By Lindsey Bahr, Film Writer
PARK CITY, Utah (AP) --Sundance Institute founder Robert Redford did not shy away from addressing the elephants in the room — Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo — Thursday at the Sundance Film Festival, saying that the fallen executive is not "going to stop the show."
Both the lingering shadow of Weinstein, who long lorded over the indie film festival, and the Me Too movement dominated conversation at the historically tame opening day press conference in Park City, Utah.
"Harvey Weinstein was a moment in time and we're going to move past that," Redford said. "I don't think he's going to stop the show."
In recent months, Weinstein has been accused of two instances of assault at Sundance, including actress Rose McGowan's rape allegation from 1997. Representatives for Weinstein have denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.
"We were sickened to hear along with everyone else about Harvey's behavior and even more so to learn that at least a couple of those instances happened at the Sundance Film Festival," added Keri Putnam, the executive director for the Sundance Institute. "They are nothing we were aware of at the time."
Putnam said that recent revelations and conversations around sexual misconduct are creating a new awareness.
"This isn't a new conversation for us, but it's a new moment and we're not going to go backward from here," she said.
In response to assault allegations during the festival and heightened sensitivity to sexual misconduct, the festival has taken strides to ensure the safety of its guests, including instilling a public code of conduct and a 24-hour safety hotline in partnership with Utah Attorney General's office.
"It's a bit of a ground zero," said festival director John Cooper.
Redford also addressed the Me Too and Time's Up movements saying that he's, "Pretty encouraged right now."
"It's bringing forth more opportunity for women and more opportunity for women in film for their voices to be heard and have their own projects," Redford said. "The role for men right now is to listen and to let women's voices be heard and think about it."
The Sundance Film Festival runs through Jan. 28.
Director Mike Flanagan’s “The Life of Chuck” Wins People’s Choice Award At The Toronto Film Fest
The Toronto International Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award went to “The Life of Chuck,” handing director-writer Mike Flanagan’s Stephen King adaptation one of the most-watched prizes of the fall film festival circuit.
The award for “The Life of Chuck” was announced Sunday (9/15) as North American’s largest film festival drew to a close. “The Life of Chuck,” based on King’s 2020 novella of the same name, stars Tom Hiddleston as Charles “Chuck” Krantz, an ordinary man living through apocalyptic cataclysms. Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan and Jacob Tremblay co-star.
TIFF’s People’s Choice Award is regarded as a reliable Oscar harbinger. Since 2012, every winner of the festival’s top prize has gone on to be nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards. Last year, Cord Jefferson’s “American Fiction” won, and went on to be a major awards contender.
But “The Life of Chuck” could test that track record. The film is up for sale and doesn’t yet have distribution. It could be acquired and quickly readied for release this fall, or it might end up a 2025 release. “The Life of Chuck” drew mixed — though mostly positive reviews — out of Toronto, though audiences were clearly charmed by the uplifting drama.
Runners-up for the People’s Choice Award, which is voted on by festival attendees, were both films that first premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May. The first was Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez.” The second runner-up was Sean Baker’s “Anora,” the Palme d’Or winner at Cannes.
The audience award for top documentary went to Mike Downie’s “The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal.” In the festival’s Midnight Madness section, the prize went to... Read More