Update (January 25, 2025): BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions may make its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, after James Shani’s Rich Spirit acquired the film by buying Participant Media out of all rights, with hopes of selling the film to a new distributor, reports Variety.
Rich Spirit is best known for acquiring the controversial Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice, after the original distributor Kinematics, backed away.
In a statement, director Kahlil Joseph and producer Onye Anyanwu said,
This film would not have made it to Sundance without the early support and belief of A24 and Participant. Their faith in our vision from the very beginning was instrumental in bringing this project to life.
We are deeply grateful for their willingness to relinquish ownership of the film, a gesture that allows audiences to finally experience what we’ve spent years crafting alongside so many contributing artists.
This moment has been a long time coming, and we are thrilled to finally share this with the world. We look forward to welcoming audiences to the film’s debut and are excited to begin this next chapter for BLKNWS.
Kahlil Joseph’s BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions has been pulled from the Sundance Film Festival reportedly due to a dispute with the film’s financier and copyright holder, Participant.
The statement from Sundance said, “We are deeply disappointed to have been informed on Tuesday evening, January 21, by Participant Media that they have pulled BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions from the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. The film is a radiant and immersive cinematic experience which we were looking forward to premiering for our audiences.”
Variety is reporting that Participant is alleging that the movie’s director was screening a new cut of the film to critics at talent agency CAA “in secret” and also use this new cut to gain entry to the Berlin Film Festival without its knowledge. As its primary producer, Participant owns the copyright to the film.
Directed by Kahlil Joseph, known for directing Beyonce’s Lemonade, it stars Shaunette Renée Wilson, Kaneza Schaal, Hope Giselle, Peter Hernandez, Penny Johnson Jerald, Zora Casebere. Set to premiere in the Next section, known for “pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling” the synopsis reads: “Preeminent West African curator and scholar Funmilayo Akechukwu’s magnum opus, The Resonance Field, leads her to the heart of the Atlantic Ocean, drawing a journalist into a journey that shatters her understanding of consciousness and time.”
All screenings have been removed from the schedule.
This is now the second movie pulled from Sundance, following the Julian Assange documentary The Six Billion Dollar Man directed by Eugene Jarecki withdrawing as it would not be completed in time.