“We want to celebrate the local filmmaking community and bring people together for conversations and show these great films to audiences,”
Katharine Wang, Executive Director of Park City Film, talks about the purpose of the Made In Utah: Film Showcase. The Made In Utah: Film Showcase, a free evening of short film screenings, will take place on Friday, June 13, at the Park City Library’s Jim Santy Auditorium, 1255 Park Ave. The event starts at 7 p.m. and will feature 10 short films, a mix of narratives and documentaries.
- “We keep them, and that’s why we want to do more things later,”
- “So, this will be a kick off for more events under the Made In Utah umbrella,”
- “Our intent is to host two or three a year in various formations going forward,”
Wang explained that the showcase has been revamped under the Made In Utah program umbrella, which aims to celebrate the local filmmaking community and bring people together for conversations and show these great films to audiences. “Getting independent films in front of audiences is always a challenge,” Wang said. “Now it’s more than ever because so many things go online and it’s sometimes hard to access them.”
The event will feature films from returning filmmakers as well as new ones. Some of the featured filmmakers include Arthur Veenema, Amy MacDonald, and Celeste Chaney. Their films, “Through Thin Ice,” “Illusion of Abundance,” and “From Way Up Here,” respectively, will be screened during the event. “This is a great way to get involved with the arts or support the arts as an audience member,” Wang said. “Local filmmakers always tell us that they’ve heard about this person or that person and they finally get to meet them,”
The showcase also features a filmmakers lounge after the screenings, where audience members, filmmakers, and other creatives can come together for some food and drinks and discuss the films and art of filmmaking.
Wang explained that the Made In Utah program is the next iteration of the annual Filmmaker’s Showcase that was created by local filmmaker Jill Orschel in 2005. “Jill, a local filmmaker in town who had some films in Sundance and other film festivals, started the showcase, and her intent at the time was to create a place where people could connect with each other and have their works seen,”
The Filmmaker’s Showcase evolved, and Orschel retired as its director in 2022, Wang said. “Park City Film wanted to keep things going with Jill’s blessing,” she said. “So this is like the Film Showcase 2.0, and it’s under our Made In Utah program umbrella.”
“We want to celebrate the local filmmaking community and bring people together for conversations and show these great films to audiences,” Wang said.
The departure of the Sundance Film Festival in 2026, after more than four decades in Park City, is a factor in keeping the Film Showcase alive, Wang said. “Sundance is a huge loss for all of us, but as creative people do, we are hard at work making sure we can continue the legacy, love and vibrancy,” Wang said.
Wang thanks the Utah Film Commission for underwriting the Made In Utah: Film Showcase. “They have been a great sponsor over the years, and they have been a great supporter of us,” she said. Registration is recommended but not required for the Made In Utah: Film Showcase. It can be done at tinyurl.com/ya8tpe2z. “It just lets us know you’re coming,” Wang said. “We’ll have concessions for sale, as well as beer and wine for purchase.”
The showcase also caps off a week of free films Park City Film will screen in partnership with other organizations. Other films include Gregory Kershaw and Michael Dweck’s “Gaucho Gaucho,” rated PG, in Spanish with English subtitles, and Jennie Livingston’s “Paris Is Burning,” rated R, as part of the Latino Arts Festival and Summit Pride’s Pride Month programming, respectively. This is the end of our scheduled season, and to have the showcase is a beautiful coda, a nice note to wrap up on,” Wang said.
Wang encourages attendees to register for the Made In Utah: Film Showcase to get involved with the arts and support the local filmmaking community. “Getting independent films in front of audiences is always a challenge,” Wang said. “Now it’s more than ever because so many things go online and it’s sometimes hard to access them.”
This is a great way to get involved with the arts or support the arts as an audience member,” Wang said. “Local filmmakers always tell us that they’ve heard about this person or that person and they finally get to meet them,”
“Or they tell us they’ve been looking for a colorist or sound designer for their film and they can ask them if they can work together,” Wang said. So this is a great way to get involved with the arts or support the arts as an audience member,” Wang said. This is a great way to get involved with the arts or support the arts as an audience member,” Wang said. “We want to celebrate the local filmmaking community and bring people together for conversations and show these great films to audiences,” Wang said. “We want to celebrate the local filmmaking community and bring people together for conversations and show these great films to audiences,” Wang said. “We want to celebrate the local filmmaking community and bring people together for conversations and show these great films to audiences,” Wang said. “We want to celebrate the local filmmaking community and bring people together for conversations and show these great films to audiences,” Wang said. “We want to celebrate the local filmmaking community and bring people together for conversations and show these great films to audiences,” Wang said.