The movie BLKNWS: General conditions by Beyoncé Lemonade Filmmaker Kahlil Joseph has been removed from the Sundance Film Festival by his financier Participant, Deadline has confirmed.
The pic made its world premiere in the Next section of the Park City, UT festival.
“We are deeply disappointed to have been informed on Tuesday evening January 21 by Participant Media that they had removed BLKNWS: General conditions of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. We looked forward to bringing the film to our audiences and will be in contact with all customers who have purchased tickets,” read a statement from a Sundance representative.
According to Variety, which first got the story, the brouhaha has to do with the picture’s financier, Participant Media, legally accusing the filmmaker of a second edit of the film that is being submitted to film festivals including in Berlin. We’ve reached out to representatives for Participant and Joseph for their official responses. We will update the report when we receive a response.
The photo logline reads: “The magnum opus of leading West African curator and scholar Funmilayo Akechukwu, The resonance field, I take her to the heart of the Atlantic Ocean, taking a journalist on a journey that changes her understanding of consciousness and time.
The strange thing about all this is that the award-winning, socially engaged production company and financier Participant Cinema closed its doors last April after 20 years in business. At the time, one of the pending titles was BLKNWSin conjunction with A24. Variety reports that A24 is no longer committed to experimental film that blurs the lines between journalism, art, and more. When Participant, founded by Jeff Skoll, closed its doors, it laid off its team of 100 people, except for a core staff who were settling in. their remaining productions.
BLKNWS: General conditions is produced by Onye Anyanwu, Amy Greenleaf and Nic Gonda. Joseph is a director, screenwriter and producer. The film was also written by Saidiya Hartman and Irvin Hunt.
The Sundance Film Festival runs from January 23 to February. 2.
