Pro-Palestine Protest Planned at 2024 Sundance Film Festival

A pro-Palestine protest is being planned in Park City to coincide with the Sundance Film Festival, with participants called upon to join a Jan. 21 demonstration on Main Street.

“We are inviting you to gather with us for a peaceful protest at the Sundance Film Festival, one of the largest indie film festivals in the world, that showcases documentaries and films that break barriers,” reads an Instagram post from the Palestinian Solidarity Association of Utah, which detailed the plans for the peaceful protest. “While bombs are dropping, the people cannot continue watching films on their screens while ignoring a genocide in Gaza.”

According to social media, the event, titled “Let Gaza Live,” will see protesters arrive by shuttle to Main Street and march to a demonstration point at 12:30 p.m on Sunday.

The post continues: “Park City is home to the largest indie film fest in the U.S.; tens of thousands travel across the globe to attend the event. While we do not take issue with Sundance as a whole, we aim to let spectators & news reporters know that Utah stands with Palestine.”

The protest is not affiliated with the Sundance Film Festival. The Palestinian Solidarity Association of Utah noted that security at the protest will be handled by a Utah-based org, Armed Queers of Salt Lake City. Park City Police Department will provide security as needed.

“We have also been made aware of the demonstration and its commitment to maintaining a peaceful environment,” the Sundance Institute offered in a statement. “While the organizers are non-affiliated with the Festival itself, the safety and security of our festival goers is always of concern to us, and we consistently work with local law enforcement to uphold an environment that is welcoming, inspiring and secure for all our attendees.”

Calls for a ceasefire in the Isreal-Hamas war and protests surrounding the conflict have seen participation from those in the entertainment industry since the outset of the conflict. Several days ago, an organization called Film Workers for Palestine released an open letter calling for “filmmakers and cinema workers to stand for an end to genocide, and for a free Palestine,” according to the website. Signatories include filmmakers and performers with projects at the Sundance.

THR Newsletters