PARK CITY, Utah — Marlee Matlin, Jeremy O. Harris and Eliza Hittman walked out of the premiere of a film that was playing in competition at the Sundance Film Festival on Friday night after the captioning machine failed.
Matlin, who is deaf, is joining Harris and Hittman on the judging panel for films debuting in this week’s US Dramatic Competition at the Park City, Utah festival. The judges walked out collectively upon realizing the situation that happened during the premiere of Magazine Dreams. Variety first reported the news.
Joana Vicente, the CEO of the Sundance Institute, said in a statement to The Associated Press on Saturday that the closed captioning device, which relies on Wi-Fi, was checked before the screening and was working, but it still malfunctioned.
“Our team immediately worked with the devices on site to retest them for the next demonstration, and the device worked without malfunction,” said Vicente. “Our goal is to make all experiences (in person and online) as accessible as possible for all participants. Admittedly, our accessibility efforts are always evolving, and feedback helps drive them forward for the community as a whole.”
Accessibility at film festivals has been a major issue for years, and the incident highlighted yet again how organizers are trying to make changes to accommodate all fans. Vicente said her team has worked hard in this area but acknowledged there was more to learn.
“We are committed to enhancing the experience and belonging for all festival-goers,” the statement said. “We consider accessibility to be one of the key drivers of institutional excellence, and this work is being done in partnership with film crews.”
Matlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Vicente said she and her fellow judges will be watching Magazine Dreams in the coming days.
The Sundance Film Festival runs through January 29th.
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The spelling of “Hittman” has been corrected in this version.
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