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 (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, 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 has received numerous accolades such as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the ...

. 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. P ...

area of

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, 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, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...

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

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. 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 ...

. 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 In Navajo culture, a skin-walker () is a type of harmful witch who has the ability to turn into, possess, or disguise themselves as an animal. The term is never used for healers. The yee naaldlooshii, translating to "by means of it, it goes on ...

''. His directorial debut came in 2003 with the movie ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

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

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

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 an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, and controlled 5 companies remaining of once more than 400. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneu ...

, Charles Schwab,

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

, and

Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom ( ; born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2019 as the 40th governor of California. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served from 2011 to 201 ...

. 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. He began acting in the late 1980s and first gained recognition for his work in Kenneth Lonergan's play ''This Is Our Youth'' (1996) and drama film ''You Can Count on Me'' (2000) ...

, 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 (MVFF) is an annual film festival organized by the California Film Institute. It takes place each October in Mill Valley, California, and welcomes more than 200 filmmakers, representing more than 50 countries, each ...

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

Amy Tan Amy Ruth Tan (born February 19, 1952) is an American author best known for her novel '' The Joy Luck Club'' (1989), which was adapted into a 1993 film. She is also known for other novels, short story collections, children's books, and a memoir. ...

called ''Where The Past Begins.''

Personal life

In 1988, Redford married Kyle Redford. They had two children Dylan and Lena.

Death

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

Fairfax, California Fairfax is an List of cities in California, incorporated town in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. Fairfax is located west-northwest of San Rafael, California, San Rafael, at an elevation of . The population w ...

. 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 Deaths from cholangiocarcinoma in the United States