SOLIDARITY

Sundance Jurors, Including Deaf Oscar Winner, Leave Premiere Over Captioning Error

Marlee Matlin, along with fellow jurors Jeremy O. Harris, and Eliza Hittman, left “Magazine Dreams” after a captioning device malfunctioned.

All three people serving on the Sundance U.S. Dramatic Competition jury walked out of the Friday night premiere of the Jonathan Majors vehicle Magazine Dreams after the festival failed to provide captioning for deaf and hearing-impaired audience members. A captioning device failed after being given to jury member Marlee Matlin, the first deaf actor to win an Academy Award, and the youngest winner of the best lead actress prize, prompting the departure. Matlin was joined by fellow jury members Jeremy O. Harris and Eliza Hittman. The device was repaired hours later, according to Variety, which reported that the jurors plan to screen the film collectively before the end of the festival. The outlet obtained a letter sent by the jurors to festival filmmakers expressing concern over open captioning at Sundance, saying that their ability to celebrate the entries “has been disrupted” by a lack of accessibility “to all three of us.” In a statement, Sundance chief executive Joana Vicente said that accessibility efforts “are, admittedly, always evolving and feedback helps drive it forward for the community as a whole.”