Park City • Marlee Matlin shouted, “Oh, wow,” on the red carpet of the Eccles Theatre on Thursday, when she caught sight of Shoshannah Stern, a deaf actor like herself.
Matlin ran over, greeted Stern with a big hug in front of photographers, and compared notes on the shiny black skirts each was wearing.
The movie Stern directed, the documentary “Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore,” kicked off the Eccles screening schedule Thursday at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in Park City.
Matlin, who won her Oscar in 1986 for her first movie, “Children of a Lesser God,” has some recent experience in Park City — having served as a juror in 2023, the first year the festival returned after a two-year break because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Marlee Matlin with director/producer, Shoshannah Stern, on the red carpet for the first screening of the documentary "Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore" at the Eccles Theatre for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, on Thursday, Jan 23, 2025.
Being among jurors who could hear was “a great experience,” Matlin said. “We learned from each other as a result of that experience, how to work together and use interpreters, and how communication is vital — and the importance of closed-captioning.”
After playing many characters — Stern’s documentary, made for PBS’ “American Masters” series, features a montage of many TV and movie roles Matlin played after “Children of a Lesser God” — Matlin said it’s a bit odd to watch a movie where she’s just herself.
“It’s the truth, it’s authentic,” Matlin said through her longtime interpreter, Jack Jason. “There’s absolutely no filter. It’s all truth. And I loved it.”
Stern said, through her interpreter, said that as a deaf actor, she was “lucky enough that [Matlin] has reached her hand out — not just to me, but so many other deaf people. … She has always been generous, and she made sure I was the one who had the honor to be able to tell her story, and I knew that I just had to repay her with the grace that she showed me.”
Thursday’s screenings marked the first of the 11-day festival in Park City and Salt Lake City. Some 87 feature films, plus episodic programming and 57 short films, will screen throughout.
Eugene Hernandez, the festival’s director, told reporters at an informal gathering Wednesday in Park City’s Filmmakers Lodge, that “this year’s films will delight, they will entertain, they will provoke, they will inspire and they will engage. We know each of these films in our festival will spark a conversation.”
Kim Yutani, the festival’s programming director, singled out six triple-threat filmmakers, who have directed, written and are starring in their films: James Sweeney in “Twinless”; Katarina Zhu in “Bunnylovr”; Eva Victor in “Sorry, Baby”; Pasqual Gutierrez in “Serious People”; Grace Glowicki in “Dead Lover”; and Cherien Dabis in “All That’s Left of You.”
“These people are clearly show-offs,” Yutani said. “They are incredibly talented people, and we want you to know their names now and to keep an eye on them.”
[Sundance 2025: List of celebrities expected at the film festival]
One pressing topic Sundance leaders do not want to talk about during these 11 days in Park City: Where the festival will call home starting in 2027.
Last year, Sundance Institute started a process to accept bids to find a new home for the festival when Park City’s contract expires after 2026. Three finalists remain in contention after months of vetting: Boulder, Colorado; Cincinnati; and a Utah bid, centering on Salt Lake City with a few events in Park City. A final decision is expected to be announced sometime this spring.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Egyptian Theatre, on Main Street in Park CIty, on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023.
“I know there’s at least one specific burning question that you probably want to ask me,” Hernandez told reporters Wednesday. “I’m going to tell you the answer to that question. The answer is, ‘No, not yet.’”
Amanda Kelso, the institute’s interim CEO, said, “We have a longstanding legacy with Utah, with Park City, and we’re so grateful to be here.”
The festival’s leadership team talked Wednesday about the fires in Los Angeles that have destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, and how they have affected the people organizing and attending Sundance.
“We have filmmakers in our own festival, alumni, members of the industry, community and our Sundance staff who have lost homes or were displaced in the past weeks,” Hernandez said.
He added that before festival screenings, venues will display a QR code that will encourage attendees to donate to aid organizations helping those affected by the fires.
“I love Los Angeles, and my heart weighs really heavy with all the folks who have been impacted,” Kelso said. “Amidst all that, what’s amazing is how we can all come together. Now, it’s almost a moment of healing for us. It’s an opportunity for us to remind ourselves of why it is important for us to be together.”
