Traffic on Main Street in Park City came to halt on busy Sunday afternoon during Sundance as several hundred Palestinian protesters — among them actors Melissa Barrera and Indya Moore — packed the sidewalk, chanting “free Palestine” and “stop the genocide.”

Moore, in town for the festival premiere of Ponyboi, took the mic to say, “I’m gay as — God forgive me — fuck. I love everybody. I love people. I have Israeli friends. I have Jewish friends. I have Palestinian friends. Everybody sees what’s happening. They all agree. There needs to be a ceasefire. Stop telling us to hate each other. Stop telling us they hate each other. They also know that the Palestinian children murdered are not responsible for freeing the hostages right now. That’s just the truth, right? The children are innocent.”

On a wintry afternoon, the scene unfolded in front of Park City mainstay Main Street Pizza & Noodle, as protesters crashed up against festival attendees trying to make their way up and down the busy block for screenings, panels, lunches and events. Chrissy Teigen was seen walking toward the protest trailed by entourage.

Barrera’s appearance comes after she was fired from the Scream franchise for her social media posts about the Israel-Gaza conflict. The Palestinian supporter said she’s since had “awakening” that led her to become who she is “supposed to be.” She is there for the premiere of her new film, Your Monster.

Utah state troopers and Park City police teamed up to monitor the scene that, at times, grew tense as a handful of Israeli supporters stood opposite the Palestinian protesters to chant “bring them home” as a reference to the hostages being held since the Nova music festival. Other people were heard booing the Palestinian protesters and attempting to drown out their chants of “resistance is justified when people are occupied.”

News of the protest broke on Friday with social media post promoting “Let Gaza Live” invited interested parties to Main Street for a demonstration to start at 12:30 p.m on Sunday. “Park City is home to the largest indie film fest in the U.S.; tens of thousands travel across the globe to attend the event. While we do not take issue with Sundance as a whole, we aim to let spectators & news reporters know that Utah stands with Palestine,” read the Instagram post.

The protest is not affiliated with the Sundance Film Fest. The Palestinian Solidarity Association of Utah noted that security at the protest will be handled by a Utah-based org, Armed Queers of Salt Lake City. Park City Police Department will provide security as needed.

“We have also been made aware of the demonstration and its commitment to maintaining a peaceful environment,” the Sundance Institute offered in a statement at the time. “While the organizers are non-affiliated with the Festival itself, the safety and security of our festival goers is always of concern to us, and we consistently work with local law enforcement to uphold an environment that is welcoming, inspiring and secure for all our attendees.”

At Sundance, the social, political and cultural environment is reflected on big screens and via programming with events, panels, protests and gatherings.

“We succeeded in bringing the story of the hostage crisis to the center of the Sundance Film Festival,” he posted. “There were tears and hugs and emotion and stories, and I truly believe it was an unforgettable, powerful experience.”

Actress Emmanuelle Chriqui offered words,“We are mighty, and there is so much being done. Tonight, you walk away amplifying all of these messages so that we bring them home now.”

Shabbat Lounge

Another event that put spotlight on Israel was the Shabbat Lounge which hosted a Filmmakers Against Anti-Semitism panel discussion on Sunday in partnership with the Jewish Filmmaker Network.