the festival that takes over the City: 2008 Tribeca Film Festival:

: April 16th – May 4th.

Venues

Tishman Auditorium at The New School
AMC 19th St. East Theater
AMC Village VII Theater
BMCC Tribeca PAC
Directors Guild Theater
Kellen Auditorium at The New School
Pace University
Tribeca Cinemas
Village East Cinema

Signature Sponsors (most of them)

Verizon
American express
Bloomberg
Snapple
IShares
Life’s Good
Chock full O’Nuts
Delta
Cadillac
Vanity fair
The new School
AMC entertainment
Mont Blanc
Alfred P Sloan foundation
IFC always.uncut
T47Telemondo
RR Donnelly
Brookfield Properties
BMCC
4New York
Jameson
Yahoo
Apple

And powered by clickability




Film list
200000 Phantoms France, 2007, 10 min [Short Documentary]
2001: A Space Odyssey 1968, 216 min [Feature Narrative]
2007 Before the Tracks Are Lost On the Wind Germany, 2007, 15 min [Short Documentary]
The 27 Club USA, 2008, 85 min [Feature Narrative]
57,000 Kilometers Between Us France, 2007, 82 min [Feature Narrative]
7 Cities Turkey, 2008, 15 min [Short Narrative]
90 Miles The Documentary USA, 2007, 66 min [Feature Documentary]
About Face Canada, 2008, 6 min [Short Narrative]
Algeria, Unspoken Stories 2007, 160 min [Feature Documentary]
All Saints Day USA, 2007, 15 min [Short Narrative]
American Express Insider Center USA,
American Express Premium Access Screening Package A
American Express Premium Access Screening Package B
American Express Premium Access Screening Package C
Ana's Way Spain, 2007, 9 min [Short Narrative]
Angels Die in the Soil Iran, 2007, 30 min [Short Narrative]
The Aquarium 2008, 111 min [Feature Narrative]
At Day's End Egypt, 2008, 15 min [Short Narrative]
The Auteur USA, 2008, 80 min [Feature Narrative]
The Aviatrix USA, 2007, 10 min [Short Narrative]
Baby Mama USA, 2008, 105 min [Feature Narrative]
Baghdad High 2008, 82 min [Feature Documentary]
Baghdad Twist Canada, 2007, 33 min [Short Documentary]
Baghead USA, 2008, 81 min [Feature Narrative]
Ball Don't Lie USA, 2008, 102 min [Feature Narrative]
Bart Got a Room USA, 2008, 80 min [Feature Narrative]
Before The Rains USA, 2007, 98 min [Feature Narrative]
Beginning Filmmaking 2008, 23 min [Short Documentary]
Being Human Canada, 2008, 7 min [Short Narrative]
Bigger, Stronger, Faster USA, 2008, 106 min [Feature Documentary]
Bitter & Twisted Australia, 2008, 88 min [Feature Narrative]
Boy A U.K., 2007, 100 min [Feature Narrative]
2008 Breaking The Band USA,
Butterfly U.K., 2007, 12 min [Short Documentary]
The Cadillac Award Audience Choice Winner USA, 120 min [Short Narrative]
The Caller USA, 2008, 95 min [Feature Narrative]
Cargo New Zealand, 2007, 12 min [Short Narrative]
Celia the Queen USA, 2008, 84 min [Feature Documentary]
Charly France, 2007, 95 min [Feature Narrative]
Chevolution USA, 2008, 90 min [Feature Documentary]
The Chicken, the Fish and the King Crab Spain, 2007, 86 min [Feature Documentary]
Coffee Break Denmark, 2007, 10 min [Short Narrative]
Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha USA, 2008, 99 min [Feature Narrative]
The Cottage U.K., 2007, 90 min [Feature Narrative]
Cupcake USA, 2008, 9 min [Short Narrative]
The Dalai Lama: Peace and Prosperity USA, 2008, 102 min [Feature Documentary]
Days in Sintra 2007, 90 min [Feature Documentary]
Deconfliction USA, 2007, 13 min [Short Documentary]
Documentary Emerging Filmmaker Award Winner 120 min [Feature Documentary]
Donkey in Lahore Australia, 2007, 117 min [Feature Documentary]
Dusk Mexico, 2008, 9 min [Short Narrative]
Dying Breed Australia, 2008, 92 min [Feature Narrative]
Eau Boy 2007, 5 min [Short Narrative]
Eclipse India, 2007, 10 min [Short Documentary]
Eden Ireland, 2008, 84 min [Feature Narrative]
The Elephant Garden USA, 2008, 19 min [Short Narrative]
Elite Squad Brazil, 2007, 101 min [Feature Narrative]
Empire II USA, 2007, 182 min [Feature Documentary]
