Robert Redford pitches the 4th screen

“The GSMA continues to take seriously both the business of delivering content and the art of creating content, as they lead the exciting mobile sector into the future.”
– Robert Redford, actor/director/producer

Until recently, I was not aware of Hollywood megastar Robert Redford’s involvement in, and contribution to, the world of mobilephones.

Redford, who, besides his Hollywood role, has been nurturing the independent film and independent filmmakers through his Sundance Film Festival and the Sundance Institute since the early 1980s, has now become a key force in the exploration and promotion of content delivery on the mobilephone.

As I write this post, Robert Redford is at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, presenting his argument that “the mobile phone is the ‘fourth screen’ – after theater, television and the iPod – extending the reach of movies to new audiences in the global community.”

According to a recent article in EETimes by R Colin Johnson, Robert Redford pitches mobile phone as '4th screen' at confab, Redford believes

“…independent film makers have a unique opportunity to reach new audiences in the global community via their tiny mobile-phone screens. Last year, the Mobile World Congress showcased independent films on mobile phones from the Sundance Film Festival, which is sponsored by the Sundance Institute, of which Redford is founder and president.

This year the Congress invited Redford to participate by keynoting the Mobile Entertainment track within the Congress, where he will address the opportunities for both artists and independent filmmakers to reach mobile-phone viewers worldwide.”

[Citation: Mobile World Congress press release; EETimes article Robert Redford pitches mobile phone as '4th screen' at confab, R Colin Johnson, 11 Feb 2008.]