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Refresh for more…It was arguably the shortest of protests in recent memory at the Sundance Film Festival as roughly 100 demonstrators assembled outside 577 Main Street in Park City, Utah to rally against the ongoing ICE raids and to remember Minneapolis residents Alex Pretti and Renee Good, who were fatally shot respectively by ICE and border patrol agents.
“Sundancers Melt Ice” lasted for 10 minutes at sunset with attendees chanting “Love Melts Ice! Love melts ice!” and also saw the turnout of Lord of the Rings actor Elijah Wood.
“The folks who have been unlawfully gunned down in Minnesota — it’s awful,” Wood told Deadline tonight.
“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,” he continued.
The protest culminated in a weekend that has had many actors and actresses fearlessly speaking out against ICE and wearing “ICE out” pins to premieres.
Gallerist star and producer Natalie Portman told Deadline at our Sundance studio, ”What’s going on in this country right now is absolutely horrific. 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.”
Earlier in the festival, Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost was the victim of a racially motivated assaulted at a CAA party. The unidentified man who punched Frost was arrested.
Protests and politics at Sundance are part of its aesthetic and tradition. Two years ago, there was a Pro-Palestinian protest that closed down Main Street and saw Scream star Melissa Barrera in attendance. In 2018, there was a women’s march, which had Jane Fonda, Tessa Thompson, Common and Gloria Allred speaking in at an event that lasted about an hour during a deep snowfall.
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