Everywhere at Once France, 2007, 73 min [Feature Narrative]
Fans' Favorite Football Flick USA, 120 min [Feature Documentary]
Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans USA, 2008, 68 min [Feature Documentary]
Feathers To The Sky 2007, 18 min [Short Narrative]
Fermat's Room Spain, 2007, 88 min [Feature Narrative]
Fighter Denmark, 2007, 100 min [Feature Narrative]
Finding Amanda USA, 2008, 100 min [Feature Narrative]
Fire Under the Snow USA, 2008, 75 min [Feature Documentary]
Football Under Cover Germany, 2007, 86 min [Feature Documentary]
For Tomorrow: The First Step of the Revolution USA, 2008, 30 min [Short Documentary]
From Within USA, 2008, 90 min [Feature Narrative]
GIFT OF FIRE Nineteen (Obscure) Frames That Changed The World USA, 2008, 30 min [Short Documentary]
God Only Knows Philippines, 2007, 17 min [Short Narrative]
God's Beach USA, 2007, 16 min [Short Narrative]
Going on 13 USA, 2008, 86 min [Feature Documentary]
Goldfish USA, 2007, 13 min [Short Narrative]
Good Boy 2008, 12 min [Short Narrative]
Gotta Dance USA, 2008, 95 min [Feature Documentary]
Great Genius and Profound Stupidity USA, 2008, 27 min [Short Documentary]
Green Porno USA, 15 min [Short Narrative]
Guest of Cindy Sherman USA, 2008, 88 min [Feature Documentary]
Gunnin' for That #1 Spot USA, 2007, 90 min [Feature Documentary]
Harvest 3000 Years Ethiopia, 1975, 137 min [Feature Narrative]
Have You Ever Heard About Vukovar? USA, 2007, 16 min [Short Narrative]
Head Wind Iran, 2007, 65 min [Feature Documentary]
Heartbeats Belgium, 2007, 13 min [Short Narrative]
Heaven on Earth Germany, 2007, 29 min [Short Documentary]
Hesitation 2007, 16 min [Short Narrative]
Hidden in Plain Sight USA, 2008, 62 min [Feature Documentary]
Hotel Gramercy Park USA, 2008, 80 min [Feature Documentary]
I Am Because We Are U.K., 2008, 85 min [Feature Documentary]
I Think I Thought USA, 2007, 7 min [Short Narrative]
Icebergs Switzerland, 2007, 14 min [Short Narrative]
Idiots and Angels USA, 2008, 78 min [Feature Narrative]
Irish Twins USA, 2008, 20 min [Short Narrative]
John and Karen U.K., 2007, 4 min [Short Narrative]
Kassim The Dream USA, 2008, 86 min [Feature Documentary]
Katyn Poland, 2007, 118 min [Feature Narrative]
Kicking It USA, 2008, 98 min [Feature Documentary]
Kid USA, 2007, 13 min [Short Narrative]
Killer Movie USA, 2008, 91 min [Feature Narrative]
Kirksdale USA, 2007, 22 min [Short Narrative]
Lake City USA, 2008, 92 min [Feature Narrative]
Last Time in Clerkenwell USA, 2008, 4 min [Short Narrative]
Launch USA, 2007, 24 min [Short Documentary]
Let the Right One In Sweden, 2008, 114 min [Feature Narrative]
Life For a Child USA, 2008, 16 min [Short Documentary]
Life in Flight USA, 2008, 78 min [Feature Narrative]
Lioness USA, 2008, 82 min [Feature Documentary]
Little Minx Exquisite Corpse: Rope a Dope USA, 2008, 6 min [Short Narrative]
Lost Girl Iraq, 2008, 5 min [Short Documentary]
Lost·Indulgence China, 2008, 96 min [Feature Narrative]
Lou Reed's Berlin USA, 2007, 81 min [Feature Documentary]
Love Live Long 2008, 76 minutes min [Feature Narrative]
Love, Pain & Vice Versa 2008, 86 min [Feature Narrative]
"Made in NY" Narrative Competition Award Winner 120 min [Feature Narrative]
Made in Slovenia Slovenia, 2007, 19 min [Short Narrative]
Mamitas USA, 2007, 24 min [Short Narrative]
Man On Wire U.K., 2007, 89 min [Feature Documentary]
Mandatory Service 2007, 19 min [Short Documentary]
Marina Of The Zabbaleen USA, 2008, 70 min [Feature Documentary]
Meerkat Manor: The Story Begins USA, 2008, 73 min [Feature Documentary]
The Milky Way France, 2007, 13 min [Short Narrative]
Milky Way Liberation Front South Korea, 2007, 100 min [Feature Narrative]
Milosevic on Trial Denmark, 2007, 70 min [Feature Documentary]
Mister Lonely 2007, 113 min [Feature Narrative]
The Money Shot USA, 2008, 11 min [Short Narrative]
