Fan Fare

He’s past the age where most people retire, but actor, activist and Sundance Institute founder Robert Redford sees no reason to call it a work day, even at age 74.

“I have not thought about retiring,” Redford told reporters on Thursday, the opening day of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

Redford rose up through Hollywood’s ranks in the 1960s, and hit the jackpot with his role as an outlaw in 1969′s “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” He went on to major success in “The Sting,” “All the President’s Men” and numerous other titles. He won an Oscar for directing “Ordinary People” and became as well-known for his social activism as for his acting.

Thirty years ago, he founded the Sundance Institute for filmmaking in Utah and on Thursday at a press conference, he outlined its growth from a place where artists, writers, filmmakers and performers could get together and share ideas, to an institution which has given rise to the huge Sundance festival, a TV channel airing around the globe, a group of movie theaters and a supporter of the arts with links to other organizations worldwide. He said that even though the Institute has grown, it has retained its original mission. The Sundance festival, which is backed by the Institute, opened on Thursday night by screening a group of four movies, most notably the documentary “Sing Your Song,” which tells of the life of singer and activist Harry Belafonte. Read about that here.