PARK CITY — Last year the Sundance Film Festival collectively paused to watch the inauguration of the country's first African-American president.
This year, it's Haiti that has festival founder Robert Redford talking about something other than independent filmmaking.
"It's a tragedy and it's incredibly sad and it feels terribly unjust," Redford said Thursday. "I feel really bad about it."
The latest estimates put the death toll from the Jan. 12 magnitude 7.0 earthquake at 200,000, with scores left homeless and orphaned. The world has responded and millions in relief funds have been raised.
Redford alluded to Sundance's involvement in helping Haiti with an effort festival officials clarified later Thursday that involves sending a text message (followed by a space and the amount without a dollar sign) to SUNHAITI at the number 27138. To text a donation of $100, for example, would look like SUNHAITI 100 to 27138. A successful text will yield a response text that reads, "TY for donating! You will be called in a few days to fulfill via credit card."
The texting fees for this particular fundraiser are being waived by sponsors Causecast and Mobile Cause and 100 percent of the funds collected will go toward nonprofits Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders and Save the Children currently on the ground in Haiti, Sundance officials said.
Redford said that one of the great things about America is that "we do step up," adding that the "sad" development right now is that not all of the aid pouring in is getting to where it needs to be in Haiti fast enough.
The Sundance sideshow is also beating a drum for Haiti.
Actor LeVar Burton is hosting a celebrity "Tweetup for Haiti" this weekend as a means to get Twitter users to raise awareness about the needs in the tiny island country. The event will take place at the so-called Tweet House just off of Main Street. There's more information at the Web site www.tweetforhaiti.org.
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