Comment on Sundance 2012: Robert Redford Says There Are Too Many Film Festivals

Robert Redford has remained the most resilient symbol of the Sundance Film Festival since its inception. To some degree, the movies come second: Even the breakout hits, like last year's "Beasts of the Southern Wild," take on new identities once they move beyond the festival environment. While Sundance alone can never define the best work in contemporary cinema, Redford takes great pride in his continuing ability to expose it. Like clockwork, the actor-director-activist speaks confidently with press on the first day of the festival about the lasting value of Sundance as it moves through each decade of changes to the art and commerce of filmmaking, and this year was no exception. However, this time he made a curious admission: If he had the opportunity to create Sundance today, he might think twice. "I think there are probably too many festivals," Redford told a roundtable of journalists in Park City this afternoon.