Environment is Our Mission. Film is Our Medium.

“Anytime anybody voices a concern about the quality of life that we’re going to be leading, we’re called environmentalists. And if that’s so, I am an environmentalist,” Robert Redford once said. That conviction, formed in the 1970s, led him to co-found The Redford Center with his son, James, in 2005, bringing together their shared passions for film and conservation.

The Redford Center is one of the only U.S.-based organizations working at the nexus of independent film and environmental action, providing filmmakers with funding, community, and impact support. “We started The Redford Center to merge storytelling with action,” Redford said. Which is exactly what it has done for more than 20 years. 

The Center supports solutions-focused film projects that build understanding, shift culture, and mobilize action around climate solutions and environmental justice. Over two decades, its work has helped galvanize the environmental movement. The Redford Center has backed more than 400 projects, disbursed more than $40 million, and built a community of more than 1,000 filmmakers.

Watershed, narrated by Robert and co-produced by James Redford and Executive Director Jill Tidman, helped launch the Raise the River coalition, which raised more than $33 million to restore the Colorado River delta and more than 1,200 acres of habitat. Razing Liberty Square has inspired communities from Miami to Maui to rethink redevelopment that displaces marginalized residents. And a trio of regenerative-agriculture films, Kiss the Ground, Common Ground, and the new Groundswell, have helped transition 58 million acres of farmland to healthier, carbon-storing practices.

Carrying the Legacy Forward

Following the deaths of James Redford in 2020 and Robert Redford in 2025, longtime Executive Director Jill Tidman continues the work they began. Having worked alongside both founders for nearly two decades, she recalls James’ vision of “serving something more than entertainment.” For Tidman, “Our goal is to support great stories and passionate filmmakers whose work inspires audiences to take action and deepens public understanding of how environmental issues touch nearly every aspect of society today. Each film offers a pathway for engagement that collectively, and over time, is transforming the systems that shape our future.”

Their legacy also lives on through their family. Robert’s grandson, Board Chair Conor Schlosser, and James’ son, Dylan Redford, help guide the organization. In an era of disinformation, Schlosser sees documentaries as a kind of investigative journalism and documentarians as champions of truth, carrying his grandfather’s conviction into the next generation. For a county that fills its theaters each winter for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, that conviction lands close to home.

Over the past year, more than 700 environmental film projects sought support from The Redford Center, with just 18 projects ultimately receiving funding. Through its five-year, $50 million fundraising campaign, the organization aims to expand funding, strengthen impact support, and invest in more stories that move people to action.