judge sundance‘s U.S. Theater Competition has been ejected from the premiere of “”.magazine dreamsRegarding the failure of the festival to provide adequate captions for deaf and hard of hearing audiences (including jurors) on Friday night marlee matlin.
A dramatic jury member made up of Jeremy O. Harris, Eliza Hittman, and Matlin collectively decided to leave when the film began because the captioning device provided to Matlin didn’t work. . The device was repaired hours later, but highlighted a larger issue unfolding behind the scenes regarding the festival’s ability to make films accessible to all viewers. The film festival said the jury intended to screen the films as a group before the end of the festival.
According to multiple sources, the jury has repeatedly expressed concern for both Sundance and filmmakers that films showing at this year’s festival should have open captions. Other international film festivals, such as Cannes and Venice, display film captions in multiple languages on the screen. In our eligibility application for this year’s Sundance Film Festival, we asked attendees if they wanted access to captions.
However, according to multiple sources, multiple filmmakers have rejected requests to provide open captions on screen, citing the cost and time to make another print. Sources say some buyers even suggested that including captions on screen could somehow affect the asking price of the film on the market when trying to land distribution. was
Amid the ‘Magazine Dreams’ controversy, the jury sent a signed letter to the festival’s filmmakers pleading for permission to screen the ‘Open Caption DCP’ prints.
“We all came to Utah to celebrate independent cinema and the people who dedicate their lives to making it,” he said. variety“There’s a thrill in sitting in a room with people who love movies and cheering along. Sundance is an important place for each of us to do that in our different careers.” The independent cinema movement began as a way to make films accessible to everyone, not just privileged people, and the fact that all three of us, as judges, do not have access to these films has prevented us from celebrating the work you all put into making these films.”
In response to the incident, Sundance Film Festival CEO Joana Vicente said: Indeed, our accessibility efforts are constantly evolving, and your feedback helps us move it forward for the community as a whole. ”
Sundance has made significant efforts to accommodate people with various disabilities as part of our commitment to inclusiveness. This year, two of her ASL interpreters accompanied festival leaders and filmmakers on stage for opening remarks and her Q&A session after the screening.
The 2020 festival has ensured that co-director of ‘Crip Camp’ James Lebrecht, who was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair, will be able to attend major events, including film premieres. Sources said the festival tried to get around the ‘Magazine Dreams’ team’s refusal to provide captions and offered Matlin an alternative technique, but this did not work. The premiere start time was delayed by 45 minutes. Sources say the delay was due to technical issues, but it remains unclear if it was related to the caption.
It’s not immediately clear if other films will allow on-screen captions after this mishap.
Directed by Elijah Bynum and played by Jonathan Majors, “Magazine Dreams” centers around a black amateur bodybuilder struggling to find a relationship.
Read the full statement from Sundance CEO Vicente.
“Our goal is to make all experiences (in-person and online) as accessible as possible for all participants. helps move the community forward.
“The screening device used to provide closed captioning did not work at one of Friday night’s premieres. Our team immediately used the device at that venue and tested it again for our next screening, and the device worked without any glitches.
“Our team has done an extraordinary job in this area, but there is always work to be done.