Park City Film honors the United States with America the Beautiful Series - Park Record
The United States of America is a melting pot of cultures and people, and Park City Film wants to celebrate that diversity and honor the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of. . .
The United States of America is a melting pot of cultures and people, and Park City Film wants to celebrate that diversity and honor the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. That’s the reason for the America the Beautiful Series that runs Friday through Sunday at the Park City Library’s Jim Santy Auditorium, said Executive Director Katy Wang. “It is a series of four documentary films that have been on the festival circuit and have won lots of awards, but aren’t coming to a theater near you,” she said. “What we’re trying to do with this experience is to engage people with the diversity of the American experience through film. ”The first film out of the gates is Suzannah Herbert’s “Natchez,” not rated, 7 p. m. on Friday, according to Wang. “Natchez, Mississippi, was the center of the slave trade, and it has evolved into a tourist-driven economy where they do tours of plantations,” she said. “What’s fascinating about how Suzannah Herbert tells the story is that Natchez, Mississippi, as it turns out, was like the Park City of Mississippi. ”Residents were liberal and they elected the first Black mayor after the Civil War Reconstruction, Wang said. “They were also the first town to send Black representatives to congress,” she said. “So, there was a liberal mindset there, which was unexpected, but still had the more traditional view of being on the Confederate side and believing in slavery. ”The trick is telling that story in the modern day, which Herbert does well, Wang said“It opens a portal to that conversation of how to talk about slavery, that dire period in American history, and give it back to the descendants of those who were enslaved,” she said. “The film will be followed by a discussion with Susannah who will Zoom in after the screening. ”Park City Film will screen two films on Saturday. The first is Paige Bethmann’s “Remaining Native,” not rated 4 p. m. , Wang said. “It’s about a young Native-American man, Ku Stevens, who is a runner,” she said. “He wants to attend the University of Oregon, which has one of the best track-and-field kings in this century. ”Paige Bethmann’s “Remaining Native” follows a young Indigenous athlete, Ku Stevens, who hopes to run for the University of Oregon. Running is significant in Stevens’ family, because his grandfather would frequently run 50 miles to his home while escaping the Indian boarding schools. Credit:Photo courtesy of SCHH Productions Inc. Stevens faces insurmountable challenges, according to Wang. “He lives on a reservation, so it’s about his journey and how he gets on the radar of some athletic scouts,” she said. “As he runs, he connects back with the history of his grandfather, who, as a young child, would frequently run 50 miles home to escape the Indian boarding schools. ”Those schools existed from around 1819 through the 1960s, Wang said. “It was another dark time when the U. S. The government thought it was acceptable to erase Indigenous culture and re-educate them as it were,” she said. “And this film is about Ku and how he processes the history and how that integrates into his current life. ”The screening will be followed by a discussion with Director Paige Bethmann. The second Saturday film is Tadashi Nakamura’s “Third Act,” not rated, at 7 p. m. , Wang said. Robert A. Nakamura, considered the Godfather of Asian American Film, is the subject of his son, Tad Nakamura’s documentary “Third Act,” which will screen during Park City Film’s America the Beautiful Series that spotlights the beauty of diversity. Credit:Photo courtesy of Bob Young“This premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2025, and we’ve worked with Tad a couple of times on different films over the years,” she said. “So it’s exciting to have him share this film with us. ”“Third Act” follows Nakamura’s father, Robert A. Nakamura, who was considered The Godfather of Asian American film, Wang said. “Robert unfortunately passed away last year, right after the film’s premiere at Sundance, but Tad tells the story about his father, who became so vocal in the Asian-American community, certainly in the Japanese-American community, by using film as an act of resistance,” she said. Among other things, the documentary sees the story of Japanese-American internment camps during World War II through the elder Nakamura’s eyes, Wang said. “That story was not well told in American history to the American people,” she said. “It was something the American government wasn’t proud of afterwards, but it’s a story that needs to be heard. It’s important that what happened to the Japanese-American community does not happen again. The only way for us to not repeat our past is to know it and learn from it. ”Robert Nakamura was an accomplished photographer who turned to filmmaking to further his advocacy, Wang said. “It’s also interesting in this documentary to see how Tad grew up as part of a marginalized community that has emigrated into this country,” she said. “To do that, you had to assimilate. You had to speak English. You had to not eat that weird ethnic food. So, Tad grapples with wanting to be American, but also wanting to be Japanese American, and learning to be proud and embrace his culture. And that’s hard. ”Utah has a connection to Nakamura’s advocacy, because more than 11,200 Japanese-Americans were incarcerated at the Topaz War Relocation Center, located in the Sevier Desert in Millard County. “This film is a story of how the two of them raise visibility and restore pride,” Wang said. “And we will have a Q and A with Tadashi after the screening. ”The final film of this weekend’s screenings is Elizabeth Wolff’s “Give Me the Ball,” not rated, at 6 p. m. , Wang said. “This premiered at Sundance this year, and it’s about world champion tennis trailblazer Billie Jean King and her impact on culture and sports,” she said. “We intentionally put her story at the end of the series, because she has been such an outspoken advocate for women, LGBTQ and other marginalized communities in general. This is important, again, as we think about American history, but also what your connection to these communities are in the modern day. ”A post film panel discussion, moderated by Virginia Solomon, Summit Pride Foundation board president, will include College Athlete Advantage Regional Advisor and Park City High School Softball Coach Ashley Manusos, former U. S. National Speedskater Jamie Grundstrom, a registered nurse, and Morgan Bailey, University of Utah’s assistant women’s basketball coach. “They will look at the diversity and complexity,” Wang said. “I think the strength of American culture is that diversity. And that’s what we wanted to celebrate. We look at how the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness was not for all people, and what work has been done to ensure freedom and equality has been applied and accessible. ”Park City Film conceived the America the Beautiful Series after the departure of the Sundance Film Festival, Wang said. “We expanded our programming by 54% and are doing more screenings throughout the year,” she said. “Along side that, we wanted to change up how we do our programming in some ways. We also wanted to look at how we can engage people through the art of film for deeper conversations about what’s going on in the world, in other communities and cultures. And with the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, I thought this would be a great test case. ”The topics also intrigue Wang, a first-generation American, whose college major was American Studies. “I’ve always been fascinated by people’s stories, where they come from and what brought them to this country,” she said. “Certainly the history of America I was told as a child was pretty vanilla. There were a lot of stories not told and it was very much Euro-centric. ”Growing up in New York City Wang heard a lot about Ellis Island, through which most of the immigrant population arrived. “I didn’t know Angel Island (in San Francisco) existed, and for anyone who came from Asia, that was the main immigration entry point,” she said. “As my American Studies continued and involved American history and culture in a much deeper dive that most people get in their high school education, I started to realize that within this experiment, this American experiment we’re all part of, there is a beautiful tapestry that has evolved because of this diversity. ”Want continues to think about tThe themes that connect all the films — intergenerational strength and tauma, community, perseverance, resilience and pride. “It truly is an honor to be able to hold space for these communities and cultures that have been marginalized for so long in the telling of America’s history, but are a powerful part of the diverse mosaic that makes up these United States,” she said. For information about Park City Film’s America the Beautiful Series that runs Friday through Sunday, visitparkcityfilm. org.