Sundance London 2012

1969: Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid

If you are a regular reader of my blog you will have gathered that I greatly enjoy film and the arts. I think because I enjoy good and well told stories, which is also what I enjoy about my financial planning role with clients - listening to their stories and getting a sense of their passions in life as they talk about the future. To me it is energising and provides a real "buzz". I'm also someone that likes to listen to people that have walked the talk and succeeded in following their life goals and passions. So the opportunity to spend an evening with Robert Redford, T-Bone Burnett and Nick Hornby at the very first Sundance film and music festival in London, accompanied by The Guillemots was an opportunity that I didn't want to pass up. Glen Hansard was an added bonus - a great singer that first came to my attention having watched the film "Once" some years ago.

It was a memorable evening at the O2 Indigo suite and I understand that today Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode will be interviewing them again today on BBC radio 5Live, if you are interested (so it will probably be available on their podcast). Anyhow, it was fascinating to hear the two of them discuss their careers in film and the growing importance of music to help tell the story and develop characters. Robert Redford originally trained as an artist and had come to the conclusion that this had somehow been lost once he became a well-known actor, however as his career moved into directing, he found the artistry coming together between the different media. He was also very open about his "mistaken views" which were generally about things that turned out far better than he had ever expected. There was also an acknowledgement that often film making is very difficult, often doesn't go as planned, involved some luck and is hard to keep control of - much like life itself. However for all its trials and difficulties, keeping true to the vision and the integrity of the chosen path was very much their message. One not just for film makers but surely a vital life skill and highly pertinent when discussing and designing your financial plan, the route map to the life you want.