Did Robert Redford name the Sundance Film Festival after the character he played?
Redford portrays 'The Sundance Kid' in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which is one of his more famous roles. The movie came out in 1969. He co-founded the Sundance film festival in 1978. Did he name the festival after the character or does the name have another origin and the similarity is a coincidence?
Best Answer
Yes. According to Wikipedia, it was called the US Festival until:
In 1991 the festival was officially renamed the Sundance Film Festival, after Redford's character The Sundance Kid from the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Time Magazine offers more information on the matter:
The festival changed titles frequently — from the U.S. Film Festival to the Utah/U.S. Film Festival to the United States Film & Video Festival to the Sundance/United States Film Festival to, finally, Sundance. The last two changes came about after Redford's Sundance Institute took over the festival in 1985. Redford, who owned property in Utah's Wasatch mountains, named the organization after his character in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
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What was the original name of the Sundance Film Festival?
The Sundance Film Festival began in September 1978 in Salt Lake City, Utah, under the name Utah/United States Film Festival. The idea was launched by the Utah Film Commission as a means to promote independent film and to bring the state of Utah to the attention of filmmakers.Why is Sundance named Sundance?
The Name "Sundance" Redford purchases 5,000 acres in the same area and names the land Sundance, after his role in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. That same year, he opens Sundance Mountain Resort to the public and designates a vast majority of the land as a wilderness preserve.What film festival was founded by Robert Redford?
Robert Redford's Dream It all started in 1978 when the Utah Film Festival was founded with Robert Redford's initiative. At the Festival, 60 independent films premiered until 1981. Over the following three years, the event had a different name \u2013 U.S. Film and Video Festival.Who started the Sundance Film Festival?
Robert Redford founded the Institute in 1981 to foster independence, risk-taking, and new voices in American film. That year, 10 emerging filmmakers were invited to the Sundance Resort in the mountains of Utah, where they worked with leading writers, directors, and actors to develop their original independent projects.\
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