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Podcasts The Frame
Sundance 2017: A solidarity march and then a cyber attack
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This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.
Jan 21, 2017
Sundance 2017: A solidarity march and then a cyber attack
As a protest march wound through the streets of Park City, film festival organizers were coping with a cyber attack that took the box office offline
A march was held at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah in solidarity with gatherings in Washington and across the country.
A march was held at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah in solidarity with gatherings in Washington and across the country.
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KPCC
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Native American filmmaker Ronda Ray, right, from Gallup, New Mexico, says she’s marching for “a lot of great reasons — women, life, new beginnings, spiritual." Ron Interpreter of Phoenix, Arizona — originally from the Navajo Nation — is at Sundance to promote their film, "The Watchman’s Canoe," “about a young girl who’s coming of age and going through a process of understanding her spiritual integrity.”
Native American filmmaker Ronda Ray, right, from Gallup, New Mexico, says she’s marching for “a lot of great reasons — women, life, new beginnings, spiritual." Ron Interpreter of Phoenix, Arizona — originally from the Navajo Nation — is at Sundance to promote their film, "The Watchman’s Canoe," “about a young girl who’s coming of age and going through a process of understanding her spiritual integrity.”
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KPCC
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Kim {Fallenberg?] from Park City: “I am marching for my daughters and their rights to their reproductive organs and to have equal pay and a bright future.” Her daughters are almost 11 years old and 9 years old and they carried a sign with photos of Malala Yousafsai.
A Park City resident said: “I am marching for my daughters and their rights to their reproductive organs and to have equal pay and a bright future.” Her daughters are almost 11 years old and 9 years old and they carried a sign with photos of Malala Yousafsai.
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KPCC
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As a protest march wound through the streets of Park City, film festival organizers were coping with a cyber attack that took the box office offline

It’s been an eventful Saturday at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah — first with a large march in solidarity with those in Washington and across the country, and then with a cyber attack that knocked out the Sundance box office. When the festival press office was finally able to e-mail a notice, Park City was still suffering massive Internet outages.

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While the Internet was attacked, people converged the old fashioned way on the small Main Street to join in the March on Main. But even before marchers began there were indications that something else was afoot. Internet access was spotty if not completely out in parts of town. It was first attributed to the fresh layer of snow that coated the town overnight and into the morning, but then the Sundance press office sent its announcement.

There were people in town for the festival from all over the country and the world walking side-by-side with locals from Park City — some with their children and grandchildren, others with their dogs.

The rally included a series of speakers, including talk show host Chelsea Handler, who was one of the lead organizers. Dolores Huerta, the legendary activist who co-founded the United Farmworkers Union with Cesar Chavez, also spoke, as the phrase “Sí Se Puede” (Yes, it can) echoed during her speech. Huerta is at Sundance because a documentary about her life made by Peter and Benjamin Bratt, titled “Dolores,” is in the festival.

Also speaking from the stage were a number of people from the entertainment business or from films at the festival, including: filmmaker Janicza Bravo, who’s at the festival with her film “Lemon”; comedian/actress/podcaster Jessica Williams, who’s in Park City with her film, “The Incredible Jessica James”; and actresses Maria Bello, Aisha Tyler and Connie Britton.

The speeches ended with a step dance team from Baltimore that is featured in a documentary, “Step,” premiering at the festival.