Sundance Jury Walks Out Of Magazine Dreams Premiere Over Lack Of Captions For Deaf Juror Marlee Matlin

The Sundance Film Festival's U.S. Dramatic Competiton jurors just took a major stand against ableism Friday night when, according to Variety, all three members walked out of a screening that was not accessible for hearing impaired juror Marlee Matlin.

The outlet reports that playwright and "Zola" co-writer Jeremy O. Harris, "Never Rarely Sometimes Always" writer-director Eliza Hittman, and Oscar-winning actress Matlin all left the premiere screening of the highly anticipated film "Magazine Dreams" Friday night after a closed captioning device provided for Matlin malfunctioned. According to Variety, moviegoing accessibility has been a fraught topic at this year's festival, with sources sharing that multiple filmmakers have neglected to include captions on-screen despite urging from the jury.

While the filmmakers reportedly cite cost, time constraints, and even concerns surrounding a film's ability to sell to a buyer as barriers to including captions on their films, it's definitely not unprecedented for film festivals to include captioned movies. Programming at both Venice and Cannes features captions on screen, and non-English language films at all major U.S. festivals are, of course, subtitled. In the wake of the Friday screening, the three members of the jury also sent a signed letter to festival filmmakers requesting basic accessibility. The letter, which Variety shared, in part reads:

"The U.S. independent cinema movement began as a way to make film accessible to everyone, not just those with the most privileges among us. As a jury our ability to celebrate the work that all of you have put into making these films has been disrupted by the fact that they are not accessible to all three of us."

This is a polite but searing callout, and if the industry is willing to listen, Hittman, Harris, and Matlin's statement has the ability to positively change not just the way Sundance operates, but the way audiences overall experience the magic of cinema. Of course, making these movies in particular available to Matlin is in the filmmakers' best interest, as there's no way for the jury to award them the prizes they may deserve unless all the jurors have access to essential elements like dialogue. 

The resistance to open captions (subtitles on-screen) is problematic because closed caption devices are often awkward to use, requiring the moviegoer to constantly switch focus between the device and the screen. They're also, as this incident demonstrates, prone to malfunctioning.

Any win for accessibility is a win for everyone, because everyone deserves to have a positive theatrical experience — something film journalists with disabilities have been fighting for for years now. Numerous film festivals have also received criticism in the past year for eliminating or reducing hybrid attendance options that were available during the height of the COVID-19 crisis, reducing accessibility for immune-compromised journalists and attendees who don't feel safe appearing in person.

Sundance has already issued a response to the letter via a statement from festival CEO Joana Vicente. The captioning device was reportedly fixed and the trio will still be able to screen the Jonathan Majors-led film "Magazine Dreams" before the festival ends, according to Vicente. "Our team has done extraordinary work in this area but there is always more work to do," the statement reads. "We all still need to do more as we learn and consider the community at large."