The Sundance film festival, which is currently under way in Park City, Utah, saw a mass protest against the two fatal shootings in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Sunday, along with high-profile interventions from major film industry figures.
Actor Natasha Lyonne was among those spreading social media posts about the protest, called “Sundancers Melt ICE”, which was called for Sunday afternoon. The organisers asked for a 10-minute “respectful” event at sunset on Park City’s Main Street to memorialise Renee Good, who was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent on 7 January, and Alex Pretti, who was killed on Saturday by an agent of the Department of Homeland Security.
Footage of the protest posted by Deadline showed participants holding up their lit phones and chanting “love melts ICE” as a small group of law enforcement officials looked on.
Deadline reported that Lord of the Rings actor Elijah Wood was among the protesters, and told the publication: “The folks who have been unlawfully gunned down in Minnesota – it’s awful. 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.”
Notable among figures making statements has been actor Natalie Portman, who wore “ICE out” and “Be Good” pins while conducting media duties at the festival. Portman also told Deadline: “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.”
Actor and director Olivia Wilde also commented on the shootings on Saturday, telling Variety: “I’m appalled and sickened. We can’t go another day just sort of accepting this as our new norm. It’s outrageous. People are being murdered … And so if we can do anything out here to support the movement to cast ICE out, to delegitimise this unbelievably criminal organisation, then that’s what we should be doing.”
