Overview

• Publicist Cindi Berger said he died in his sleep at his home in the mountains outside Provo, Utah, with no cause disclosed.
• The announcement was issued by Rogers & Cowan PMK and published by the New York Times, and the family requested privacy.
• Across six decades, he became a central force in indie film after launching the Sundance Institute in 1981, which built the Sundance Film Festival into a global platform.
• He won the Academy Award for Best Director for Ordinary People and later received an honorary Oscar recognizing his career.
• Peers and institutions shared tributes, including messages from Meryl Streep and Jane Fonda and a statement from the Sundance Institute.