How Sundance Paid Tribute to Cofounder Robert Redford
The Sundance Film Festival opened this year with a tribute to cofounder Robert Redford. The late actor’s daughter, Amy, reflected on his influence on the event and the independent film community.
Sundance Film Festival honors Robert Redford
The Sundance Film Festival paid tribute to its founder Robert Redford during an opening-day appearance by his daughter, Amy Redford. She reflected on the event’s legacy in Park City, Utah, and its upcoming move to Boulder, Colorado (via Deadline).
Speaking to journalists, Amy Redford highlighted the festival’s core mission by recalling a phrase frequently used by her father. “Everyone has a story. Those were words out of my dad’s mouth on more than one occasion,” she said. She described the town as “the portal to so many stories to set free in the rest of the world.”
Redford urged attendees to absorb their surroundings, saying, “these mountains have a funny way of adding perspective. Utah is the bedrock that allowed us to build.” Thanking the community for supporting the event in its early days, she said Park City had lent “their town to this crazy idea.”
Redford also emphasized the importance of the local community, encouraging festivalgoers to look beyond screenings and venues. She said, “Pay attention to the people who are serving you. There might just be a lot about Utah you don’t know… My Dad loved this place and its people.”
Her remarks come as the Sundance Institute has secured a 10-year agreement with Boulder. This includes approximately $34 million in tax incentives and expansion plans for theaters and lodging.
Amy Redford described the shift as a return to Sundance’s original spirit, saying it “might feel like our beginnings 40 years ago.” She added that the next phase would remain grounded in the “simple and strong” values her father set down at the organization’s founding.
She concluded her speech with, “to seek the unknowns and find out who they are — it was really my Dad’s favorite part.”
Source: Comingsoon.net