Richard Stratton, Marc Levin, and Henri Kessler attend the 2023 Sundance Film Festival SLAM Premiere at Egyptian Theatre on January 22, 2023, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Steven Simione/Getty Images)
Editor's Note: The 25th Anniversary and digitally restored print of SLAM will be a part of UCLA's Festival of Preservations this weekend. Below read our coverage of its 2023 Sundance Film Festival screening.
By Stephanie Ornelas
Festivalgoers who attended the 1998 Sundance Film Festival might remember when they saw a young Momolu Stewart rapping from a Washington, D.C., prison in Marc Levin's drama SLAM. Just 16 years old, Stewart was serving a life sentence and made an appearance from the cell next to actor Saul Williams. Levin thought it was crucial to include scenes with actual prison inmates, and his film about a talented Black poet from the projects who's arrested on petty drug charges captured the hearts of audiences in Utah.
And it did the same thing at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, when the cast and crew returned to the mountain to see their film once again in its restored and remastered state at the Egyptian Theatre. Only this time, it screened in the Festival's From the Collection section. Levin was invited on stage and answered questions from the audience, but not before making one very special introduction.
Momolu Stewart attends the 2023 Sundance Film Festival SLAM Premiere at Egyptian Theatre on January 22, 2023, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Steven Simione/Getty Images) As you heard at the end, Saul was longing for a magical door - another way out of the dilemma he was in. Well, there's someone here who's walked through that door. He's a living miracle, and was 16 years old when we shot this film. You saw him in the beginning do freestyle rap with Saul Williams in the D.C. jail, he's a free man now after 23 years behind bars, and he's an inspiration to us all: Momolu Stewart.
The audience cheers as Stewart stands up to acknowledge the stage and Festivalgoers in the theater.
Levin then invites Williams and members of the cast and crew to join him for an exclusive Q&A panel led by Sundance Institute's John Nein, where they chat about what it was like watching the film 25 years later.
Saul Williams attends the 2023 Sundance Film Festival SLAM Premiere at Egyptian Theatre on January 22, 2023, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Steven Simione/Getty Images) I kept looking over my shoulder trying to see Momolu, says Williams. Because as Marc mentioned, that magical door, that blessing of having you here, brother, to experience what we experienced 25 years ago in this room - it means the world to us. And to me, it's about that.
When we started making this film, there was so much intention that we put into it. There was so much intention in the poetry, he continues. You can look at the sprouting of the slam scene and the spoken word scene, and where we are with prison reform and the way that we can now all talk about criminal justice and marijuana legalization, but the seed that affected us really was Momolu's presence.
Looking back at when he attended the Festival and saw SLAM over two decades ago, Williams explains, When I saw the film in this room, it was the first time I had seen it. And I was waiting to see whether that scene made the cut. When it did, I said, OK we did it,' referring to that first jail rap scene with Stewart.
It was the path to the future that finally gave us an answer, which is that fact that Momolu is here with us, adds Levin. And that, to me, symbolizes what Lauren says in the classroom scene: Never let anyone take your freedom. It may have taken 25 years to see the end a little differently, but I guess the thing that's most contemporary and emotionally affecting to me is the life choice dialogues - now marijuana is legal in D.C., thank goodness, but it was about those big questions about the life choices we make. Those resonated with me as powerfully today, maybe even more powerfully, since I was so concerned when we premiered the film. Levin recalls seeing distributors walk out during the premiere.
I remember not being able to just watch the movie because I was so nervous, and again, John, I want to thank you. Visually, it looks incredible.
The team and audience members also watched behind-the-scenes footage of their time spent filming in the D.C. prison and working with the facility's warden, Pat Jackson, a take-no-bullshit powerhouse whom Levin referred to as the studio chief. In one piece of footage, Jackson is filmed telling Levin and the crew that they are done filming for the day, saying, I don't care where you all want to make a movie. I run a prison.
Audiences also laughed at a behind-the-scenes clip of an inmate saying to the camera: Tell Hollywood to eat shit and die.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
14/11/2026
Longtime MLB Network employee David Maybrown passed away Thursday at the age of 57. David joined MLB Network in 2009 shortly after its launch, beginning as an i...
14/11/2026
Modular innovators introduce two guitar-based products
ADDAC System's recently introduced Four String Series makes it possible to integrate physical str...
