19th May 2012
Sundance Festival UK?
20th October 2010
Could the UK be getting its own version of the Sundance Film Festival?
The now iconic independent film event, founded by movie star/director Robert Redford in the 1980s, is held annually in the US state of Utah.
If it goes ahead, the British edition is expected to be hosted in London's O2 Arena, according to reports in the UK's Sunday Times. Redford himself is quoted as saying he hoped the O2 would be available.
A UK Sundance would be a major boost to the British film business, which is still grappling with the government's move to close down the UK Film Council.
The original Sundance festival has encouraged maverick and original filmmaking, leading to the production of some of the most influential contemporary feature films.
These include Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs; Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth; the groundbreaking horror Blair Witch Project (by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez); and Little Miss Sunshine, which made more than $100 million despite its original $8 million budget.
Redford himself has been honoured by the French government when he received the Legion d'Honneur, one of France's most prestigious decorations, from president Nicolas Sarkozy earlier this month.
Photography by John Wright - Fashion