PARK CITY, UTAH – January 16, 2026 — Robert Redford is widely known as a Hollywood icon and the founder of the Sundance Film Festival and Labs. Far less visible, but equally defining and enduring, is his lifelong commitment to environmental advocacy and protection. Through The Redford Center, which he co-founded with his son James Redford in 2005, Redford helped champion hundreds of independent film projects intended to drive environmental solutions and real-world change.

For more than two decades, The Redford Center has carried this family legacy forward, supporting stories that are deeply personal, chronically under-resourced, and urgently needed.

At the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, The Redford Center will host a critical conversation to examine how environmental film drives lasting impact beyond the screen and why it is more necessary than ever. The conversation reflects a principle central to independent filmmaking – that filmmakers tell the stories that urgently need to be told, not just the ones that are easy to sell – and how environmental films sit squarely within that tradition.

The panel event, “A Redford Legacy and Exploration: The Future of Environmental Film,” will be held Friday, January 23, 2026 at 2 pm MT at The Box.

The convening brings together multiple generations of Redford family members alongside leading voices in environmental filmmaking and advocacy to discuss how films with impact ambitions are changing the course of our environmental future as they shift culture, mobilize movements, reshape policy, and more.

Introduced by Robert Redford’s daughter, Amy Redford, and moderated by Redford Center Executive Director Jill Tidman, the panel will feature:

• Conor Schlosser, Robert Redford’s grandson and Redford Center Board Chair, who represents the next generation carrying forward a vision that has championed over 400 environmental film projects to-date.
• Sara Dosa, Oscar-nominated filmmaker whose latest work Time and Water will premiere at Sundance on January 27, 2026 and explores humanity’s relationship with geological forces and climate.
• Daniel Hinerfeld, two-time Emmy-winning filmmaker who founded NRDC’s film programs, where Redford served as trustee for five decades.

INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES: Jill Tidman, Executive Director, The Redford Center, is available for interviews about environmental film impact strategies, resourcing emerging filmmakers, and The Redford Center’s programs and partnerships.

Panel video recording will be available post-event.

About The Redford Center 

Co-founded in 2005 by activists and filmmakers Robert Redford and James Redford, The Redford Center is a nonprofit that advances environmental solutions through the power of stories that move. As one of the only US-based nonprofits solely dedicated to environmental impact filmmaking, The Redford Center develops and invests in projects that foster action and strengthen the reach of the grassroots efforts powering the environmental movement. Over the years, The Redford Center has produced three award-winning feature documentaries and more than 40 short films, supported over 400 film and media projects with grants and other services, inspired the creation of 550 student films, and disbursed more than $32 million to environmental films, amplifying change-making solutions to millions of people worldwide. Learn more at www.redfordcenter.org.