Kahlil Joseph’s ‘BLKNWS’ Pulled from Sundance Over Alleged ‘Secret’ Cut of Film

Kahlil Joseph‘s film “BLKNWS: Terms and Conditions” was pulled from the Sundance Film Festival just days before it was meant to make its world premiere. The film’s financier and copyright holder, Participant, alleged the cut being screened was different from the final cut Joseph initially delivered.

Participant, the now-defunct social-impact studio behind films like “Spotlight,” sent a legal letter to the filmmaker accusing him of screening a “secret” cut of the project to critics.

Participant in the letter, first obtained by Variety, said it was “shocked” about the alternate cut; the studio pulled the film from the festival ahead of its screening on Friday. Participant also says Joseph presented the new cut to the Berlin International Film Festival, where it was set to screen next month, “all behind Participant’s back.” Deadline reported that officials for Berlin were waiting to consult Joseph before seeing whether screenings of the film could continue.

“Given that Mr. Joseph delivered the Film to Participant in November 2024, and Participant submitted that version to Sundance in reliance that it was the final cut of the Film, it is completely unacceptable that Mr. Joseph continued to purport to make changes to the Film,” the letter reads in part. “Participant cannot work with a director that it can no longer trust and who is actively working to circumvent Participant and to frustrate the planned and agreed debut of the Film. Participant will therefore be pulling the Film from the Sundance and Berlin film festivals and reserves all rights to seek recourse from Mr. Joseph and his related entities for their contractual breaches and wrongdoing.”

“BLKNWS: Terms and Conditions” is an expansion of Joseph’s 2019 art exhibition titled BLKNWS that comments on the lens through which the news media shapes the Black experience. CAA was presenting the film, which was originally set up at A24, to domestic buyers at the festival. Participant’s legal letter claims A24 dropped out of the project after Joseph failed to deliver a completed cut of the film, causing Participant “significant damages” by no longer having its co-financier on the project.

Reps for Joseph did not immediately respond to IndieWire’s request for comment.

Sundance, which did not respond to IndieWire’s request for comment, told Variety it was “deeply disappointed” about the film being pulled, calling it “a radiant and immersive cinematic experience.”

Participant ceased formal operations last April, though it still exists as a holdings company for Participant’s library of movies. “BLKNWS” was one of the last unreleased titles from the studio.