(Cover) - EN Movies - Robert Redford has acknowledged that “times are dark and grim” at the opening of the Sundance Film Festival.
The founder of the annual event opened the festival with a speech that put the film industry into the context of economic and political crises.
But the 65-year-old also said he was looking forward to see fresh work by artists who haven’t been “paralysed” by the challenging global conditions.
“We can start with the hard times we’re living in — it’s no secret, times are dark and grim,” Robert said at a press conference for the festival. “In addition, we’re suffering from a government in paralysis. That makes it all a pretty grim time. But the happy thing is that here, for this week, we’re going to see work from artists, even though their work might be reflective of these hard times, there is not paralysis here.”
In fitting with his speech, the 2012 festival opened with a documentary about the financial crash.
Titled The Queen of Versailles, the tragi-comedy is about David and Jacqueline Siegel, whose plan to build a 90,000-square-foot mansion was sidetracked when David’s timeshare empire suffered reversals in the economic crash of 2008.
"When it started, [the movie] was more of a cinema-verite look at wealth," director Lauren Greenfield said after the screening. "The tone definitely changed. They start as the 1 percent, who you look at with fascination. Then they become more relatable, and more of an everyman story.”
"I think it’s obvious that we are in a time of tremendous change. Some want to fight against it – and we can see who is fighting it from their behaviour. We embrace it," Redford added.
Meanwhile, the Film Critics' Circle awards took place in London last night.
Black-and-white movie The Artist scored three trophies in the Film of the Year, Director of the Year and Actor of the Year categories, continuing its successful run through the awards season.
The Actress of the Year award was tied between Anna Paquin for her performance in Kenneth Lonergan's drama Margaret and Meryl Streep for her portrayal of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady.
Kenneth Branagh was named Supporting Actor of the Year for his role as Laurence Olivier in My Week With Marilyn, while Michael Fassbender won British Actor of the Year for his performances as Carl Jung in A Dangerous Method and as a sex addict in Shame.
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