In his role as Sundance Institute president at Mobile World Congress, Robert Redford said that, often, technology gets ahead of itself. The GSM Association is sponsoring initiatives again this year to produce short films for the 2.4-inch mobile screens (see release). That’s bold, Redford said, but he sounded cautious.

Redford: “Some new technologies come up and we jump at it and ram it forward, we’re so excited about it but do we ever stop to think about the people who are silent? Half the world now has a cell phone, but what about the other half? Entertainment is now really getting involved in new technology and it’s exciting - but are we looking at the negative side?

“I’m on the side of content because technology needs it - the big thing that comes up that will separate the wheat from the chaff will be quality. YouTube and outfits like that are demonstrating film in wonderful ways but also you have the quality issue. If you want to be known for quality then you want to maintain that because that will be your imprimateur in the future.”