The 35th annual Sundance Film Festival kicked off in Park City, Utah on Thursday with an impassioned discussion led by the event’s president and founder, Robert Redford. The actor directly addressed embattled producer Harvey Weinstein and the wave of sexual assault and harassment claims that has dominated headlines in recent months.
“I think Harvey Weinstein was a moment in time and we are going to move past that,” Redford, 81, told the crowd during the festival’s opening press conference. “He is not going to stop the show.”
The once-powerful producer was a figure in the rise of independent film, many of which dominated Sundance’s past line-ups.
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“The role for men right now is to listen and to let women’s voices be heard. It’s a time of change that can lead to new conversations,” he said on the first day of the festival.
The Oscar-winning actor was hopeful when it comes to change in the industry and beyond, adding that this is merely “the tipping point” of “too much male dominance.”
“My standpoint is that change is inevitable. Change is going to come,” he said, adding, “This period of change is bringing forth more opportunities for women and women in film to have their voices heard and do their own projects.”
This year’s Sundance Film Festival features several films by female directors, including Lynne Ramsay’s Cannes award-winning drama “You Were Never Really Here” with Joaquin Phoenix, TIFF genre entry “Revenge” by Coralie Fargeat and “I Think We’re Alone Now” from Reed Morano, the Emmy-winning director of “The Handmaid’s Tale”.
