The Tribeca Film Festival presented its awards Saturday night in Lower Manhattan, with Li Shaohong's banned Chinese film "Stolen Life" awarded the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature at TFF 2005.

Péter Forgács's "El Perro Negro: Stories from the Spanish Civil War” won the prize for best documentary feature.

The complete list of winners follows:

» Continue reading "Tribeca Winners"

Adam Curtis' "The Power of Nightmares" provoked audiences here in Tribeca, as the filmmaker screened the original 3 part BBC series that screened in Britain last fall. A new, re-cut theatrical version will debut at the Cannes Film Festival next month. In a Village Voice piece ahead of the festival, filmmaker Curtis offered some insights on the film:

» Continue reading ""The Power of Nightmares""

Richard Leong reports on Felicity Huffman in the Tribeca Film Festival film, "Transamerica," a movie that has had both buyers and audiences buzzing at the festival:

» Continue reading "REUTERS: 'Housewife' Huffman Is Desperate, Even as a Man"

The winners of the Tribeca All Access Connects program, fostering relationships between U.S. filmmakers of color and members of the film business, were announced Thursday. During the party at the Tribeca Grand, Dennis Lee won the narrative section script prize ($10,000) for "The Life & Times of H.J. Hermin". The documentary prize ($10,000) went to Usama Alshaibi's proposal for "Nice Bombs". Mario de la Vega" wont the screenplay section award ($5,000) for the script, "The Undeniable Charm of Sloppy Unruh".

» Continue reading "TAA Winners: Lee, Alshaibi, and de la Vega"

New Yorker Films has acquired the theatrical, home video/DVD, broadcast and cable TV rights to Jessica Sanders' Tribeca Film Festival movie "After Innocence", a new documentary that looks at the lives of DNA exonerees. indieWIRE reported today that the company will release the movie in New York City this fall. The film premiered earlier this year at Sundance.

Matt Dentler reports from Tribeca in his blog:

So, yes, the rumors are true: last night was an insane evening of parties. How insane? So much so, that Associated Press reporter Christy Lemire filed a story today recounting it all. With my new camera, I thought I'd try to get a visual depiction of the night of a thousand parties.

Meanwhile, on his blog, Jared Moshe offers a tip on 'How not to get into a party'.

There are so many parties during the Tribeca Film Festival, you could literally spend an evening hopping from one to the next without seeing a single movie.
While it feels like there are more celebrations than ever before, organizers say the festival is simply better at publicizing them now, in its fourth year. "Like everything at our festival, I think things are happening organically for us," said Tribeca president Jennifer Maguire Isham. Christy Lemire reports for A.P.

[Tribeca daily dispatch by Eugene Hernandez.]

At last year's Tribeca Film Festival, which marked the debut of the Tribeca All Access program for filmmakers of color, I moderated a discussion entitled "Diversifying America Cinema" and wrote an article that surveyed industry leaders on the lack of ethnic diversity within the independent film industry. Sadly, in the year since the panel and survey, not much seems to have changed for filmmakers of color seeking representation within the business. Yet, TAA filmmakers are forging ahead with new movies and two 2004 Tribeca All Access participants are back this year.

» Continue reading "TAA @ TFF: Supporting Diversity and Navigating The Industry"

When, if ever, will an erotic film not marketed as pornography show a man and a woman enjoying spontaneous, passionate full-frontal sex? With the appearance of Michael Winterbottom's "9 Songs," the answer is now. Stephen Holden reports in the New York Times.

Comments by actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of "A Great New Wonderful," a film about New York after September 11th, have caused a bit of buzz here in New York City, according to the local daily paper, Newsday. Arriving for Friday's showting, Gyllenhaal told NY1 television that the United States bears some responsibility for the 9/11 attacks. A web poll posted on the paper's website indicated that more than 42% of those polled agree with her, while nearly 30% of those polled disagree with her and feel that she should apologize. Others either said they disagree but she has a right to her opinion (15%), the incident is blown out of proportion (10.5%) or they have no opinon (2%).

» Continue reading "Gyllenhaal Reiterates 9/11 Comments Made in Tribeca"

A new documentary made in North Korea offers a glimpse of daily life in a reclusive Communist state so shuttered to outsiders that even foreign diplomats have taken tips from the film. President Bush famously called North Korea part of an "axis of evil," but director Daniel Gordon's film "A State of Mind" shows a different side of the country. He shows a mother cooking, children playing and families picnicking. Richard Leong reports in Reuters.

Sebastian Telfair was at Jay-Z's Manhattan nightclub with his family, watching TV and waiting for the announcement from the Madison Square Garden podium that would send him across the country and change his life. The Brooklyn point guard with a dazzling mix of smarts and skills was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 13th pick in last year's NBA draft. That moment is captured by director Jonathan Hock and cinematographer Alastair Christopher in "Through the Fire." The documentary made its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. Christy Lemire reports for A.P.

