Peter Gilbert counts himself among a generation of filmmakers whose lives were transformed by Robert Redford.
One of Hollywood’s most legendary screen idols, Redford died Sept. 16 at the age of 89.
“He was a very important person in my life,” said Gilbert, a professor in Wake Forest University’s Documentary Film Program.
Film fans revere Redford for his impressive body of work as an actor and director — “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “All the President’s Men,” “Three Days of the Condor” and “The Way We Were” to name a few. But Redford’s lasting legacy may be as a champion of independent film, those often quirky, low-budget films that big studio executives gloss over for lack of blockbuster appeal.
The Sundance Institute that Redford started in 1981 to support independent filmmakers later took over a small film festival in Utah that was rebranded as the Sundance Film Festival, now a prestigious showcase of new films and filmmakers.
“Hoop Dreams,” the groundbreaking documentary that Gilbert co-produced, had its world premiere at Sundance in 1994 where it won the Audience Award for Best Documentary.
For a young filmmaker, attending Sundance in its early years was a heady experience, Gilbert said.
“What was great about Sundance was that you could be walking down the street and see Francis Ford Coppola and say, ‘Can I have a cup of coffee with you and talk to you about my film?’ It was an incredible way to meet people and have your work shown,” Gilbert recalled.
Redford was generous and welcoming to new filmmakers, he said.
After the screening of “Hoop Dreams,” Redford pulled aside Gilbert and the others involved in the film, considered by many to be among the best documentaries ever made.
“He said, ‘Make what you love, and you’ll do fine’” Gilbert said. “That’s how he was.”
Sundance, both the institute and the festival, helped launch the careers of some of today’s most prominent filmmakers including Quinten Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, David O. Russell and Ryan Coogler.
“What he did with the institute and the festival changed the lives of my generation of filmmakers, especially independent filmmakers,” said Gilbert, who has had several films screened at Sundance.
Redford, and by extension Sundance, also gave a career assist to local filmmaker Angus MacLachlan, whose new film “A Little Prayer,” opened nationally to positive reviews last month.
MacLachlan has had three films shown at Sundance, starting with his short film, “Tater Tomater” in 1992, followed by “Junebug” in 2005 and “A Little Prayer” in 2023.
Having “Official Sundance Selection” stamped on the movie poster for “A Little Prayer” provided a boost, MacLachlan said.
“I don’t know how many doors open (when a film is selected for Sundance), but it certainly gives you validation,” he said.
A film fan growing up in Winston-Salem, MacLachlan recalled writing Redford a letter in 1977, asking to be cast in “Ordinary People.” At the time, MacLachlan was a drama student at UNC School of the Arts.
“He wrote me back and said he’d be in touch,” MacLachlan. “And he didn’t cast me, clearly.”
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The film, Redford’s directorial debut, earned him his only Academy Award.
Several years later, MacLachlan was a volunteer at Sundance, just as independent film began to find a wider audience.
Though Sundance mushroomed into a huge, celebrity-driven event, MacLachlan said that, at its core, it remains committed to helping independent filmmakers.
“They still really care about filmmakers. That’s what Robert Redford wanted from the beginning,” he said. “I’m very happy to be part of what they call a family. And it means a lot.”
Redford kept a low-profile at the festival. MacLachlan likened him to a lion in the outback. “Someone would say, ‘There’s Redford,’ and all you’d see is the grass moving,” he said.
Redford made a point of speaking to filmmakers at an annual brunch.
When MacLachlan attended for “A Little Prayer” in 2023, Redford’s daughter, Amy, spoke in his place. MacLachlan got to tell her about the letter her father wrote him in 1977.
“He was something,” MacLachlan said.
Dale Pollock, the former dean of filmmaking at UNC School of the Arts, interviewed Redford about the start of the Sundance festival when he was a journalist covering the film industry for the Los Angeles Times.
On a grassy plateau near Park City, Redford shared his vision for the festival, which was creating considerable buzz in Hollywood.
“Even looking back, how many actors have created a legacy like Redford did? It’s almost unheard of, for someone in his position to put his money and energy into an independent film festival. People weren’t even talking about independent film then,” Pollock said. “It’s unparalleled.”
Redford, Pollock recalled, was generous talking about the festival but guarded when asked about anything personal.
Pollock later turned to producing and had three films accepted into Sundance — “Midnight Clear,” “House of Cards” and “The Beast.”
“When that’s on your resume, people pay attention,” Pollock said.
Beyond the impact Redford had on individual filmmakers, the festival he founded became the catalyst for other cities to have their festivals, even mid-sized cities such as Winston-Salem.
RiverRun International Film Festival started in the wake of Sundance’s explosive success. Now in its 27th year, the nine-day festival brings thousands of visitors to Winston-Salem.
Tiffany Jones, the interim co-executive director of RiverRun, wrote about Redford’s passing in a statement on social media.
“Without the founding of the Sundance Institute and Film Festival, there would be no RiverRun — or any other independent film festival. He created a platform for independent filmmaking that grew beyond Utah with the birth of film festivals across the U.S. and around the world,” Joines wrote.
Mary Dossinger, the festival’s other co-interim executive director, has attended Sundance many times.
People in the film industry appreciate Sundance for the connections they make. She echoed MacLachlan’s sentiment that beyond the celebrity hoopla, Sundance remains a festival devoted to independent cinema.
“There’s a magic that happens there,” Dossinger said.
lodonnell@wsjournal.com
336-727-7420
@lisaodonnellWSJ
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