As the entertainment world mourns Robert Redford, the celebrated actor who charmed audiences as a straight-laced businessman in “Barefoot in the Park” and a crackerjack reporter in “All the President’s Men,” one question looms large: What will happen at Sundance?
Along with his onscreen roles, Redford, who died Sept. 16 at 89, was a power player behind the scenes of Hollywood, directing several high-profile movies and founding the Sundance Film Festival, among the country’s largest and most prestigious events on the circuit.
Following his death, the festival released a statement lamenting the loss of his “generosity” and “rebellious spirit.”
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our founder and friend Robert Redford,” the statement, shared with USA TODAY, read. “Bob’s vision of a space and a platform for independent voices launched a movement that, over four decades later, has inspired generations of artists and redefined cinema in the U.S. and around the world.
“Beyond his enormous contributions to culture at large, we will miss his generosity, clarity of purpose, curiosity, rebellious spirit, and his love for the creative process,” the statement continued. “We are humbled to be among the stewards of his remarkable legacy, which will continue to guide the Institute in perpetuity.”
Robert Redford attends the “2019 Sundance Film Festival – Day One Press Conference” at Egyptian Theatre on Jan. 24, 2019, in Park City, Utah.
Redford founded the Sundance Institute in the early ’80s, to, according to its mission statement, “foster independence, risk-taking, and new voices in American film.” In 1981, for its inaugural year, the Institute invited 10 filmmakers to the Sundance Resort in the mountains of Utah to hone their craft.
That swath of land held particular meaning for Redford, who, in the late ’60s, had purchased property there and named it after one of his most famed characters from the now-beloved western “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”
Following several early iterations of the event under a different name and management, the Sundance festival began in earnest in 1985, screening American and international independent films over the course of 10 days. As the decades passed, the number of film screenings ticked up, and the mainstream notability of the movies presented grew. “The Usual Suspects,” “Heathers,” “Mississippi Masala,” “Reservoir Dogs” and “500 Days of Summer” are among the most famous movies to premiere at Sundance.
Now as much an institution in Hollywood as Redford himself, the festival will be held for its final time in Park City, Utah, in 2026, before moving to Boulder, Colorado in 2027. The name, however, dedicated to the sweeping mountain range where the actor called home and spent his final moments, will remain.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sundance founder Robert Redford dies. What’s next for the festival?
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source uk.news.yahoo.com ’
