays a former translator for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, now working in a fortune cookie factory in San Francisco, in director Babak Jalali's "Fremont."
“Fremont” (United States), a drama directed by Babak Jalali, who co-wrote with Carolina Cavalli, which follows a young Afghani woman (Anaita Wali Zada), a former translator for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, now working in a fortune cookie factory in San Francisco and struggling to rebuild her life. In a moment of revelation, she decides to send a message out in a cookie. Zada will introduce the film, and take part in a Q&A after the screening. • 8 p.m., Megaplex Theatres at Valley Fair Mall, 3620 S. 2400 West, West Valley City.
(Foothill Productions) A pig farm is one of the links in the global food system examined in director Laura Gabbert's documentary "Food and Country."
“Food and Country” (United States), director Laura Gabbert’s documentary that follows legendary food critic and editor Ruth Reichl as she works to report on America’s broken food system, and the innovators — small farmers, ranchers and chefs — risking their careers to transform it. The screening is presented by Slow Food Utah and Sundance Institute. • 9 p.m., outdoors at 3 Springs Land & Livestock, 580 W. Weber Canyon Road, Oakley.