Beyond the 250 movies screening at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival, some 50 or so private parties continue nightly at various bars, clubs and restaurants here in Manhattan. Its an overwhelming number of soirees that rivals the level of private events seen at festivals like Sundance or perhaps even Cannes, with some nights offering up to 10 private parties. Festival founders and local officials wanted this festival to generate downtown business, well much of that money is being spent on food and drinks, and a good portion of that income came on Friday night.

» Continue reading "Party On! And on, and on, and on..."

ContentFilm International has announced a deal for the international rights to Duncan Tucker's "Transamerica." The film, which will have its North American premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival tonight, debuted back in February at the Berlinale, where it won the Siegessaule Reader's Prize for best queer film. It stars Felicity Huffman, Kevin Zegers, Fionnula Flanagan, Graham Greene and Elizabeth Peña. Sue Bodine and Andrew Hurwitz of Epstein, Levinsohn, Bodine, Hurwitz and Weinstein are handling North American rights to the film.

» Continue reading "Content Goes International wth "Transamerica""

In today's New York Times, Stephen Holden expresses his love for the Tribeca Film Festival, at one point even suggesting that it could grow to rival Cannes and also surveying a few of his fest favorites, among them "The Beat That My Heart Skipped" and "Favela Rising":

Mentioning these few films while leaving out so many others unexamined gives me pause. To browse the festival program is to find oneself longing to get lost in movies for a month or two. The sheer quantity of artistically ambitious work offered by the TriBeCa program is something that no other New York film festival or institutional series can begin to match. The masterpieces may be few and far between, snatched up by others. But the abundance of satisfying alternatives to Hollywood studio product from everywhere is encouraging. In the case of the TriBeCa Film Festival, more is more.

[Tribeca daily dispatch by Eugene Hernandez.]

Seeing a good movie really can make for a fun evening. In the case of the Tribeca Film Festival last night, two heartwarming documentaries made for a great night downtown. David LaChappelle's "Rize", which I watched twice back at Sundance, is a terrific film about the emergence of a fast-paced form of dancing in South Central Los Angeles, the people that LaChapelle follows include local celebrity Tommy the Clown, leader of a group of kids turning to clown and krump dancing as a way to express themselves. So, the real discovery for me last night was Sebastian Telfair, showcased in "Through The Fire", Jonathan Hock's loving look at the basketball player's senior of high school as he struggles with the decision to either go to college or try to break into the NBA.

» Continue reading "Winning Night: "Rize" and "Through the Fire""

[Tribeca daily dispatch by Eugene Hernandez, photos by Brian Brooks.]

Fourth festival in three years; first one was planned in 120 days; 1 million people at the first three fests including 80% attending free events; $125 million in economic activity for Lower Manhattan. These are just some of the basic facts about the Tribeca Film Festival that were reiterated at the annual kick-off press conference Thursday, this year held at the Borough of Manhattan City College.

But, why did it take so long for New York to get a film festival like this, asked one uninformed journalist. While New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, embarking on a re-election campaign, humorously quipped that he's only been Mayor for less than four years so he couldn't do more, TFF co-founder Jane Rosenthal went out of her way to give credit to the city's prestigious New York Film Festival. "We have to give a nod to Lincoln Center," Rosenthal said, "That is the grandfather festival here in New York City. We'd like to do more things with the New York Film Festival -- we can all co-exist. We do nod to that festival."

» Continue reading "Meet the Press"

Sydney Pollack is an actor-turned-director who doesn't mind returning to other side of the camera.

After Dustin Hoffman goaded him to perform double duty and play his exasperated agent while directing "Tootsie," Pollack since has appeared in Robert Altman's "The Player," Woody Allen's "Husbands and Wives" and Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut." The reason? It's "an excuse to spy on other directors," he said. "Directors are very territorial. They're like lions, urinating on every corner of the stage." Christy Lemire reports for A.P.

[Tribeca daily dispatch by Eugene Hernandez]

Talk with just about anyone in the New York film community and you're bound to hear the same song, "I am overwhelmed by Tribeca." I've even said the same thing many times in the past few days. A festival with countless new films, many with sales reps and/or publicists hyping the movies, is frankly a bit overwhelming. And this year, the event began on the same day that the Cannes Film Festival announced its lineup. Yet, like it or not, while many in the film industry continue to complain that Tribeca doesn't have much to offer in the way of acquisitions prospects, many companies are using the festivals as a way to launch their films at a festival that has proven itself to draw large, supportive crowds that embrace an array of films.

