‘BLKNWS’ Director Has “Confusion” Over Film Being Pulled

EXCLUSIVE: After defunct socially conscious Participant pulled Kahlil Joseph‘s experimental movie BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions from the Sundance Film Festival, the filmmaker has weighed in over the “unexpectedly harsh letter” he received from the pic financier’s lawyers.

BLKNWS was originally set to world premiere in the Next section of the festival.

In a note to Deadline, the director, whose credits include Beyonce’s Lemonade, says “We’re still hopeful that the originally submitted film from Participant, which Sundance already has in their possession, can still screen on Friday. You can imagine our surprise and confusion upon receiving such an unexpectedly harsh letter. It has been a challenging adjustment since the transition at Participant last year, as we’ve been navigating these matters without the incredible team of filmmakers we previously worked closely with. I love this film and know it will excite audiences when they finally get to see it.  I don’t think anything like it has ever been made.”

Participant lawyers ordered Sundance to pull the movie after accusing Joseph of a secret cut that was submitted to festivals. A24 was previously attached to distribute the movie last year before Participant’s ship went down in April. We hear that the versions of the pic in the hands of Sundance and Berlin is merely a cleaned-up postproduction print. In the wake of Participant firing 100 employees, the Jeff Skoll company, we hear, has been a holding company of business affairs execs who are settling the studio’s remaining assets. Skoll is a Canadian engineer and billionaire who was the first president of eBay. He used his wealth to become a philanthropist through the Skoll Foundation and Participant. He also founded the investment firm Capricorn Investment Group. When he shut down Participant it was to pivot away from entertainment. He also had removed himself from the day-to-day ops of the studio at that point in time.

Deadline also recently told you that as far as BLKNWS play at Berlin, that’s up in the air, too.

We’ve reached out to a rep from Participant about the legal papers they filed, and we still haven’t heard back.

Last night Sundance released a statement about the brouhaha saying: ““We are deeply disappointed to have been informed this on Tuesday evening, January 21, by Participant Media that they have pulled BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions from the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. We were looking forward to premiering the film for our audiences and will be in touch with all customers who purchased tickets,” read a statement from a Sundance rep.”

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