Spotlight On The Tribeca Film Festival 2014: What You Need to Know and Which Movies Are Worth Watching
Lights! Cameras! New York! The 13th Annual Tribeca Film Festival in New York City features a broad selection, from rapper Nas, Marisa Tomei and Patrick Stewart to Dakota Fanning.
The Tribeca Film Festival kicked off last Wednesday and will run for 12 days total from April 16-April 27. The festival featurse 89 feature-length films, 58 shorts, as well as countless panels and discussions. New to the festival is "Innovation Week," running from April 21-April 26.
This festival was co-founded in 2002 by Robert De Niro, along with his producing partner Jane Rosenthal, and real estate financier Craig Hatkoff. It was originally conceived as a cultural response to Sept. 11. Tribeca's festival has expanded over the years; this year, 6,117 films were submitted to the festival, which increased both the quality and diversity of its offerings, The New York Times reported.
The Sundance Film Festival nurtures American indies, Toronto's film festival displays future Oscar winners, The New York Film Festival embraces abstract, and the Tribeca Film Festival distinguishes itself by rejecting limitations, according to the New York Daily News.
Here is a guide to most of the Tribeca events:
Opening-night debuted Nas's music documentary Time is Illmatic. It celebrates the 20th anniversary of Nas' classic album Illmatic.
April 18: There were public conversations with Kevin Spacey, Alec Baldwin and Michael Douglas, as well as an interview by Robin Roberts with director Lee Daniels of Precious and The Butler.
April 22: "Sneak Peeks" of indie films, which include Roman Polanski's Venus in Fur; a mystery titled Every Secret Thing featuring Dakota Fanning; and a Katie Holmes dark comedy Miss Meadows.
April 23-April 26: Tribeca's "Storyscapes" are an exploration of "alternative storytelling." These are interactive installations. One, "Use of Force," uses virtual-reality headsets and full-body tracking to put audiences into a film about the border between the U.S. and Mexico.
April 24: "Celeb-Spotting" is movie premieres. The audience gets a chance to chat with the director and cast members and sometimes take questions. The film Third Person will be featured starring James Franco, Mila Kunis, Olivia Wilde and Liam Neeson.
Indiewire featured 10 films to look out for during the festival, including one about a vampire, Joss Whedon's new romantic paranormal film In Your Eyes, a documentary about transgenders in Puerto Rico, a look into the fashion industry of Dior, and a documentary about straight adult men who have a love and obsession for My Little Pony, titled A Brony Tale.
"The Innovation Week," CBS News reports, which runs from April 21-26, will feature a discussion from Aaron Sorkin, author of The Social Network, about the positives and negatives of old-media taking on new media. The event will also include a four-day "hackathon" of workshops for interactive storytelling.