Robert Redford: Sundance Film Festival is Too Big, Refuses to Talk #OscarsSoWhite Boycott

Over the years, Robert Redford has turned into the all-time champion for independent movies, launching the Sundance Film Festival and, in the years since, it has grown to become one of the most important festivals around. Now, even Redford thinks it's gotten a little too big. Speaking during this year's edition, the actor and filmmaker refused to address the recent #OscarsSoWhite boycott while speaking about the festival.

In a recent interview with the Associated Press published on USA Today, the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid actor-turned-filmmaker revealed that there have been problems in this year's edition of the iconic indie festival.

"I'm starting to hear some negative comments about how crowded it is and how difficult it is to get from venue to venue when there is traffic and there are people in the streets and so forth," said Redford. "When actors came who were well known, then the paparazzi came. Then once the paparazzi came, the fashion houses came. Suddenly this thing was going haywire."

According to Indie Wire, the President of the Sundance Institute also said they were already thinking of measures to keep the festival under control for upcoming editions. Since the tag of "independent film" is so wide and every filmmaker in the world wants to make it to Sundance, Redford proposes that the festival be divided into different sections, and instead of having one week-long festival per year, there could be a few editions scattered around months.

In any case, Redford's pretty clear that something needs to change in the festival's logistics.

Variety reports that the 79-year-old Hollywood legend was asked later on to weigh in on the recent controversy surrounding the Oscars, which only had white people nominated in the acting categories for the second year in a row. Redford did speak a little about diversity in media, however, pointing out that it had everything to do with independence, saying that, while Sundance didn't take a position of advocacy on the subject, he said they were proud of how they "show diversity because it's tied to the fundamental word of independent" film.