Review: 'The Congress' Indicts Hollywood
'Crouching Tiger 2' to Start Shooting
10 Indie Actors on Network Shows
Kevin Smith Says No to Kickstarter
Teens Living Dangerously in Cannes Films
Trailer: 'Under the Dome'
by
April 18, 2011 4:40 AM
6 Comments
«
»
-
Cannes: Alejandro Jodororwky's Latest -
Video: Kristin Scott Thomas Is NSFW -
From Corporate Videos to Cannes -
Julianne Moore On Being a Bookworm -
Weinstein Cannes Preview Underwhelms
-
Lucy Walker's New Doc Lands a Home -
Who's Directing the New Network Shows -
Trailer: The Final Season of 'Dexter' -
'Metro Manila' Picked Up For U.S. -
Elwes and Barnum: Getting Indies Made
-
Secret Film Club Clues -
Is TV More Relevant Than Art Film? -
Asghar Farhadi on Self-Censorship -
Review: Farhadi's 'The Past' -
A Niche Destination Fest In The Making
Tribeca's Nancy Schafer: The power of cinema to foster change is still what Tribeca is at its roots
Tribeca Film Festival executive director Nancy Schafer with journalist/television personality, Gideon Yago at the Tribeca Film Festival Awards. Photo by Brian Brooks.
[In a first person, Nancy Schafer, executive director of the Tribeca Film Festival, shares her thoughts on TFF's 10 years with indieWIRE.] One of my nephews is 10, and of course because he is my nephew, I think he’s awesome. A little brash, a little cocky, sometimes misbehaving, but he’s fun and lively and makes people around him happy. As I sit contemplating Tribeca’s ten years, it’s hard for me not to compare this festival to that kid, and also hard not to think back to who I was ten years ago and what I wanted to do.
Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff started this festival with (so much) passion and determination, but no real idea what they were getting themselves into. They were fortunate to have immediate support and belief in the idea from American Express. The festival for them was an act of defiance – after the Towers had fallen, they were going to do all they could do to bring the downtown community back. Needless to say, most festivals don’t start out this way.
Our agenda was so pure and simple. For these first few years after 9/11, our guiding principle was that cinema can heal our community. This focus on the power of cinema to foster change is still what Tribeca is at its roots. What those of us who were here ten years ago learned is how hungry New York audiences were for what the festival offered - a broad spectrum of films and filmmakers and actors and talent that spoke to them and their lives.
At the premiere of "Yacoubian Building," the Egyptian community waited patiently to fill a 1000 seat theater over and over again as we added screenings into the night. At the premiere of the documentary "Divan," the audience was filled with Hasidem, some of whom perhaps had rarely been in a theater. Right before the premiere of "Pray the Devil Back to Hell," we were notified by the filmmakers that Ellen Sirleaf Johnson, the President of Liberia was coming to the screening, because she wanted not only to see the film with an audience but with people who wanted to hear her story and support her mission.
Viewed through a traditional festival lens, Tribeca was speaking to a very different set of constituencies. We did things differently and took risks that did not fit the customary festival mantra.
But, like my nephew, growing up meant change. It meant looking at the larger community we are a part of outside of New York and determining where we fit into the broader festival and film landscape. We began to examine what the real issues facing our industry were and how to address them. How could we get more work funded? How could we increase the audience for independent film? What do filmmakers really need?
As a festival with strong support not only in the New York community but with the backing of organizations that supported our vision, we were in a unique position. In 2005, we started Tribeca All Access, a funding program for underrepresented filmmakers. TAA is now one of the signature programs of the Tribeca Film Institute, which funds and supports filmmakers throughout the year. In 2006, we created the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival, firmly believing that one of the best ways to increase audiences for films is to tap into an audience realm that had been seriously underserved: sports fans. These ideas worked. Some others didn’t. But we kept working on new ideas.
Perhaps we’re finally beginning to mature, and to even find our stride, although this doesn’t mean we aren’t still evolving. The festival continues to provide a strong platform for filmmakers in New York City, the media capital of the world. Screenings are full. A significant number of films are bought and enter the larger marketplace. And with Tribeca Film and the Tribeca (Online) Film Festival, we’re experimenting with new ways to extend the reach of festivals, to utilize the promotional power of the festival platform, and to reach consumers in the age of the internet and VOD.
I believe New Yorkers comprise the smartest audiences in the world – I’m biased. (Though it’s not exactly true that films that make it here can make it anywhere, success in New York is a significant badge of honor.) And like New York itself, Tribeca brings together a remarkably diverse audience of people from many cultures, enables them to talk about things that are important to them and see movies they might not otherwise. We are part of the DNA of New York City, and I believe that our festival is helping to address the concerns of the city and the industry that is so much a part of it.
