After 12 days filled with world premiere film and television screenings, cutting-edge virtual reality experiences, the inaugural Tribeca Games Festival, momentous talks, and once-in-a-lifetime concerts and reunions, the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, today announced an estimated attendance of more than 153,000 people to 531 screenings and talks, the virtual arcade, and games with an additional 3,800,000 people participating in 15 talks and post-film conversations from afar via Facebook Live. [Note: This is record-setting from recent years and surpasses last year's attendance, even though in 2016 there were 556 screenings and one of the main theaters being used in 2017 had its seats reconfigured to enhance the audience's movie-going experience, which resulted in 25% less total seating capacity.]
From April 19 – April 30, the Festival presented 97 features, 57 short films, 31 immersive storytelling projects, 15 television shows, and 16 N.O.W. (New Online Work) projects from 42 countries over the course of the 12 days.
"With film always at our core, the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival continued to break boundaries – this year with television, virtual reality, online work, and gaming – to stay ahead of the convergence of storytelling mediums," said Jane Rosenthal, Co-Founder of the Tribeca Film Festival and Executive Chair of Tribeca Enterprises. "Bringing great stories and great storytellers to our growing audience, no matter what screen or platform, is why we continue to do what we do each year."
Below are highlights and clip handout of conversations, concerts, interviews, and select moments from the Festival:
As the Festival wraps up, 11 of the films available for acquisition have announced distribution deals.
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With 97 feature films presented this year, the festival offered narrative and documentary selections covering an immense array of stories and perspectives.
While debuting 77 new feature films the Festival also paid respect to the past with the 25th anniversary of Aladdin, the 25th anniversary of Reservoir Dogs, followed by a conversation with director Quentin Tarantino and the full cast, the 15th anniversary of Bowling for Columbine with director Michael Moore, and The Godfather 45th anniversary.
Reservoir Dogs video highlights:
Bowling for Columbine video highlights:
Here is video from post screening Q&A's from a few films:
Among this year's films, the spotlight shone on the award winners:
Tribeca continued to take the movie experience beyond the screen by turning special performances into cultural moments.
o Concert footage: http://bit.ly/OpeningFilmCliveDavisConcert
○ Concert footage: http://bit.ly/CantStopWontStopconcert
○ Concert and talk clips: http://bit.ly/CommonAtTribeca
○ Concert broll: http://bit.ly/MuraMasabroll
Tribeca's Immersive program continued to push the boundaries of storytelling through technology and creativity with 31 virtual reality (VR) and innovative experiences and installations from top creators and emerging artists, including 22 world premieres. Top creators in attendance included Chris Milk and Aaron Koblin of Within, Félix Lajeunesse and Paul Raphaël of Felix & Paul Studios, Gabo Arora, Maureen Fan and Eric Darnell of Baobab Studios, Eugene Chung and Jimmy Maidens of Penrose Studios, Imraan Ismail, Saschka Unseld of Oculus Story Studios, Marshmallow Laser Feast, and more.
[Broll video of the Virtual Arcade: http://bit.ly/BrollofVirtualArcade]
Director Kathryn Bigelow and co-creator Imraan Ismail were joined on stage by surprise panelist Hillary Rodham Clinton during the Tribeca Talks: Virtual Reality, to discuss the world premiere of the virtual reality documentary short The Protectors: Walk in the Ranger's Shoes, which follows the rangers fighting to save the African elephant from poachers. Also on the panel were Andrea Heydlauf with African Parks, and Rachel Webber from National Geographic.
Acclaimed director Alejandro González Iñárritu declared "VR is everything cinema is not" during his Tribeca Talk with Marina Abramović.
Over 20 Tribeca Talks took place over the 12 day festival with remarkable pairings that only happen at Tribeca. Highlights from the program include:
The Storytellers Series, which celebrates those who have pioneered their own forms of storytelling across multiple mediums, included conversations with:
○ [CLIP] Streisand on sexism
○ [CLIP] Streisand – "People would say 'how do you hold the notes so long?' and I said 'Because I want to.'"
○ [CLIP] Streisand – on fear. "Fear is like an engine to create."
○ [CLIP – Twitter] Konner & Dunham on an interview question that triggered a "rage-spiral blackout"
○ [CLIP – Twitter] Common on director Ava DuVernay
○ [BROLL] – Concert and talk clips. Video credit: Tribeca Film Festival; Still image credit: Carolyn Amuaro for Street Dreams
The Directors Series brought together some of today's most groundbreaking filmmakers to discuss their careers and highlights including:
○ [CLIP – Twitter] Iñárritu – "Filmmaking is an art that is not just born by one moment of inspiration."
