Why Director Kahlil Joseph's Secret Cut Caused 'Blknws' to Be Pulled from Sundance

The Sundance Film Festival mainly focuses on independent films made in the last year, and the indie film Blknws: Terms & Conditions was one of the films set to screen at the festival. What no one expected was that the upset financier Participant, which is also the copyright holder, would pull the film from the festival lineup due to the director’s secret cut of the film.

Variety reports that the director made a new secret cut of the film, which was used to enter global festivals like the Berlin Film Festival, without approval from Participant.

Participant claims that the director, Kahlil Joseph—who previously worked on Beyoncé’s Lemonade—made changes to the film without approval, despite having a final version for submission that was approved.

Blknws: Terms & Conditions was set to be part of this Sundance’s Next section and was described as an ambitious mixed-media project combining art, journalism, and cultural critique.

The Sundance Film Festival expressed disappointment over the removal of a project that was described as a “radiant and immersive cinematic experience.” Kahlil Joseph and his representatives have not yet commented on the situation.