members Sundance Film Festival A jury left a U.S. drama competition screening Friday before seeing the movie because the theater’s captioning equipment was malfunctioning, according to sources familiar with the situation. Hollywood Reporter.
while checking Dream Journalthe film directed by Elijah Bynum and starring Jonathan Majors, devices that are usually provided to all members of the public who are deaf and hard of hearing, including jurors Marlee Matlin, did not work. Matlin and fellow jurors Jeremy Harris and Eliza Heitman exited the show.
Later that evening, the jurors attended a different show, where the captioning machines were working properly. They plan to see Dream Journal Later, according to the festival.
The jury sent a letter, which he got THRto festival filmmakers who have criticized the lack of open captions for competition titles.
“We have all traveled to Utah to celebrate independent film and those who have dedicated their lives to making it,” the letter read. “There is an excitement to sitting in a room with others who love movies and cheering them on together, and Sundance has been an important place for each of us to do that throughout our varied careers. The independent film movement began in the US as a way to make film accessible to everyone, not just those who enjoy it the most.” A privilege between us. As a jury, our ability to celebrate the work you all put into making these films has been hampered by the fact that they are not available to all of us.”
Joanna Vicente, executive director of the Sundance Institute, said in a statement about the situation that the festival’s accessibility efforts are “always evolving” and that feedback was appreciated. “Our team has worked hard in this area but there is always more work to do,” she said, in part. “We all still need to do more as we learn and consider society as a whole.”
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