Regular audiences at the Sundance Film Festival have gotten used to the sight of celebrities there.

But this year, one of those celebrities may be joining them in the theater seats. Meet Robert Redford: moviegoer.

The the 70-something actor, filmmaker and activist says he's made it a goal "to see as many movies as humanly possible at the festival this year."

According to Redford, "being the public face of the Sundance Film Festival means that I have to do a lot greeting and shaking hands.

"I don't mean that to sound as bad as that probably does, because it's what required of me," he said. "But it can be pretty tiring, especially when that's all you're doing."

So, while he will still be doing a lot of that during this year's event, he's planning to take advantage of the sheer availability of movies at Sundance in 2009. There are 120-plus feature-length and shorter-length works playing at what's become the premier showcase for independent and international films in the United States.

"Perhaps it's selfish of me, but I want to see what our programming staff has selected for audiences," Redford said. "I feel like that's important for me to do, this year in particular. Plus, it sounds like fun."

As part of his Sundance duties, Redford will be in Park City for an opening day press conference Thursday afternoon and to introduce tonight's premiere of "Mary and Max." The clay-animated feature examines the pen-pal friendship between an Australian youngster (the voice of Toni Collette) and an obese, middle-aged New Yorker (voiced by Philip Seymour Hoffman).

The movie was also directed by Adam Elliot, the maker of the Academy Award-winning, 2003 animated short "Harvie Krumpet."

Elliott is expected to join Redford, as are the film's stars Hoffman and Collette, and narrator Barry Humphries. (The latter is probably best known to American audiences as his alter ego, Dame Edna Everage.)

Redford said that there is some nervousness, "some pins and needles" about the opening of the festival, even after 25 years.

That's how long it's been since his Sundance Institute took over the day-to-day administration for what was the floundering Utah/U.S. Film Festival.

In that time, "we've been able to achieve a lot of things that people thought were impossible at the time," Redford said.

"We've gotten a lot of people to come to a ski resort in the middle of the winter — not for skiing, but for independent film. That's quite an accomplishment," he said, laughing.

Of course, Redford added that he "had to be talked into taking over the festival in the first place.

"We had already bitten off quite a bit, by starting the Sundance Institute and its labs and other programs," he said.