Park City Film's 2020 Made in Utah Filmmaker Spotlight
There’s still time to enjoy and participate in the Utah Filmmaker Spotlight! Park City Film is hosting the 2020 Made in Utah Filmmaker Spotlight from May 28th through June 8th. You don’t want to miss the live virtual Q&A event with film directors on June 4th at 6pm.
This year, the two films that are featured in the virtual festival are by local directors, and curated by the Emmy-winning filmmaker and founder of the annual Filmmaker Showcase, Jill Orschel. The two films are “El Desierto” by documentary filmmaking team Jared and Carly Jakins and “Cuffs” by Park City High School film student Drew Neff. They are free to watch on parkcityfilm.org. On the site, you can also register for the June 4th Q&A, which will take place via Zoom. Questions for the Q&A can be submitted in advance, by June 3rd, to director@parkcityfilm.org.
This year’s Spotlight is different from years past. Jill Orschel writes, “The Made In Utah - Film Spotlight is different from the annual Filmmakers Showcase in that it is a virtual screening and Q&A with filmmakers as opposed to it being at the Jim Santy Auditorium at the Park City Library Center. […] The Filmmaker Spotlight is two medium length films that are just under 20 minutes in length. The Q&A and discussion will be much more in depth than what we’re used to with the Showcase. That event is focused on a post-screening party where filmmakers and the audience can have casual conversations. With the FM Spotlight, we’re excited to have an intimate conversation with the filmmaking teams about their craft and their projects and find out what makes them passionate as artists.”
Most importantly, the Filmmaker Spotlight is just one of the many ways that the Park City community has responded to the Covid19 pandemic. It is part of the Virtual Cinema Series hosted by Park City Film. Orschel continues, “The Covid19 pandemic really got in the way of us all being together under one roof watching films on the big screen but interestingly there’s a whole new world that has opened up on our computers where we can visit in real time and up close.”
The two featured films cover a diverse range of topics. "El Desierto", which explores themes of isolation and climate change, tells the story of a lone migrant worker caring for sheep in the Great Basin Desert. "Cuffs", on the other hand, provides humorous insights to the work of law enforcement officers in Krime County, and has already received awards such as Best Original Story at the 2020 Miner Film Festival. To watch, or for more information on the films, check out the Park City Film website: https://parkcityfilm.org/film/filmmaker-spotlight/.
Moving forward, there are many ways to engage with Park City Film, which is Summit County’s only non-profits art house theater. For filmmakers themselves, Jill Orschel encourages submissions of “short narrative, documentary, experimental or animated films to parkcityfilm.org or to jillorschel@gmail.com for consideration for the annual Filmmakers Showcase in the fall, or a future Filmmaker Spotlight. Both are part of Park City Film’s successful Made in Utah program. The selection process is determined by the film being a good fit for the program and filmmakers being available to participate and engage with each other and the audience. It’s about meeting other filmmakers and film-loving audiences and really cultivating community through film.”
For community members looking to support such important and education work, there is no better time than the present. “To support the Filmmaker Spotlight go to parkcityfilm.org and watch the two films, Cuffs and El Desierto, then register to join the filmmaker conversation and Q&A on Thursday, June 4 at 6pm. Hope everyone can join us!”