“What I’m saying is, if you want to go, I won’t stop you.” At the final Park City edition of Sundance last week, my 14th consecutive one, I contemplated this line from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid daily. That’s because a gorgeous, Western-style artwork painted on plywood by local artist Ryan Williams stood not far from The Library Theater, displaying the dearly departed Sundance Kid Robert Redford (who passed away last September at age 89) next to these famous words spoken by his character. The quote felt like a homegrown farewell steeped in bittersweet resignation, an ingenious marking of […]
by Tomris Laffly on Feb 4, 2026
This year’s Sundance Film Festival promises a somewhat elegiac atmosphere. For starters, this is the last time the festival will take place in snowy Park City, Utah, its home since 1981. (Next year, Sundance will take up residence in similarly snowy Boulder, Colorado.) Adding to the mournful vibe is the still fresh loss of Robert Redford, the festival’s founder and presiding spirit, who died in September. Another devastating loss came with the passing of Tammie Rosen, Sundance’s dedicated Chief Communications Officer, who died in December after a lengthy battle with cancer. Amid these many lamentations, it’s heartening to see that […]
by Natalia Keogan on Jan 22, 2026