Sundance picks films for summer outdoor series

The Sundance Institute will be bringing the music — as well as food, baseball, ping pong and vampires — to outdoor screens in Salt Lake City and Park City this summer.

Titles and events for the 17th annual Sundance Institute Summer Series have been announced today, slated for dates at Salt Lake City's Red Butte Garden and the City Park in Park City.

Here are the titles for the free screenings:

• "Twenty Feet From Stardom," Morgan Neville's Oscar-winning documentary that tells the unknown stories of backup singers who gave their voice to some of the world's greatest musical moments. Tuesday, July 8, at 9:30 p.m. at Red Butte Garden; and Friday, Aug. 1, at 9 p.m. at City Park (in connection with the Kimball Art Center).

• "What We Do in the Shadows," a mock-documentary, by New Zealand filmmakers Taika Waititi ("Eagle vs. Shark") and Jemaine Clement ("Flight of the Conchords"), that follows the lives of New Zealand's vampire community. (The screening helps mark the 20th anniversary of Sundance's Native American and Indigenous Program.) Tuesday, July 15, 9 p.m., Red Butte Garden, with an in-person introduction by Waititi.

• "Ping Pong Summer," filmmaker Michael Tully's coming-of-age comedy set in the summer of 1985, with a cast that includes Susan Sarandon, John Hannah and Lea Thompson. Friday, July 25, 9 p.m., City Park (with a ping pong tournament, arranged by Park City Recreation, before the movie).

• "Big Night," the indie classic co-directed by actors Campbell Scott and Stanley Tucci, about two brothers (played by Tucci and Tony Shalhoub) gambling the fate of their struggling Italian restaurant on one special dinner. Friday, Aug. 15, 9 p.m., City Park (in connection with Park City's first-ever Park City Grub Crawl).

• "The Battered Bastards of Baseball," a spirited documentary that follows the rise of the only independent baseball team in the United States in the 1970s: The Portland Mavericks. Wednesday, Aug. 13, 9 p.m., Red Butte Garden (with an in-person introduction by co-director Maclain Way).

• "God Help the Girl," a British musical coming-of-age tale written and directed by Stuart Murdoch, frontman for the band Belle & Sebastian. Wednesday, Aug. 20, 9 p.m., Red Butte Garden.

• The second annual Utah Community Choice Film, which will be chosen via an online vote from three contenders: The 1999 comedy-drama "SLC Punk!", Ice-T's documentary "Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap," and the concert documentary "U2 3D." Wednesday, Aug. 27, 9 p.m., Red Butte Garden.