○ [CLIP – Twitter] Iñárritu on what he's learned from working with actors
○ [CLIP – Twitter] Hoffman on the improvisational backstory for his iconic Midnight Cowboy line.
Tribeca Talks: Master Class returned this year to give attendees of the free event series an inside look at the filmmaking process with conversations focusing on cinematography, production design, sound design, and digital distribution.
Tribeca Talks: Podcasts – Live from The Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca N.O.W. is a program that discovers, highlights, and celebrates New Online Work from independent storytellers creating and sharing their work in the online space.
N.O.W. Special Screenings, featuring high profile content from the industry's leading online networks and talent.
○ [Full Facebook livestream] Eli Roth, Crypt TV Chief Content Officer, Kate Krantz, and Crypt TV filmmakers, moderator Crypt TV CEO & Co-Founder, Jack Davis.
Tribeca N.O.W. Showcase brought the latest work from 10 independent online creators to the big screen as official Tribeca selections. The curated group of creators, which included Bonnie Wright (Harry Potter), were also invited to showcase a piece of their past work on www.tribecafilm.com during the Festival.
The second annual Tribeca X Award went to Chris Fonseca: Keep It Moving, directed by Zachary Heinzerling for Smirnoff Ice by 72andSunny. The Tribeca X Award highlights excellence in creative, original and authentic storytelling that is sponsored or underwritten by a brand. Tribeca and The Atlantic – through its in-house content studio, Atlantic Re:think – announced the winner during the Festival at a special screening event. The short film was one of ten finalists selected from a field of 600 entries that represented the best in storytelling at the intersection of advertising and entertainment from the past year.
ICYMI: FACEBOOK LIVESTREAMS
45th anniversary of The Godfather with Francis Ford Coppola
https://www.facebook.com/Tribeca/videos/vl.711800555690147/10155341025099758/?type=1&theater
15th anniversary of Bowling for Columbine with Michael Moore
https://www.facebook.com/Tribeca/videos/vl.711800555690147/10155320484144758/?type=1&theater
Copwatch with director Camilla Hall and subjects
https://www.facebook.com/Tribeca/videos/vb.10854154757/10155328600259758/?type=2&theater
The Clapper with director Dito Montiel and cast including Ed Helms and Tracey Morgan
https://www.facebook.com/Tribeca/videos/vb.10854154757/10155329775264758/?type=2&theater
Dumb: The Story of Big Brother Magazine with director Patrick O'Dell, subjects Bam Margera, Steve-O, and more
https://www.facebook.com/Tribeca/videos/vl.711800555690147/10155341213294758/?type=1&theater
World premiere of House of Z with director Sandy Chronopoulos and Zac Posen interviewed by André Leon Talley
https://www.facebook.com/Tribeca/videos/vl.711800555690147/10155325921989758/?type=1&theater
Take Me with director Pat Healy and cast
https://www.facebook.com/Tribeca/videos/vb.10854154757/10155335623534758/?type=2&theater
World premiere of Genius with Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, and more cast and creators
https://www.facebook.com/Tribeca/videos/vl.711800555690147/10155319648234758/?type=1&theater
World premiere of The Handmaid's Tale with cast and creators
https://www.facebook.com/Tribeca/videos/vl.711800555690147/10155322818189758/?type=1&theater
World premiere of new season of Another Period
https://www.facebook.com/Tribeca/videos/vl.711800555690147/10155337694094758/?type=1&theater
Season premiere of Episodes with creators and Matt LeBlanc
https://www.facebook.com/Tribeca/videos/vb.10854154757/10155349857539758/?type=2&theater
TRIBECA TALKS
Tribeca Talks: Storytellers – Lena Dunham & Jenni Konner with America Ferrera
https://www.facebook.com/Tribeca/videos/vl.711800555690147/10155335040999758/?type=1&theater
Tribeca Talks: Storytellers – Kobe Bryant & Glen Keane with Michael Strahan
https://www.facebook.com/Tribeca/videos/vl.711800555690147/10155328886974758/?type=1&theater
N.O.W. (NEW ONLINE WORK)
Conversation with Eli Roth following a Crypt TV program
https://www.facebook.com/Tribeca/videos/vl.711800555690147/10155335126699758/?type=1&theater
Conversation after premiere of AWAKE, A Dream From Standing Rock Q&A with Digital Smoke Signals and Josh Fox
https://www.facebook.com/PeopleForBernie/videos/vb.1645816202305254/1981211898765681/?type=2&theater