I was in New York for a couple of days this week and I tell ya', the Tribeca Film Festival really highlighted for me just how much love there is for indie film in NY. Of course, the indie film community as a whole has worked hard for years and years to develop that love. There are several other New York based festivals and events (along with a dozen or so key recurring sponsors) that deserve a good deal of credit for getting the NY audience where it is, but when that passionate community is given the resources of a Tribeca Film Festival and the support of the city and state of New York, the combined efforts pay off in an increased audience for indie film in general.

I was tagging along on an indieWIRE photo shoot of the "Poster Boy" team Tuesday night when I overheard two young kids, maybe 12 years old, talking about going to the festival, a few minutes later, I saw two rather hardened looking old women being taken to a screening in their complementary buggy (or whatever you call those carts that are towed by bicycle.) And when I passed the cinema on the way back from the shoot, the lines for tickets were 100's deep and I overheard a group of 20-somethings discussing the multiple films they had seen. From the looks on their faces and the tone of their voices, I really think these atypical fans have caught the bug and will keep turning out for indie films even after the free shuttles have stopped running and the celebrities have retreated to private screening rooms. Hats off to the entire indie film industry for that.