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And Action! Park City Film Series returns to the Santy Auditorium

Morgan Neville's music documentary "20 Feet From Stardom," which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, will be among the works screened during September by the Park City Film Series. (Image courtesy of the Sundance Film Festival)
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Family secrets will be revealed. A large-eared mouse will try to become a knight. Families will share their letters with loved ones who were killed in the line of military duty and love will be examined.

These are just some of the things that will happen in September when the Park City Film Series begins its 2013-14 season.

The films, which will be screened in the Jim Santy Auditorium at the Park City Library and Education Center, are an eclectic mix of documentaries, dramas, comedies, children’s tales and romances, said Katy Wang, executive director of the Park City Film Series.

The series opener is Sarah Polley’s 2013 documentary "Stories We Tell" that will screen Sept. 6 through Sept. 8.

"This was a favorite at this year’s Sundance Film Festival," Wang said. "Sarah Polley is the filmmaker who did another film called ‘Away from Her,’ and the story is about family secrets and the truth depends on who is telling the story."

The film started off as a documentary about Polley’s late mother, but turned into a project that revealed secrets, family myths and the complex essence of family, Wang said.

"We are excited to kick off with that film," she said.

The second film out of the gates, "The Tale of Despereaux," based on the book by Kate DiCamillo, isn’t one of the regular weekend screenings, but will continue the Books 2 Movies children’s series.

"We’ll screen these films the first Saturday of every month," Wang explained. "The films will be based on children’s books and will be screened for free."

"The Tale of Despereaux" follows a courageous mouse on a quest to knighthood, she said.

Another special program of the Park City Film Series is the Reel Community Series, which will present free screenings in collaboration with another local nonprofit organization on the second Thursday of each month.

The Reel Community Series film on Sept. 12 will be Bill Couturie’s 1988 documentary "Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam," which coincides with the Park City Museum’s "Mail Call" exhibit.

"Mail Call" examines the history of mail service in the United States military.

"Bill premiered ‘Dear America’ during the Sundance Film Festival in 1988," Wang said. "It is a fantastic film and interweaves actors who read letters by soldiers and marines that were sent home from Vietnam.

"The readings are interspersed with footage and music from the war and era," she said. "It’s very poignant and touching. You can hear how the soldiers struggled with this war that nobody wanted."

Getting back to the regular weekend screenings, the film series will present Richard Linklater’s "Before Midnight," on Sept. 13 through Sept. 15.

"Before Midnight" is the third film in a series that included "Before Sunrise" (1995) and "Before Sunset" (2004).

"Before Midnight" takes place nearly a decade after the conclusion of "Before Sunset," and finds the two characters, Jesse and Celine, working together to maintain their relationship and their futures.

"The film stars Ethan Hawk and Julie Deply and was at Sundance this year," Wang said. "This is a great romantic film for the Park City Film Series to screen."

The remaining three films for September are Morgan Neville’s 2013 music documentary "20 Feet from Stardom," (Sept. 20-22), a Tumbleweeds Film Festival screening of "Kids Party Mix, 2013-14" (Sept. 21) and Jem Cohen’s 2012 feature "Museum Hours" (Sept. 27-29)

"20 Feet from Stardom," which also premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, is about singers who find themselves becoming back-up singers instead of the stars they wanted to become, Wang said.

"If you love music, some of the voices of these singers will blow you away," she said. "They are so full of life and they made the best of their situations and, in some cases, made the stars who they are today.

"We also had some of the featured artists of the film sing at Deer Valley this summer with the St. Regis Big Stars, Bright Nights concerts," Wang said. "So it’s nice to have the film back with us."

As with every year, the Park City Film Series will partner with the Utah Film Center for the free Tumbleweeds screenings.

"We used to screen them on the third Sunday of the month, but we changed it to the third Saturday of the month," Wang said.

"Kid Party Mix" is a best-of shorts and animation collection from around the world," she said. "It’s a fun collection for the kids."

"Museum Hours," on the other hand, tells about the power of art and how it mirrors and reflects life, Wang said.

"It’s about a guard at a museum in Vienna and a partron and how art influenced their relationship," she said. "It’s more of drama, but very interesting."

The Park City Film Series will launch its 2013-14 season with Sarah Polley’s documentary, "Stories We Tell," rated PG-13, at the Jim Santy Auditorium at the Park City Library and Education Center, 1255 Park Ave., on Friday, Sept. 6, at 8 p.m. Additional screenings will be held Saturday, Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $7 for general admission and $6 for students and senior citizens. For more information, visit http://www.parkcityfilmseries.org.

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