This year’s Sundance Film Festival will be the last held in its longtime home of Park City, Utah.
The film festival, the brainchild of the late Robert Redford, will relocate to its new setting in Boulder, Colorado, next year, and while attendees of this year’s edition have paid homage to Park City and Redford, current events have overshadowed the festivities.
Just two weeks after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minnesota, an ICU nurse by the name of Alex Pretti – also 37 – was fatally shot on Saturday by ICE agents. Footage of the tragedy shows Pretti, who was peacefully protesting and trying to assist individuals near the agents, tackled to the ground and shot 10 times in the space of a few seconds.
Pretti’s parents released a statement, saying that they are “heartbroken but also very angry”, branding what they call “sickening lies” told about their son by the Trump administration.
Much like the killing of Good, the killing has been legitimatized by Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as “self-defense” – despite no evidence provided that Pretti ever drew a weapon and video footage proving that Pretti was defenceless before being repeatedly shot.
The recent tragedy prompted Sundance attendees to rally against ICE and honour the memory of both Good and Pretti.
The “Sundancers Melt Ice” protest had crowds chanting “Love Melts ICE!” and had celebrities including Lord of the Rings actor Elijah Wood in attendence.
“The folks who have been unlawfully gunned down in Minnesota – it’s awful,” Wood told Deadline. “Here we are at this film festival that is about bringing people together; it’s about telling stories from all over the world. We’re not divided here. We’re coming together.”
The protest was one of many instances during which celebrities spoke out against ICE – whether wearing “ICE OUT” pins to premieres or directly addressing the lethal actions and attacks on protesters.
Natalie Portman and Olivia Wilde were among the A-listers wearing anti-ICE pins, with Portman telling Deadline: “What’s going on in this country right now is absolutely horrific.”
She continued: “What the federal government, Trump’s government, Kristi Noem, ICE – what they’re doing is really the worst of the worst of humanity. And then we have the best of humanity for the way people are showing up for each other.”
Elsewhere, Edward Norton stated, as per The Hollywood Reporter, that “these days it’s ‘What are we gonna do about mass Gestapo shooting American citizens?’.” He added: “We are sitting here talking about movies while an illegal army is being mounted against US citizens.”
Norton also went on to tell The Times that it is “like we have extrajudicial assaults on Americans and humans going on on a daily basis now. And it’s not OK. Even though all people kind of have to put one foot in front of the other and deal with the demands of the day, we cannot act like this is not happening.”
Documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney also spoke out, saying that “what’s great about it is that you have evidence – you have evidence of the truth in terms of this kind of state-sponsored terrorism being meted out on Americans,” while filmmaker Kogonada told the audience at the screening of his film Zi : “I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge everything that is happening in Minnesota. I’m a believer in what (Roger) Ebert says that cinema is an empathizing machine. In the darkest time, you hope that art doesn’t feel indulgent but that it deepens our sense of humanity. I feel like more than ever it is important to do that to counter what is happening around the world.”
Earlier in the festival, a man was arrested for allegedly assaulting Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost at a provate party hosted by talent agency CAA on Friday evening.
Democratic US Rep. Frost wrote on X on Saturday that he was punched in the face by a man who told him that President Donald Trump was going to deport him.
“He was heard screaming racist remarks as he drunkenly ran off,” Frost wrote. “The individual was arrested and I am okay.”
Christian Joel Young, 28, was arrested on charges of aggravated burglary, assaulting an elected official and assault and transported to Summit County Jail, according to court records.
Sundance Film Festival representatives released a statement saying that they “strongly condemn” the incident, noting that while it occurred at a non-affiliated event that the behaviour is “against our values of upholding a welcoming and inspiring environment for all our attendees.”
“The safety and security of our festival attendees is always our chiefconcern, and our thoughts are with Congressman Frost and his continued well-being,” the statement read. “We encourage anyone with additional information on this matter to contact the Park City Police Department.”
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, denounced the alleged attack and said he won’t let tensions over immigration enforcement in places like Minneapolis spill into Utah.
“Political or racially charged violence of any kind is unacceptable in Utah,” Cox said in a statement. “I’m grateful to local law enforcement for swiftly apprehending the assailant and pursuing justice for Rep. Maxwell Frost.”
