The moment Marlee Matlin stepped onstage at the 1987 Academy Awards as the first deaf actor to win an Oscar for “Children of a Lesser God” appeared to be a joyous triumph. At 21, she rocketed to international fame and was given the immediate and often heavy mantle of deaf emissary,

Marlee Matlin gives an unflinchingly honest account of her experiences as a deaf actor in the funny and revelatory documentary “Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore.”

Marlee Matlin and director Shoshannah Stern join us at the THR studio in Park City to talk all about their documentary Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore. Matlin reveals why this was the moment to tell her story onscreen and choosing a director like Stern for the film.

“I was afraid as I walked up the stairs to get the Oscar,” Matlin recalled about the moment in an interview with filmmaker Shoshannah Stern. “I was afraid because I knew in my gut that he wasn’t happy. Because I saw the look on his face and my thought was, ‘S–t!'”

John Lithgow, who stars alongside Olivia Colman in "Jimpa" shared his excitement. "It's so exciting! I don't think I've ever been in the opening premiere at Sundance. We were thrilled to get that invitation."

In The Times’ first daily newsletter from Sundance 2025, two films that elevate the celebrity bio-doc and an interview with the director of ‘Ricky.’

Tessa Thompson attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival Gala Fundraiser during the 2025 Sundance Film Festival at Grand Hyatt Deer Valley on January 24, 2025 in Park City, Utah.

Jessica Parker, Dylan O’Brien, Juliette Lewis, Olivia Colman, John Lithgow & More stopped by the Sundance Deadline Film Festival Studio

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Marlee Matlin gives an unflinchingly honest account of her experiences as a deaf actor in the funny and revelatory documentary “Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore.”

Director Bill Condon’s Sundance Film Festival premiere ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ costars Lopez, Tonatiuh and Diego Luna

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Sundance Film Festival is officially underway with a wide variety of bold independent storytelling featured in the event's 86 feature-length films.