Champion of indie filmmakers

His institute and festival nurture new generations of creators

- BY MARK OLSEN

ROBERT REDFORD sought to give voice to directors outside the major studios.

It all started with a purchase of land in the 1960s. Then, from that small slice of Utah and the founding of the Sundance Institute in 1981 and, later, its expansion into the Sundance Film Festival, Robert Redford developed a vision that would reshape on-screen storytelling as we know it. Sundance opened doors for multiple generations of filmmakers who might not otherwise have gained entry to the movie business.

Redford, who died Tuesday at age 89, was already a hugely successful actor, producer and director, having just won an Oscar for his directorial debut "Ordinary People," when he founded the Sundance Institute as a support system for independent filmmakers. His Utah property, named after his role in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," would become a haven for creativity in an idyllic setting.

Evincing a rugged, hands-on attitude marked by curiosity and enthusiasm about the work, Redford embodied a philosophy for Sundance that was clear from its earliest days.

"When I started the Institute, the major studios dominated the game, which I was a part of," Redford said to The Times via email in 2021. "I wanted to focus on the word 'independence' and those sidelined by the majors supporting those sidelined by the dominant voices. To give them a voice. The intent was not to cancel or go against the studios. It wasn't about going against the mainstream. It was about providing another avenue and more opportunity."

The first of the Sundance Lab programs, which continue today, also launched in 1981, bringing emerging filmmakers together in the mountains to develop projects with the support of more established advisors.