The Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, saw a protest on Sunday against two fatal shootings in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with prominent actors expressing their outrage. The demonstration, called 'Sundancers Melt ICE', was held in memory of Renee Good, killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent on 7 January, and Alex Pretti, killed on Saturday by a Department of Homeland Security agent.
Lord of the Rings actor Elijah Wood joined the protest, telling Deadline: “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.” Participants held up lit phones and chanted 'love melts ICE' as law enforcement looked on.
Natalie Portman, who wore 'ICE out' and 'Be Good' pins during festival media duties, called the incidents “absolutely horrific”. She told Deadline: “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, 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.”
