The upcoming Sundance film festival in the United States is planning several tributes to its late co-founder Robert Redford, including a screening of his first independent film, organizers announced.
The legendary Oscar-winning actor and director passed away last month at the age of 89. His death saddened the seventh art: many of the big names, such as Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh, took their first steps at Sundance, thanks to the festival dedicated to independent cinema that he created.
“Robert Redford’s devotion to the power of storytelling shaped independent cinema,” the festival organization said in a statement.
Special screening of “The Infernal Descent”
For the next edition, the organizers are planning a “commemorative screening” of The hellish descent (1969), Robert Redford’s first independent film, “a passion project that was the catalyst for the creation of the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival.”
Starring Redford as an obsessive skier competing in the Winter Olympics, the film was described by critic Roger Ebert as “the best movie ever made about sports, without really being about sports at all.” Robert Redford had proposed and produced the film, although he did not receive any official credit as a producer.
Many other events honoring the actor will take place throughout the festival, which begins on January 22. This will be the last edition to be held in the US state of Utah, before the festival leaves Park City to move to Boulder, in neighboring Colorado.
The festival also plans a series of screenings of iconic films that premiered at Sundance, including little miss sunshine and the horror movie Sawin the presence of the directors and actors. The festival line-up, which includes premieres of new feature films and documentaries, will be announced in the coming weeks.
Source: BFM TV