» Continue reading "Daunted By Tribeca"

An award-winning documentary about gun violence by two young directors from Brooklyn will make its New York debut at the Tribeca Film Festival. "Bullets in the Hood: A Bed-Stuy Story," which won a special recognition honor earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, will be featured on a program of short films.
A.P. reports.

» Continue reading "Gun Documentary to Air at Tribeca Festival"

Appropriately enough, the first in an expected wave of movies and television projects explicitly about the trauma of 9/11 will make its debut in New York on Friday at the TriBeCa Film Festival, which itself was started to bring a measure of financial and psychic relief to Lower Manhattan months after the attacks. But the new picture, "The Great New Wonderful," is anything but explicit. David M. Halbfinger reports for the New York Times (free subscription required to view).

At MoMA last night, guests celebrated alongside famous artwork, including Claude Monet's triptych Reflections of Clouds on the Water-Lily Pond (1920).
[Photo by Eugene Hernandez/indieWIRE]

The 2005 Tribeca Film Festival kicked off last night, interestingly opening with a screening and party in Midtown rather than Lower Manhattan, and curiously ushering in TFF screenings that don't actually begin in earnest until Friday. Despite that, guests' spirits were high -- even if their reviews of the opening movie were mixed -- at Tuesday's screenings of Sydney Pollack's "The Interpreter", followed by a lavish, lively party at The Museum of Modern Art.

[Tribeca daily dispatch by Eugene Hernandez]

» Continue reading "Midnight at MoMA"

In Tuesday's Variety, Ian Mohr takes a look at the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival:

Tribeca has emerged as an intriguing -- and at times flustering -- hodgepodge of upscale galas and downtown fetes, the funky (the fest's Tribeca Drive-In series) and fun (its Family Film Festival). Screening of the opening film is being held nowhere near Tribeca proper, for example, but smack-dab in Midtown at the Ziegfeld, with an after-party at MoMA.

Star stalkers take note, Newsday weighs in not with a list of movies to see, but rather with a guide to 10 Tribeca bars worth drinking in during the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival. Trivia question: How many of them are owned by Robert De Niro?

Beginning April 19, Hollywood comes to the Hudson -- to Tribeca, specifically, for the fourth annual film festival. That means lots of glamour strolling the streets of this one-time manufacturing neighborhood, and plenty of people-watching. What better way to watch the stars go by than to settle down with a glass of wine or a cold beer? Here are ten places where you can relax with a cocktail in Tribeca.

Amazon.com and the Tribeca Film Festival launched the online screening room for the first Amazon Theater/Tribeca Film Festival Short-Film Competition, with more than 1,000 short films, no more than 7 minutes long, being streamed online. Viewers will vote for their favorite films, randomly screened for Amazon.com visitors through May 20th.

The five highest ranked films will then be screened for one month online, customers will vote and the winner will receive $50,000 for a next film in the form of an American Express prepaid card. Customers who vote will be entered into a drawing to win a trip to New York for a premiere screening of the finalist films, while 10 first prize winners will win a Martin Scorsese Collection DVD box-set, and an jury-autographed festival poster. Online celebrity reviewers will include Gwyneth Paltrow, David Duchovny, Ice Cube, Donald Sutherland, Taylor Hackford, John Hamburg, Stanley Tucci.

In Reuters, Larry Fine reports on TFF 2005:

Forty-five countries are represented in the ambitious Tribeca schedule that boasts 59 world premieres among its 158 feature films. Thirty-seven movies were shot in New York in a program that includes documentaries, shorts and a number of newly restored classics.

Co-founder Jane Rosenthal said the festival has evolved dramatically since she began it with business partner De Niro.

"The first year, we did it in response to Sept. 11 and tried to give our neighborhood a new memory and something to look forward to," Rosenthal said about the festival, held in a neighborhood that had been in the shadow of the World Trade Center towers.

The festival, the fourth annual, includes a family film program, street fairs, panel discussions and public showings of the movies. It has drawn nearly a million visitors and resulted in $125 million in economic activity for Lower Manhattan over the first three years, according to the organizers.

For the Associated Press, Christy Lemire reports in on the 4th Tribeca Film Festival, which will kick off tomorow:

"I think it's a stronger film program than ever, and part of the reason is when you mature a little bit, you get better," Rosenthal said. "Also, I believe the filmmakers are planning for us now. We're on the calendar."

But she added that bringing dollars to lower Manhattan -- the festival's primary purpose -- is still just as important as offering quality films. Festival organizers say the first three years drew a million visitors and more than $150 million.

"They do go hand in hand. You can't separate it," she said. "First and foremost, our mission clearly was about economic development for downtown. That said, our mission also was to create innovative programming and help promote global awareness that this was about the films."