David James Redford (May 5, 1962 – October 16, 2020) was an American documentary filmmaker and environmentalist.

Early life

Redford was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the son of historian Lola Van Wagenen and actor-director

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the List of awards and nominations received by Robert Redford, recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award from four nomi ...

. He grew up in New York, but spent summers in the

Provo Canyon Provo Canyon is located in unincorporated Utah County and Wasatch County, Utah. Provo Canyon runs between Mount Timpanogos on the north and Mount Cascade on the south. The canyon extends from Orem on the west end to Heber City on the east. Provo ...

area of

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, where his family also had a home. Redford received an undergraduate degree in creative writing and filmmaking from

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado syst ...

in 1985, and later received a master’s degree in English literature from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. In 1993, Redford underwent two liver transplants to combat the effects of

primary sclerosing cholangitis Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a long-term progressive disease of the liver and gallbladder characterized by inflammation and scarring of the bile ducts, which normally allow bile to drain from the gallbladder. Affected individuals may ha ...

. His transplant experience led him to found the James Redford Institute for Transplant Awareness. Through the institute, he was the executive producer of his first documentary, ''The Kindness of Strangers'' in 1999, directed by Maro Chermayeff.

Career

In 2001, Redford was credited as the screenwriter for the western drama ''

Cowboy Up ''Cowboy Up'' (also known as ''Ring of Fire'') is a 2001 American Western film directed by Xavier Koller. It stars Kiefer Sutherland, Marcus Thomas, Molly Ringwald, and Daryl Hannah. It won the Crystal Heart Award at the 2001 Heartland Film Fe ...

'' as well as the 2002 television film '' Skinwalkers''. His directorial debut came in 2003 with the movie ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'', which he also screenwrote. In 2005, he and his father Robert Redford co-founded the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

based nonprofit called ''The Redford Center'' that produces films and helps filmmakers by providing them grant money. Redford directed his first documentary, ''The Big Picture; Rethinking Dyslexia'' (2012), which was based on the challenges faced by his son Dylan in school. Interviewees in the documentary included

Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields. Branson expressed ...

, Charles Schwab,

David Boies David Boies (; born March 11, 1941) is an American lawyer and chairman of the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner LLP. Boies rose to national prominence for three major cases: leading the U.S. federal government's successful prosecution of Microsof ...

, and

Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fr ...

. Also in 2012 he produced ''Watershed''. His 2013 documentary ''Toxic Hot Seat'' dealt with the health problems caused by the use of flame-retardant materials used in furniture. Other movies included ''Paper Tigers'' (2013) , ''Resilience'' (2016) , and ''Happening: A Clean Energy Revolution'' (2017). Cast members of ''Happening'' included

Mark Ruffalo Mark Alan Ruffalo (; born November 22, 1967) is an American actor and producer best known for playing Bruce Banner / Hulk since 2012 in the superhero franchise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in the television series '' She-Hulk: Attorne ...

, Lisa Jackson, mayor Dale Ross and entrepreneur Emily Kirsch among others. His most recent film ''Playing for Keeps'' premiered at the

Mill Valley Film Festival The Mill Valley Film Festival is an annual American film festival founded in 1977. History In October 1977, Mark Fishkin, Rita Cahill and Lois Cole organized a three-day film festival. It featured three film tributes, Francis Ford Coppola's ''T ...

in October 2020. He was at work finishing a documentary on

Amy Tan Amy Ruth Tan (born on February 19, 1952) is an American author known for the novel '' The Joy Luck Club,'' which was adapted into a film of the same name, as well as other novels, short story collections, and children's books. Tan has written ...

called ''Where The Past Begins.''

Personal life

In 1988, Redford married Kyle Redford. They had two children.

Death

Redford died from cancer of the bile ducts on October 16, 2020, at his home in

Fairfax, California Fairfax is an incorporated town in Marin County, California, United States. Fairfax is located west-northwest of San Rafael, at an elevation of . The population was 7,605 at the 2020 census. History The Coast Miwok Native Americans occupied ...

. He was 58 years old.

References

External links

Redford Center Website

op-ed by James Redford and Robert Redford

KPJR Films co-founded by James Redford
{{DEFAULTSORT:Redford, James 1962 births 2020 deaths Film directors from New York City American environmentalists American documentary filmmakers American male screenwriters Liver transplant recipients Deaths from cancer in California