Here's the article in Variety: The Tribeca Film Festival has unveiled a dramatically smaller lineup for its eighth edition, with its 86 feature films repping a 28% decline from last year's fest.
The two main competition sections, World Narrative and Documentary, are holding steady with 12 films each. On Monday, organizers unveiled full lineups for both, plus the 14 titles in the Discovery section.
The remainder of the fest lineup will be announced in the coming days.
Tribeca kicks off with Woody Allen's "Whatever Works" on April 22 and runs through May 3.
The World Narrative category includes a mix of familiar and newer names from a diverse roster of countries. Highlights include:
"About Elly," from Iranian helmer Asghar Farhadi, who took best director honors at Berlin
"The Eclipse," written and directed by Tony-nommed playwright Conor McPherson, an atmospheric drama starring Aidan Quinn, Ciaran Hinds ("Munich") and Iben Hjejle ("High Fidelity")
"The Fish Child (El nino pez)," Lucia Puenzo's followup to her Cannes prize-winner "XXY"
"Stay Cool," a comedy from the Polish Bros. starring Winona Ryder and Hilary Duff.
The Documentary list, long a strong suit of Tribeca, this year includes the following notables:
"Outrage," the world premiere of Kirby Dick's expose of closeted gay and lesbian politicians who actively campaign against gay rights
"Shadow Billionaire," from first-time director Alexis Spraic, about the 1995 disappearance of DHL founder Larry Hillblom and the resulting legal battle over the eccentric billionaire's estate
"Garapa," from Golden Bear-winning director Jose Padilha ("Elite Squad"), about chronic hunger among three Brazilian families.
The Discovery section includes docs about famed Gotham punk-rock haunt CBGB ("Burning Down the House"); the subprime mortgage mess ("American Casino"); and human trafficking ("Playground"). The last of the trio is exec produced by George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Steven Soderbergh.
Narrative entries in Discovery include "Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench," a stylized relationship drama from tyro helmer Damien Chazelle, and "A Matter of Size (Sipur Gadol)," a film in Hebrew about four friends who ditch their weight-loss efforts in favor of sumo wrestling.
The fest overall includes films from 33 countries. There are 48 world premieres, five international premieres, 14 North American premieres, three U.S. premieres and 11 New York City premieres.
Tribeca has stayed in the news even during the off-season, launching a new fest in Qatar, luring Geoff Gilmore away from Sundance and announcing the exit of longtime top programmer Peter Scarlet.
Like other major fests, however, Tribeca has had to confront a decidedly tougher financial landscape given the global economic crisis.
Sponsorship in particular has been difficult to secure and the decision to scale back the number of films stems in part from those struggles.
Cadillac, a unit of deeply troubled General Motors, has exited as a top-level sponsor, as has Target. Heineken and DirecTV have stepped in and Snapple and American Express are returning. Last year, AmEx inked a new five-year sponsorship pact.
Ticket sales, the fest's other main revenue source, have come under scrutiny in recent years. Last year, prices were reined in and they will remain at 2008 levels this year -- $15 for evening and weekend screenings and $8 for daytime weekday and late night screenings.
Family-friendly mainstays from past years such as drive-in movies and street fair remain as free events.
"Especially in these times, we recognize that people need that kind of outlet and that's a big part of our mission," said exec director Nancy Schafer.
The two main competition sections, World Narrative and Documentary, are holding steady with 12 films each. On Monday, organizers unveiled full lineups for both, plus the 14 titles in the Discovery section.
The remainder of the fest lineup will be announced in the coming days.
Tribeca kicks off with Woody Allen's "Whatever Works" on April 22 and runs through May 3.
The World Narrative category includes a mix of familiar and newer names from a diverse roster of countries. Highlights include:
"About Elly," from Iranian helmer Asghar Farhadi, who took best director honors at Berlin
"The Eclipse," written and directed by Tony-nommed playwright Conor McPherson, an atmospheric drama starring Aidan Quinn, Ciaran Hinds ("Munich") and Iben Hjejle ("High Fidelity")
"The Fish Child (El nino pez)," Lucia Puenzo's followup to her Cannes prize-winner "XXY"
"Stay Cool," a comedy from the Polish Bros. starring Winona Ryder and Hilary Duff.
The Documentary list, long a strong suit of Tribeca, this year includes the following notables:
"Outrage," the world premiere of Kirby Dick's expose of closeted gay and lesbian politicians who actively campaign against gay rights
"Shadow Billionaire," from first-time director Alexis Spraic, about the 1995 disappearance of DHL founder Larry Hillblom and the resulting legal battle over the eccentric billionaire's estate
"Garapa," from Golden Bear-winning director Jose Padilha ("Elite Squad"), about chronic hunger among three Brazilian families.
The Discovery section includes docs about famed Gotham punk-rock haunt CBGB ("Burning Down the House"); the subprime mortgage mess ("American Casino"); and human trafficking ("Playground"). The last of the trio is exec produced by George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Steven Soderbergh.
Narrative entries in Discovery include "Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench," a stylized relationship drama from tyro helmer Damien Chazelle, and "A Matter of Size (Sipur Gadol)," a film in Hebrew about four friends who ditch their weight-loss efforts in favor of sumo wrestling.
The fest overall includes films from 33 countries. There are 48 world premieres, five international premieres, 14 North American premieres, three U.S. premieres and 11 New York City premieres.
Tribeca has stayed in the news even during the off-season, launching a new fest in Qatar, luring Geoff Gilmore away from Sundance and announcing the exit of longtime top programmer Peter Scarlet.
Like other major fests, however, Tribeca has had to confront a decidedly tougher financial landscape given the global economic crisis.
Sponsorship in particular has been difficult to secure and the decision to scale back the number of films stems in part from those struggles.
Cadillac, a unit of deeply troubled General Motors, has exited as a top-level sponsor, as has Target. Heineken and DirecTV have stepped in and Snapple and American Express are returning. Last year, AmEx inked a new five-year sponsorship pact.
Ticket sales, the fest's other main revenue source, have come under scrutiny in recent years. Last year, prices were reined in and they will remain at 2008 levels this year -- $15 for evening and weekend screenings and $8 for daytime weekday and late night screenings.
Family-friendly mainstays from past years such as drive-in movies and street fair remain as free events.
"Especially in these times, we recognize that people need that kind of outlet and that's a big part of our mission," said exec director Nancy Schafer.
-Which films are you looking forward to here?
Posts
Woody's movie is what I'm looking forward to most, but Kirby Dick's flick as well.
ReplyDelete-Jim
i'll wait for Cannes
ReplyDeleteWoody caught my eye as well
ReplyDelete