REDFORD HAILS TRIUMPH OF INDIE FILMS
Indie films offer artists more freedom, control, festival founder says
PARK CITY, Utah — He’s far too humble to take any credit for the current state of independents, but Robert Redford says the Sundance Film Festival has witnessed a veritable inversion of the established order.
“When we started in 1986, independent film was a very small category that was simply off the radar of what the mainstream was doing. Also, the mainstream — being the major studios — were still in existence,” Redford said, addressing a swollen press corps at the opening- day news conference at the historic Egyptian Theatre on Thursday.
“There have been a lot of changes over the years, but the one I see this year — which I find so gratifying — is that a category that was so small when we started has grown consistently. So with the collapsing of the mainstream, and the business changing so radically, the category and the community ( of independents) is growing.”
Redford pointed to the participation of former mainstream talents, from directors to actors, as a sign of just how important the independent world of cinema has become.
“People like Spike Lee and Stephen Frears are here ... because it has more possibilities and more freedom and control for the artists themselves, and that’s really what we’re about.”
Programmer John Cooper and Institute director Kerry Putnam backed up Redford’s words by talking about new initiatives undertaken by the Sundance group, including an artist’s service dedicated to helping filmmakers navigate and formulate their own distribution plan, as well as Sundance London, which kicks off this spring in partnership with AEG, owners of the O2 millennium stadium.
They also acknowledged the current battle over the Internet, intellectual property and the threat of piracy, which affected both Google and Wikipedia earlier this week.
“Piracy is a huge concern for us, because it’s a huge concern for the filmmakers,” she said. “Without revenue, how are they going to build sustainable careers?”
Redford brought the discussion back full circle by talking about the willingness to change, and the calcified conservatism he believes is holding back America’s creative engine, and the very core of its entrepreneurial spirit.
“I’m not going to get into politics ... and that mushroom cloud of ego hanging over everybody, it’s silly and it’s stupid,” he said. “But the U. S. government has consistently, and unfortunately, at the Congressional end of things ... you have narrow- minded people who are afraid of change. And yet, the only thing we know is going to happen is change. We embrace it. But there are people who are afraid of it,” he said.
“I think it’s tragic that we don’t support our artists more than we do, and as long as we have that kind of thinking in Congress, we will fight it. I hope they just eventually go away.”
Redford said the people who love Transformers movies will always be able to see films tailored to their taste, because there’s a place for popcorn escapism. It just isn’t Sundance.
The festival, named after Redford’s legendary screen character, remains an extension of the actor- director- philanthropist’s personal commitment to embrace change, and to enlighten the masses through long- form documentaries and other programs.
Even the uglier side of the changing world order hasn’t fazed the festival founder.
“Globalization wasn’t really an issue when we started. That happened in the ’ 90s. But we embraced the change.”
Not only did the Sundance program become truly international by the ’ 90s, complete with competitive world dramatic and documentary categories, it also found a whole new audience in Europe and other film cultures that respond to a more artistic handling of the medium.
Maybe it’s a personal thing, Redford admits. Taking a stroll down memory lane, the stillblond, still handsome star talked about his days as an art student in France and Italy.
Redford said the goal of the festival is to share that eyeopening sense of wonder with others, and celebrating the creative spirit with anyone.