When I started at Tribeca nine years ago on that first festival, we were just focused on the immediate festival, and that seemed right for me to work on. I had just moved to New York from Austin, Texas, and while I had no interest in working on another film festival long-term (I spent eight years at SXSW), Tribeca seemed like a great temporary gig to be a part of something that was going to make a difference to the city and also was a great way for me to meet more of the New York film community.
What keeps me here is the reactions to and the discussions around the films we show. Nothing makes me happier than a lively debate after a screening or seeing a film that teaches me something about the world or the human condition that I didn’t know. Thankfully there is still a lot to learn! Tribeca has developed into a community festival that’s not just for New Yorkers, but tells the stories of the world.
In 2001, when the festival started, the mantra was “look left.” Do that upon leaving the Tribeca Film Center, and you would see the spot where the World Trade Center had been. That alone made the hard work of pulling off that first festival meaningful.
This is our 10th festival. We’ve had much success and accomplishment in serving our original goals, and yet we cannot forget that life is often tragic. When I sat down to write this, I had just heard about the death of one of the directors, Juliano Mer Khamis, from our 2004 festival who was killed in an attack in the West Bank. His film, "Arna’s Children," opened our eyes in the festival’s early years to the redemptive, connective possibilities of cinema. I remember our jurors talking to patrons standing in line, telling them how powerful the film was, and the impact these screenings had on our audiences.
Tribeca’s central mission is to show films that bridge cultures and open opportunities for understanding. There is no better reason for a festival to exist.
[Check out indieWIRE's profiles/interviews with dozens of 2011 Tribeca Film Festival filmmakers here.]
Newsletters
on facebook
fresh from the blogs
-
The Pros and Cons of 'Star Trek Into Darkness'' Mystery ...Criticwire
-
Watch: Trailer For Alejandro Jodorowsky's First Film ...The Playlist
-
Can We Talk New Forms Of Content Exhibition vs Old? ...Shadow and Act
-
Variety Takes a Hatchet To Warner Bros. Movie Chief ...Thompson on Hollywood
-
2013 Cannes News - Part 2Women and Hollywood
-
CANNES 2013: Jia Zhang-ke's A TOUCH OF SINPress Play
-
Good Night, Lost Boy(s)The Lost Boys
-
Greta's New Wave: Frances HaLeonard Maltin
6 Comments
jen | April 19, 2011 11:39 AM
Come on "Dissapointed Producer". Tribeca gives a great platform to New York films. It even has two separate awards just for NYC films in both Narrative & Documentary sections. Just check the narrative jury with film makers such as Atom Egoyan the jury. Where else would this happen for a local film prize. As the other guy say's New York filmmakers are looked after. It seems that you want local films platformed to national and international media yet the reallity is that if anyones film is good enough it will break through. If you are a Newyork Film maker you can compete in either one of the many sections including international films or in the two dedicated NYC sections with the potential of an international launch pad. Mentioning a non-names Oscar winning producer who shuns Tribeca is rediculous as there are plenty of others who love to screen there.
DP | April 19, 2011 4:09 AM
Jen, if you're a fan of fest, great. I've made my points as a filmmaker in the trenches. Virtually every regional and more than a few destination/launching fests give out awards to local filmmakers. It's part of what encourages local industry, and has an economic value.
Tribeca may give a great platform to a few New York films from established players, but you won't truly get where I'm coming from unless you work day in and out in this environment, and that's fine. Press and premieres matter that much more to our bottom line - period. If you ARE a part of what we do, however, then name me three NY-based directors or producers that you know personally who have had films in the TFF in the last five years (who isn't named Ed Burns). Surely if the fest is supporting us in total, not just those who've had product at the big three fests in previous years, you know three people in five whole years of programming, right?
I don't doubt your 'plenty of others who love to screen there' comment - I'd love to have work screen there too, it's just that my projects aren't (yet) starring Will Ferrell. So I'll challenge you to find the 'NY, NY' section in this year's program and prove me incorrect. But I'll spare you the time downloading it - because, you see, you won't find one this year.
Disappointed Producer | April 18, 2011 12:31 PM
You're missing the point, Jamie. 'Pariah' won an award and a major deal at Sundance but was shot in under 20 days for little money and needed Kickstarter finishing funds in post just to even screen there. Those are the kinds of economics for indie features made in New York today, a harsh reality compared to just 10 years ago and it's something that directly affects NY crews and producers.
