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Actor Robert Redford is partnering the state of New Mexico to produce "Sundance in New Mexico," a hands-on filmmaking program that will work with and train aspiring Hispanic and Native American filmmakers. Officially beginning on Saturday May 16 in Santa Fe, the program aims to bring Redford's knowledge of film to communities that do not frequently see an abundance of funding.
The actor said he fell in love with the southwestern state after filming "The Milagro Beanfield War" in 1988 and gained his appreciation for Hispanic culture after growing up living in one of the few Caucasian houses in a predominantly Latino, blue-collar neighborhood in Los Angeles. Redford went on to produce the Spanish-language film The Motorcycle Diaries, the story of revolutionary Che Guevara.
The program will stem from Redford's Sundance Institute, which produces such events as the Sundance Film Festival, and work in collaboration with New Mexico's film office. The program will cost the state an estimated $80,000 annually, yet Redford hopes that Sundance in New Mexico will work to stimulate outside interests and boost the state's economy. Redford provided the Sundance Film Festival as an example, saying that the event began as an idea with little funding but is now responsible for bringing in millions of dollars to its location's economy.