A week at the Sundance Institute meant film camp for grown-ups — working with Robert Redford, Sally Field and future greats like James Mangold and Paul Thomas Anderson. 

One of the greatest honours of my career was to be invited as an advisor at Sundance Institute for several years in a row in the early 1990s.  

To be invited to join the group for a week each time in the beautiful setting of the Sundance Ski Lodge in the summer mountains of Utah above Park City by my good friend Jeremy Kagan who was the artistic director of the institute was like the gift of giving a city kid a week in the woods. It was like going to a film camp for adults. Except with the great opportunity of working with a group of A-list filmmakers who got to watch and nurture young and very talented directing fellows who had been invited to workshop scripts that they had written. They were paired with professional crews and major acting talent. 

The fellows are eight young first-time directors with lots of promise who were chosen from the Sundance Screenwriting contest every year. In the group the previous year, we had James Mangold, Paul Thomas Anderson and Sterlin Harjo. All were immensely talented and destined to become some of the most successful young directors of our time. 

The eight director fellows were at the lab for three weeks. Each week there was a new contingent of A-List advisors who would watch the fellows as they would rehearse their professional actors then shoot scenes that they would be workshopping from their scripts. Finally at the end of that week we would all review and critique the work. It was a very stimulating process every time. 

What about Bob?

Every morning after breakfast, the staff and the advisors would gather to discuss the progress that the Fellows were making, and which set each advisor would attend to observe. Robert Redford, who wanted to be called Bob, would join us a little late. That was known as “Bob Time.” Even if he had just got out of bed and was dishevelled, he was completely compelling. He was really a movie star after all. 

But Bob was a consummate filmmaker and a great teacher and was very serious about giving each of the fellows the best experience they could get in those short weeks, as were we all who participated.  

After the meetings we would disperse to the filmmakers’ locations to observe and help them in their daily work. 

One of those days Bob asked me before lunch if I would like to join him and Sally Fields, one of the other advisors that year to go horseback riding on his ranch after lunch. Without giving it much thought, I accepted the offer. Who would turn down an offer from Redford like that?   

So, I showed up at the stables completely unequipped in khakis and sneakers to go on my great adventure with Bob Redford and Sally Fields. I was given a horse and saddle to ride and told Bob would join in a while. Sally, who was a horsewoman and owned her own horse (and was dressed properly), road around the corral for about 40 minutes waiting for Bob. We were told again by the ranch hand “Bob Time.” 

When he got there, he said “Lets ride up my mountain.” 

So here we go up the mountain, stopping at each place for him to tell us about “This is where we shot this scene for Sundance” or “This is where our family had our first picnic on our mountain.”  

It was quaint. But two hours up the mountain and an hour down meant I was in the saddle for almost four hours. And on the way down as I was bouncing up and down trying not to fall off – the horse had a mind of her own – Bob started circling me on his horse and said, “So Mr. Poster, what’s your story?” He was truly interested and wanted to hear my life story. You know how hard that it was trying to hold on and be cool and sound smart at the same time… 

For the next three days I could hardly walk. And every time he saw me, he just smiled. 

The last time I saw Robert Redford in person was at the Dolby Theater in 2002. We were walking in on the red carpet and stopped at a crowded moment.  I realised that Bob was in front of us with his back to me. I said to my wife, “I’d like to introduce you to Bob.” And I tapped his shoulder and I said, “Bob, I’d like you to meet Susan.” He turned around and was so gracious to her. She could hardly speak. This was Robert Redford after all. 

Robert Redford was a sweet and wonderful man. And Sundance Institute was his dream fulfilled.