Park City, UT-Sundance Institute today announced the line up of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival Celebration of Music in Film, an annual concert honoring the art and imagination of film music. This year’s headlining performance features Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Lou Reed who gained notoriety as a founding member and principle songwriter for influential rock band The Velvet Underground, before pursuing a successful solo career. The Sundance Film Festival runs from January 20-30, in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. A complete list of films and events is available at www.sundance.org/festival.

Lou Reed will also make his Festival directorial debut, screening his short film, Red Shirley. The film is a portrait of the filmmaker’s 100-year-old activist and unionist cousin, who is an articulate, living historical individual. Filmed in New York’s Chelsea Garment Worker Project and photographed by portraitist Ralph Gibson, Red Shirley is an example of how “the west was won.”

Lou Reed will be in attendance for the Q&A session immediately following the film. The trailer for Red Shirley is available at http://www.loureed.com/redshirley/.

“We could not be more excited and honored to have Lou Reed perform and premiere his short film Red Shirley at this year’s Festival,” said Tracy McKnight (Programmer, A Celebration of Music in Film and Head of Film Music for Lionsgate). “Reed’s inspiring career has transcended genres, decades and countless mediums, making him one of the most influential musicians of our time – this special performance is not to be missed.”

“This year’s festival offers some of the highest caliber talent we’ve seen and we are excited to welcome Lou Reed who ranks among the most accomplished musician storytellers,” said Peter Golub, Director, Sundance Institute Film Music Program. “We are delighted to have him here to share his work both on the music stage and on the silver screen.”

Sundance Institute

Sundance Institute is a global nonprofit organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981. Through its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, composers and playwrights, the Institute seeks to discover and support independent film and theatre artists from the United States and around the world, and to introduce audiences to their new work. The Institute promotes independent storytelling to inform, inspire, and unite diverse populations around the globe. Internationally recognized for its annual Sundance Film Festival, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as Born into Brothels, Trouble the Water, Son of Babylon, Amreeka, An Inconvenient Truth, Spring Awakening, Light in the Piazza and Angels in America. www.sundance.org