14/11/2026
Marcelo Dai's Live Session Captured with URSA Cine Immersive
Brie Clayton November 14, 2026
0 Comments
Artist takes viewers on an immersive journe...
14/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
14/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
14/11/2026
Newest Lenses, Horizon Anamorphic Seminar & Guided Lens Character Experience Highlight Creative Possibilities
At the 2026 Toru CAMERIMAGE Film Festival, ZEISS...
14/11/2026
Sonnet Announces Black Friday Sale on Select Products
Brie Clayton November 14, 2026
0 Comments
WHAT: Sonnet Technologies is having a sale on a select...
14/11/2026
Berklee Alumni Shine at the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards This year's winners included songwriters, engineers, and performers who contributed to acclaimed reco...
13/11/2026
The UIM E1 Series wraps its third season this week with the Bombay Sapphire E1 Miami GP, Nov. 11-14, on Biscayne Bay at the Miami Seaplane Base on Watson Island...
13/11/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
13/11/2026
Singer-songwriter Benson Boone will headline entertainment for the Discover NHL Winter Classic between the Utah Mammoth and Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles St...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone, a 7th order ambisonic microphone array that captures spatial audio for immersive video prod...
13/11/2026
SMPTE has announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infrastructure and communications technology for the Solutions Hub at t...
13/11/2026
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) has announced the theme and program focus for the 2027 HPA Tech Retreat, which takes place Feb. 14-18, 2027, in La ...
13/11/2026
Football Manager 27 Touch is available on Apple Arcade starting today. The game ...
13/11/2026
MotoGP has announced a two-year media rights agreement with ESPN covering the Un...
13/11/2026
Apple Sports, the free iPhone app, has added the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to its lineup of supported sports, in time for Saturday's UFC 334. The...
13/11/2026
The NBA and Fanatics Studios, the joint venture between Fanatics and entertainme...
13/11/2026
ESPN held its annual EDGE Innovation Conference last night and offered up an ove...
13/11/2026
Regional sports network gives Ithaca College, SUNY Cortland students a platform to thrive
One of the biggest games in Division III college football will be pla...
13/11/2026
Studer-inspired 500-series PWM compressor unveiled
The HLabs range already includes a couple of Studer-inspired offerings in the form of the PRE169 and EQ16...
13/11/2026
Download Now!
To view the white paper, please enter the following details:
--
First Name* First Name
Company*
Country* Please select your countryA...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Blue Lucy, the workflow orchestration and integration platform for broadcasters, rights owners and localisation companies, today announced an integration with c...
13/11/2026
Krotos announces Black Friday offers on Studio Pro and Studio Max
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
First-year annual plans start at US$195.99...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
New 7th order ambisonic microphone with 108 MEMS...
13/11/2026
Meet the Berklee Student Setting Planetary Motion to Music With his compositional platform SoniKosmos, Javier Roqueni aims to make the universe the ultimate i...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Amagi, the media industry cloud company, today announced a partnership with Golden Times Media Technology (stock code 920021.BJ), a Beijing-based media and tech...
13/11/2026
CGI (TSX: GIB.A) (NYSE: GIB), one of the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world, together with its Malaysian partner, Cedar ...
13/11/2026
SMPTE, the home for media professionals, technologists and engineers, today announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infra...
13/11/2026
iWedia, a global leader in connected TV software solutions, will present its software-first approach to DRAM optimization at Android TV APAC Summit 2026 in Bang...
13/11/2026
Beginning today, November 13, Apple HomeView is available for purchase at Apple Store locations, on the Apple Store online, and in the Apple Store app in select...
13/11/2026
From pediatric research to smart hospitals, AI is helping care teams spend less time on routine tasks and more time with patients.
Health systems and startups...
12/11/2026
Industry leaders examine how Dynamic Media Facility, Media eXchange Layer, and c...
12/11/2026
The junior Tar Heel is embracing the technical and creative challenges of live production while emerging as a leader and mentor in the control room...
12/11/2026
Gracenote, Nielsen's content intelligence business, has released its fifth a...
Richard Stratton, Marc Levin, and Henri Kessler attend the 2023 Sundance Film Festival SLAM Premiere at Egyptian Theatre on January 22, 2023, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Steven Simione/Getty Images)