What happens to those films and production companies who don't have that kind of press coverage and audience awareness from a major media market like New York? A popular and successful film like 'The Four Faced Liar' from Slamdance 2010 might have never played on a screen in its own home city (before going straight to DVD) if it were not for the lesbian content that allowed it to screen at NewFest, and what happens if it doesn't get in there? And I'm sorry, Rooftop and Gotham and Brooklyn Int'l and Big Apple and AceFest and VisionFest and NewFilmmakers serve their purpose and show decent films but they do not yet launch content in the same manner as Tribeca FF, press or distribution-wise.
Discrimination isn't what I'm asking for - it's about restoring the reason for existing in the first place. There are more foreign films distributed in commercial theatres in New York at any moment than likely any other city in the U.S. There are French film fests, Asian film fests, Latin film fests, Indian film fests, Jewish film fests, etc. etc. etc. in New York. To have a festival like Tribeca play so many more international films than homegrown ones, a month removed from ND/NF by the way, means that many more NY films don't get any level of press and (potential financial success) in their own port. And New York is one of the few cities in the world where the films made locally can often outshine cinema from any other place, but Tribeca has shrunk its 'NY, NY' presence to a fraction of where it had been at inception.
All of this again begs the question - why must Tribeca persist in alienating itself from its core goal in deference to a need that doesn't exist? It's as if they have decided that they would rather be big or fill a phantom gap in the festival schedule than serve its base purpose. It's no wonder they have engendered a lot of local enmity of late.
Jamie | April 18, 2011 10:41 AM
Come on guys, if your film is good enough it will get in. That's a fair playing filed for everyone. Tribeca is FANTASTIC and lets face it competition is tough and it's also an international festival. If your works good enough you will break through. Think they had 5000 + entries so there are bound to be lots of dissapointed film makers. Seems strange to ask for descrimination from the selection commitee because of where you live.
New York has lots of smaller film festivals NY Film Festival, Gotham Festival, MOMA, Rooftop etc compared to most cities.
Jay Bajaj | April 18, 2011 9:44 AM
I agree with the above comment. I am in Toronto and we face same problems with Toronto Intl. Film Festival (TIFF). I tried to discuss this with TIFF ED about 15 years ago that we should have a section only for Toronto Films-- 10 or 15 local filmmaker can be part of this. But nothing happened. Tribeca should/must have a section just for N.Y. filmmakers. If a Festival will not support local filmmakers than local filmmakers should bycott the festival.
The director of my film has bycotted TIFF for the last 15 years. I wonder how many more feel the same way.
Another disappointed producer.
Disappointed Producer | April 18, 2011 7:25 AM
"But, like my nephew, growing up meant change. It meant looking at the larger community we are a part of outside of New York and determining where we fit into the broader festival and film landscape. We began to examine what the real issues facing our industry were and how to address them."
I think this line underscores the problem that I and many NY-based filmmakers attribute to the Tribeca Film Festival at this stage in its history. Having virtually every NY filmmaker I know say negative things about this festival crystalized my own levels of frustration with the total lack of support the festival now offers to us. By giving slots that could allow our films to be seen by the audience (the one Nancy believes is the smartest in the world) to filmmakers from other parts of the world is to deny us the chance to connect with the audience who could and would support us the most, in the marketplace and otherwise.
Instead of looking at itself as just another 'launching pad' festival for distributors to snap up product (a la Sundance, or SXSW, or Toronto), why can't the Tribeca Film Festival revert back to what it was intended to do in the first place - support New York filmmaking at its creative and financial core. From where we sit, the economy has not recovered - we struggle daily to earn a living wage while still making films which earn accolade after accolade around the world, but we're never able to actually WATCH the fruits of our labor with an audience.
Can't we have just ONE festival on the island of Manhattan where NY-based features can play AND get big media coverage AND support the crews and the talent that make our films so popular around the world? The New York Film Festival has always been about international films; why must Tribeca try to ape that model? Why must New York be the one city in the world where we don't support our home grown talent in a more meaningful way? Why can't there be at least ONE festival that allows more just a couple of the myriad of productions based here every year to screen for US, not the just the lip-service feature or solitary short program here and there in the schedule?
When a producer of Oscar-nominated projects can tell me that he/she decided last year to never submit films again to Tribeca, out of total frustration for their lack of support over 10 years, it made me question whether it was worth it to me as well. We in this industry represent so much of the population and we work in the greatest environment for creativity. To have no world-class outlet for our friends and families to join in with this fantastic audience seems like a cruel joke, and as the festival grows, let us hope it does so with more inclusion of the thoughtful and entertaining work being created in its midst and in its wake.