Park City Film plans to use the first few weeks of 2023 as a launching pad for the upcoming Sundance Film Festival.
Before the arthouse-film nonprofit turns over the Jim Santy Auditorium venue to the festival on Jan. 19, it will start the year off with three intriguing films, two of which have been courted by the Golden Globes, and one that addresses the timely topic of avalanche danger in the backcountry, according to Executive Director Katharine Wang.
Mark Mylod’s “The Menu,” rated R, will be the Park City Film offering of the year, and will run from Jan. 6-8, Wang said.
The film is about a couple, played by Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult, who travel to an island off the coast of the Pacific Northwest to eat at an exclusive restaurant that serves meals at $1,300 a plate.
The restaurant’s executive chef, played by Ralph Fiennes, prepares tasting menus for his guests, and the result is disturbing and violent, according to Wang.
“There have been a lot of films, satires and critiques, if you will, of the 1%,” she said. “This is one of those over-the-top satires about Foodies and the ultra-wealthy, and the film, which certainly is a dark comedy, has some sharp dialogue. It’s a take on class and elitism in a clever and dark way with fantastic acting.”
Taylor-Joy and Fiennes have been nominated for Golden Globe Awards for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Wang said.
“I love Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy,” she said. “They are just amazing.”
The following Thursday, Jan 12, Park City Film will host a special screening of Mike Quigley’s “To the Hills and Back,” not rated, Wang said.
“We are partnering with the Utah Avalanche Center, who, in turn, has partnered with Sherpas Cinema for this event,” she said.
“To the Hills and Back” is a feature film that serves as a cautionary tale about backcountry adventure and avalanche safety, according to Wang.
“It’s told through the eyes of a father and daughter who are backcountry guides, and it’s about their experiences, and the experiences of other individuals, who have had their lives changed because of avalanches,” she said. “It’s a powerful film that premiered to standing ovations at the Banff Film Festival, and it’s kind of a documentary and narrative mix.”
The screening, which will also offer beer and wine sales, is scheduled in time to raise awareness of avalanche danger in the backcountry, especially in light of all the snow that has fallen the past few days in the greater Park City area, Wang said.
“Ticket sales will benefit the Utah Avalanche Center and its mission,” she said. “We’ll have a post-film discussion led by the Utah Avalanche Center and some of our local emergency search and rescue personnel.”
The last Park City Film weekend screening in January will be Park Chan-wook’s “Decision to Leave,” not rated, from Jan. 13-15.
“Decision to Leave” is one of the films that is shortlisted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for an Oscar, and it has been nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, Wang said.
“It’s a South Korean romantic mystery about a detective who falls in love with the wife of the man whose death he’s investigating,” she said.
Award-winning filmmaker Chan-wook is known for directing the 2003 action-mystery, “Oldboy” and the 2016 drama-romance “The Handmaiden,” Wang said.
“He is an amazing director, and there are lots of layers to work with in ‘Decision to Leave,’” she said. “There is complexity, intrigue and, as it goes on, viewers will learn that everything isn’t as it seems.”
After the “Decision to Leave” screening, Park City Film will turn the Jim Santy Auditorium over to the Sundance Film Festival, but will sell concessions as a fundraiser.
“I can’t believe we’re already coming up on Sundance,” she said. “Time is ticking.”
Park City Film plans to return to its regular screening schedule with Oliver Hermanus’ “Living,” rated PG-13, on Feb. 3-5.
The film, a 2022 Sundance Film Festival premiere, retells Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 film “Ikiru.” It’s about a civil servant, played by Bill Nighy, who tries to find fulfillment in his mundane life after receiving a life-changing medical diagnosis, according to Wang.