James Redford

James Redford makes documentaries that transform important health and environmental issues into stories that educate and inspire. With nine films to date, he's explored issues such as water shortage in the west, dyslexia, the dangers of chemical flame retardants, and why and how chronic stress damages healthy childhood development. Inspired by his own life-saving liver transplant at the age of 30, his first HBO documentary, The Kindness of Strangers (1999), explored the hidden heroism of donor families. Redford started his collaboration with Karen Pritzker on HBO's The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia (MVFF 2012). Redford also co-founded and is current Chair of the Redford Center, a film production non-profit that translates complex environmental challenges into human stories that inspire. Recent honors include the 2014 WildCare Environmental Award, 2015 filmmaker envoy for USC/US State Department's American Film Showcase as well as serving in the leadership circle for the UN's second annual Media for Social Impact Summit. Redford is also a relapsed rock 'n' roll guitarist who plays the best dives in the San Francisco Bay Area with Olive and the Dirty Martinis. He lives in Marin County.

Mill Valley Film Festival