PARK CITY, Utah — It was a fun yet solemn atmosphere on Friday, especially for Scott Currie, who has been attending Sundance since its inception.
“It’s bittersweet for me,” Currie said through tears, "so many memories, all the years.”
Many gathered at The Marquis on Main Street for Sundance’s “Everyone Has a Story” event, to reminisce about the festival one last time.
“Everyone has a story,” said festival director Eugene Hernandez, "when Mr. Redford passed in September, we knew that this would be the framing for this year's festival.”
No matter how big the movie became, each filmmaker who spoke at the event remembers the moment everything changed during Sundance.
“The opening night was in Salt Lake City back then, and it was in kind of a multiplex. There were a lot of theaters. So, my night was Robert Redford introducing me four times in all the different theaters,” said Richard Linklater, director of “Before Sunrise."
“There was no opening credits. It went from a black screen to Napoleon standing and waiting for the school bus,” said Jared Hess, director of “Napoleon Dynamite.” "Lo and behold, the audience started to clap and laugh and cheer from that first frame all the way to the end when we got a standing ovation."
“Seeing the tears, seeing the laughter, seeing how that audience was 100% with us and stood up and clapped. I was like, this is it. This is how movies and stories can change the world,” said Effie Brown, Producer of “Real Women Have Curves.”
At the center of each of those experiences, however, was one man who made everything happen: Robert Redford.
“For all his movie star status, he was an outsider. He held Hollywood at arm's length. He was an independent spirit. He gave so much,” Linklater said.
“The success of the film never would have happened if Robert Redford hadn't created a festival where people with no ties to the industry had a platform to come and share their films,” Hess said.
While Sundance is moving on, Amy Redford said a piece of her father’s legacy will go with each person, from those who made the films to those who came to enjoy them.
“It was always meant to be you, each creator, each citizen, they carry the seedlings of his vision, not only in this industry, but the world, that was the point,” she said.
Sundance will be moving to Boulder, Colorado, next year after over 40 years in the state of Utah.
