Robert Redford will attend this year’s Houston Cinema Arts Festival to receive the Levantine Cinema Arts Award and to participate in a 90-minute conversation on stage with Ernie Manouse, the PBS talk show host.

The conversation will cover both his career as a film director and his work as founder and president of the Sundance Institute. Fittingly, the presentation will be held at Sundance Cinemas downtown. It will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 9.

HCAF Artistic Director Richard Herskowitz said he is “thrilled” with Redford’s participation, in part because the festival’s programming mission is so much in sync with that of the Sundance Institute.

“The Sundance Instituteʼs programs reflect Robert Redfordʼs passionate commitment to supporting not just independent filmmakers but also innovative artists in theater, music, and the visual arts,” Herskowitz said. “Promoting the transformative power of the arts is also at the heart of our programming mission at the Houston Cinema Arts Festival. We are therefore thrilled to be honoring Robert Redford this year as the visionary founder of Sundance and as a creative artist himself.”

Founded in 1981, the Sundance Institute is best known for its annual Sundance Film Festival, the country’s premiere festival for introducing independent film. But it’s mission is much bigger than that, encompassing artistic development programs. It also owns the Sundance Channel, Sundance Resort and Sundance Cinemas, a boutique chain of theaters that specializes in foreign and independent film.

This year, Sundance Cinemas Houston will host 25 screenings for the Houston Cinema Arts Festival.

Redford will be the third recipient of the Levantine Cinema Arts Award. Previous winners were Isabella Rossellini and Ethan Hawke.

Levantine Films is an independent film producer. Among its works is Amreeka, a film that benefited from the Sundance Institute’s support.

The festival, now in its fourth year, will be held Nov. 7-11. HCAF will announce its full schedule next week.