The Sundance Film Festival helped to revolutionize the world of American independent cinema by cultivating an audience for daring and innovative films, and often catalyzing theatrical distribution deals for such films that otherwise would not have a chance for release. In 1981, actor Robert Redford, interested and concerned about the state of film in the United States, founded the Sundance Institute, an organization devoted to the support and development of emerging screenwriters and directors. Quickly turning into a fertile ground for new artists (over 300 filmmakers benefit annually from its various film, screenwriting, and cultural programs), the Institute ballooned into the high-profile Sundance Film Festival, an annual, winter event held in the quaint village of Park City, Utah, that is attended by over 10,000 people. The festival runs over a period of ten days, and screens international films, documentaries, short films, and American independent premieres—making the...