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Sundance Film Festival addresses sexual misconduct allegations

Posted at 8:21 PM, Nov 30, 2017
and last updated 2017-11-30 22:21:31-05

Sundance Film Festival goers will not only be wrapped up in winter coats, but also wrapped up in recent sexual misconduct allegations against several celebrities.

The 2018 festival will be addressing those issues, according to the Washington Post and the Associated Press.

Fox 13 received this statement in from Sundance Film Festival:

“The Sundance Institute and Film Festival denounce, in the strongest possible terms, the behavior of Harvey Weinstein as described by the growing number of women who have bravely come forward. The accusations are abhorrent and profoundly disturbing. We recognize that too often a pattern of abuse like this one thrives in the shadows, and we stand in solidarity with the courageous women whose honesty has helped shine a light on it."

Two allegations against Weinstein involve incidents that occurred during Sundance, The Post reported.

Sundance Film Festival Director John Cooper will take steps to address the sexual misconduct crisis and raise awareness for staff and attendees. He added his Sundance team will publicly share a “code of conduct”. Prior to the 2018 festival, that code was only seen by staff and volunteers.

The Post also reports the festival plans to host several panels regarding sexual misconduct and misuse of power. Cooper told The Post the festival works closely with local police and hotel security. Their goal is to create a positive and safe environment for festival goers.

Along with the heightened awareness at Sundance, one of the 110 films debuting will be “Seeing Allred", which is a documentary about top women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred and the large number of sexual assault victims she represents and why she does it.

In the film she said she was once raped at gunpoint and she does not want other parents’ daughters to go through that terrible experience.

Sundance runs January 18 through 28 in Park City and Salt Lake City.