Katy Wang’s trip to the Toronto Film Festival was her first on behalf as Director of Park City Film. It came on the heels of Telluride’s annual film festival, which she’s attended for years. Both trips are part of Wang’s long-standing tradition of discovering gems from the festival circuit, and something she says is vital to shaping Park City Films’ weekend screenings.
Unlike the Sundance Film Festival—which takes place in January and showcases films without distribution—festivals such as Toronto and Telluride focus on films that already have deals and are expected to hit theaters nationwide.
Wang says these festivals are essential for curating the lineup shown at the Jim Santy Auditorium.
“So, it's not a question of if they'll come out, but kind of when,” Wang said on the KPCW “Local News Hour” Sept. 4. “And it's mostly just getting eyes on them for me and saying, ‘is this something that we would want to get in Park City?’ Because we have one screen as you know, kind of a limited opportunity to bring films in. I can't bring in five films a week. So, I really have to be curating them fairly carefully in terms of what I think will do well and what will resonate with people. So, kind of, picking the cream of the crop. Most of the films I'm looking at will absolutely be available. It's just when, and would they work for our community?”
With Sundance set to leave Park City after the 2026 festival, Wang says she plans to expand her reach by attending additional festivals to keep discovering new content and maintaining industry relationships.
“I'm looking at a couple more festivals to add on, just because it's good to see again, eyes on films, make connections with the industry within the industry, be directors, you know, for Q and A's, or producers. So just again, kind of amplifying that community that I'm part of and my connections within it. It was easy to do when Sundance was in Park City. So now it's a little more work to have to travel around and, you know, invite people to come back here.”
One of the festivals Wang plans to attend is Sundance—even after it relocates to Boulder, Colorado in 2027.
“It's already on my plans,” she said. “I have friends who live in Boulder. I've already told them, reserve your guest room. I'm there. It's just different when it's your hometown. You get to meet people, since the Jim Santy Auditorium is one of the official venues. You just have a different type of contact with films and filmmakers than you would just as a participant in a film festival, so that will certainly be missed, but I’m doing my best to make up for it by getting to travel a little bit more which is nice.”
Despite the move, Wang hopes Park City’s connection with Sundance will continue. She’s optimistic the long-standing partnership will still allow her to bring in films that premiered at Sundance, along with filmmakers for post-screening Q&As.
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