By Lindsey Bahr, Film Writer
PARK CITY, Utah (AP) --Marlee Matlin, Jeremy O. Harris and Eliza Hitman exited the premiere of a film playing in competition at the Sundance Film Festival on Friday night after the closed captioning device failed to work.
Matlin, who is deaf, is serving on the jury alongside Harris and Hitman for films debuting in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the festival in Park City, Utah, this week. The jurors walked out collectively when they realized the situation, which 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, had been checked before the screening and was working, but malfunctioned nonetheless.
"Our team immediately worked with the devices in that venue to test them again for the next screening and the device worked without any malfunction," Vicente said. "Our goal is to make all experiences (in person and online) as accessible as possible for all participants. Our accessibility efforts are, admittedly, always evolving and feedback helps drive it forward for the community as a whole."
Accessibility at film festivals has been a major topic for years, and the incident once again spotlighted how organizers are trying to make changes to accommodate all fans. Vicente said her team has been working hard in that area, but acknowledged there is more to be learned.
"We are committed to improving experiences & belonging for all festival attendees," the statement read. "We consider accessibility as one of the primary drivers of institutional excellence and this work is done in partnership with film teams."
Matlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Vicente said she and her fellow jurors would see "Magazine Dreams" in the coming days.
The Sundance Film Festival runs through Jan. 29.
Mets’ victory over Brewers in NL Wild Card Series decider was ESPN’s most-watched game in 3 years
The New York Mets' 4-2 comeback victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night in the deciding game of the NL Wild Card Series averaged 4,017,000 viewers on ESPN and streaming, making it ESPN's most-watched Major League Baseball game in three years.
ESPN and Nielsen reported Friday that the audience peaked at 5.75 million viewers during the ninth inning, when the Mets rallied from a 2-0 deficit to reach the divisional round for the first time since 2015, when they reached the World Series.
It was the biggest audience for a playoff game on ESPN since the 2021 AL wild-card game, when the Boston Red Sox's win over the New York Yankees averaged 7.7 million.
This year's nine MLB Wild Card Series games averaged 2.82 million on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, a 25% increase over last year and a 1% gain from 2022.
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