Olivia Wilde is not staying quiet about the state of the union. The filmmaker turned heads and stopped conversations at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday night, January 24, as she arrived for the world premiere of her new directorial effort, The Invite. Clad in a striking gown, Wilde made a point of wearing a prominent “ICE Out” pin on her lapel. She joined a growing wave of A-listers using the Park City spotlight to protest a surge in federal immigration enforcement and the recent fatal shooting of a protester in Minnesota.
Speaking to reporters on the red carpet, a visibly emotional Wilde didn’t just offer a quick soundbite. She delivered a manifesto against the current political climate. “We’re all here getting to celebrate something really beautiful and hopeful in film storytelling,” Wilde told Variety. “But the world is hurting right now, and this country is hurting. And it’s appalling. I’m appalled and sickened.”
The protest follows the fatal shooting of 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis earlier that day. Pretti was reportedly shot by Border Patrol agents during an immigration enforcement action in the Whittier neighborhood. The incident has sparked a national outcry and massive marches, casting a long and somber shadow over the festival’s final Utah edition before its 2027 move to Boulder, Colorado.
Wilde Calls for Action
For Wilde, the “ICE Out” campaign is about more than just optics. She used her platform to directly challenge the legitimacy of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement by labeling it an “unbelievably criminal organization.”
“We can’t go another day just sort of accepting this as our new norm,” Wilde continued on the carpet. “People are being murdered. And I don’t want to normalize seeing people being murdered on the internet. On film. It’s hideous. And so if we can do anything out here to support the movement to cast ICE out, to delegitimize this unbelievably criminal organization, then that’s what we should be doing.”
Wilde was not alone in her stance. Fellow festival attendees Natalie Portman, Wanda Sykes, and Elijah Wood also spoke out against the recent violence. Portman, who was promoting her film The Gallerist, echoed Wilde’s sentiment and called the moment in American history “quite devastating.” Sykes was seen wearing a “BE GOOD” pin, which honors the memory of Renée Macklin Good, who was another victim of a federal shooting earlier this month.
The Standing Ovation: A Rare Sundance Moment
Despite the heavy political undertones of the evening, Wilde’s creative work received a reception that was nothing short of historic. The Invite, which is a marital comedy drama starring Wilde alongside Seth Rogen, Edward Norton, and Penélope Cruz, premiered at the Eccles Theatre to a thunderous standing ovation.
Standing ovations are a noted film festival tradition, but the response to The Invite was exceptionally moving. The crowd stayed on its feet for several minutes, which left Wilde wiping away tears as she took the stage for a Q&A. The film is an English-language remake of the Spanish movie The People Upstairs (Sentimental) and was co-written by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack.
“This was the dream, to premiere right here for you guys,” Wilde told the audience during the post-screening talk. “I heard a wise person say you’re never as vulnerable as when you’re laughing. And I think that the great thing about this group is it allowed us to take people on that journey, to let them laugh, let them relax, and then just gut punch them.”
A “Fiercely Energized” Chamber Dramedy
Critics are already hailing The Invite as a career high for Wilde. The film depicts a marriage in crisis as a hosting couple, played by Wilde and Rogen, invite their freewheeling neighbors, played by Cruz and Norton, over for a disastrously hilarious and gut-wrenching evening. The screenplay plunges the two couples into a crucible of awkward small talk that quickly turns to the unearthing of long tenured grievances and insecurities.
Variety called the film “marvelously entertaining,” while The Hollywood Reporter noted that the movie should silence any doubters of Wilde’s directorial prowess after the drama surrounding her previous project Don’t Worry Darling. The film was shot in San Francisco and focuses on the claustrophobic tension of a single night.
The tension in Park City reflects a nation on edge. While stars celebrate independent film, the death of Alex Pretti has ignited fresh protests across the country. Pretti, who was a U.S. citizen and ICU nurse for the Department of Veterans Affairs, was shot multiple times on the morning of January 24.
The Department of Homeland Security has stated that agents fired defensive shots after Pretti approached them with a handgun, but witness videos and family statements have disputed this narrative. The fallout has reached the highest levels of local government, with Governor Tim Walz activating the Minnesota National Guard to assist local police amid growing unrest.
A Bittersweet Farewell to Park City
This year’s festival is a poignant one because it is the final year the prestigious event will be held in Park City. Starting in 2027, the Sundance Film Festival will relocate to Boulder, Colorado. The move was announced by the Sundance Institute in March 2025 and marks the end of a four-decade journey in the small Utah mountain town.
The decision to move was motivated by a desire for the festival to grow and evolve in a location that offers “open-mindedness” and natural beauty. While Utah officials expressed disappointment, the film community is looking toward the future in the Rocky Mountains. For Wilde and her peers, this year represents a “bittersweet” transition between honoring the past and fighting for a better future.
