Jann Scotts Journal

It was the early ’90s, and I’d just finished Philip: The Life and Death of a Homeless Person, a 30-minute documentary about a guy who lived under bridges along Boulder’s bike paths, scarred by Vietnam and cut off from family.
I’d filmed him for months until he died one summer night under a bridge. Shot on high 8 video tape and edited on those old decks in my condo living room suite, it was raw and real. The film won a national public access award for best documentary, a yearly honor for low-budget work that lands a punch.

Robert Redford, with his University of Colorado and Boulder roots, got hold of it through some connection. He wrote to me in a hand written letter, said it hit him hard, and invited me to his place to talk about editing it for a Sundance submission, offering his team’s help. I spent a day with him near Boulder—nothing fancy, just a comfortable spot with a view of the Flatirons. We sat in his study, surrounded by books and film scripts, sipping coffee. He was direct, no Hollywood ego, just a guy who cared about stories. He pushed me to tighten the doc’s pacing, maybe trim a few scenes to make Philip’s story hit even harder. “You’ve got something here,” he said. “Sundance could amplify it.” I nodded, but deep down, I knew I wouldn’t follow through—too buried in radio gigs at KNUS when it was still liberal, hosting on Channel 54, and hustling to pay bills.

We got to talking about Boulder, swapping stories about mutual CU friends and old haunts like the Sink or the Hill from his student days in the ’50s. I mentioned how the town was shifting, tech money creeping in; he reminisced about skiing Eldora. It felt like catching up with an old pal, except he was Redford.

The conversation turned to the Thayne Smika case. Redford was pissed about how the Boulder DA’s office botched it. In 1983, Smika shot and killed Sid Wells, a CU student dating Redford’s daughter Shauna, in Wells’ condo on the Hill over a drug and money dispute. Smika, his roommate, was the clear suspect, but DA Alex Hunter claimed the evidence wasn’t enough. They arrested Smika, then let him go. He’s been a fugitive ever since, wanted by the FBI for murder. Redford had been funding investigators and speaking out, saying Sid and Shauna deserved justice, and Boulder’s system failed them. His frustration was palpable, his voice low and intense.

I’d covered similar stories on Channel 54 which is now long gone like Philip’s. That day with Redford stuck with me, but the Sundance edit never happened. I’m still in Boulder, making docs and hosting shows, telling the stories that need telling on You tube and X