Moon Mermaid Belgium, 2007, 16 min [Short Narrative]
My Life Inside Mexico, 2007, 122 min [Feature Documentary]
My Marlon and Brando 2008, 92 min [Feature Narrative]
My Mother Said USA, 2007, 5 min [Short Documentary]
My Winnipeg Canada, 2007, 80 min [Feature Narrative]
"NY Loves Film" Documentary Competition Winner 120 min [Feature Documentary]
Narrative Emerging Filmmaker Award Winner 120 min [Feature Narrative]
New Boy Ireland, 2007, 11 min [Short Narrative]
The New Yorkist USA, 2008, 7 min [Short Narrative]
Newcastle Australia, 2007, 107 min [Feature Narrative]
Night Light USA, 2008, 7 min [Short Narrative]
Night Tide USA, 1961, 85 min [Feature Narrative]
Not Sacks U.K., 2007, 9 min [Short Documentary]
Number One USA, 2007, 10 min [Short Documentary]
The Objective USA, 2008, 90 min [Feature Narrative]
Old Man Bebo Spain, 2007, 111 min [Feature Documentary]
An Omar Broadway Film USA, 2007, 93 min [Feature Documentary]
Once Upon a Time in the West 1968, 165 min [Feature Narrative]
Paraiso Travel USA, 2008, 116 min [Feature Narrative]
Picnic 1948, 22 min [Short Narrative]
Playing Brazil, 2007, 104 min [Feature Documentary]
Playing for Change: Peace Through Music USA, 2007, 76 min [Feature Documentary]
Polar USA, 2007, 2 min [Short Narrative]
A Portrait of Diego: The Revolutionary Gaze Mexico, 2007, 79 min [Feature Documentary]
A Powerful Noise USA, 2008, 90 min [Feature Documentary]
Pray the Devil Back to Hell USA, 2008, 72 min [Feature Documentary]
A President to Remember: In the Company of John F. Kennedy USA, 2008, 85 min [Feature Documentary]
Profit motive and the whispering wind USA, 2007, 58 min [Feature Documentary]
Progressive Landscapes 120 min [Program]
Quiet Chaos Italy, 2008, 112 min [Feature Narrative]
Ramchand Pakistani Pakistan, 2008, 105 min [Feature Narrative]
Rattlesnakes Iceland, 2007, 23 min [Short Narrative]
Redbelt USA, 2008, 99 min [Feature Narrative]
Roads Israel, 2007, 22 min [Short Narrative]
Run for Your Life USA, 2008, 90 min [Feature Documentary]
Savage Grace 2007, 97 min [Feature Narrative]
The Second Life of the Sugar Bowl France, 2007, 13 min [Short Narrative]
The Second Line USA, 2007, 20 min [Short Narrative]
Secrecy USA, 2008, 86 min [Feature Documentary]
The Secret of the Grain France, 2007, 151 min [Feature Narrative]
Self-Portrait with Cows Going Home and Other Works - A Portrait of Sylvia Plachy USA, 2007, 10 min [Short Documentary]
Seven Days Sunday Germany, 2007, 80 min [Feature Narrative]
Shift Germany, 2007, 18 min [Short Narrative]
Shorts: All Truisms 102 min [Program]
Shorts: Cold Feet 97 min [Program]
Shorts: Deal With It 105 min [Program]
Shorts: Environmental Rupture 61 min [Program]
Shorts: Eye Opener 109 min [Program]
Shorts: Identity Crisis 106 min [Program]
Shorts: Nuthouse 84 min [Program]
Shorts: Off the Beaten Path 91 min [Program]
Shorts: Sparks of Brilliance 63 min [Program]
Shorts: Split Second 101 min [Program]
Shorts: Window Seat 99 min [Program]
Sikumi USA, 2008, 15 min [Short Narrative]
Simple Things Russia, 2007, 108 min [Feature Narrative]
Sita Sings the Blues USA, 2008, 82 min [Feature Narrative]
Skeletons in the Closet Sweden, 2008, 10 min [Short Narrative]
So Beautiful Netherlands, 2007, 15 min [Short Narrative]
Somers Town U.K., 2008, 70 min [Feature Narrative]
Song of Slomon Canada, 2007, 16 min [Short Narrative]
Speed Racer USA, 2008, 120 min [Feature Narrative]
SqueezeBox! USA, 2008, 92 min [Feature Documentary]
St. Claire Bourne tribute 15 min [Short Documentary]
Standard Operating Procedure USA, 2008, 193 min [Feature Documentary]
A Story of the Red Hills India, 2007, 117 min [Feature Narrative]
Strangers Israel, 2007, 81 min [Feature Narrative]
Supply and Demand France, 2007, 18 min [Short Narrative]
Suspended Iran, 2008, 7 min [Short Narrative]
Takoma Park USA, 2008, 10 min [Short Narrative]
Tale of Two Bondage Models USA, 2007, 9 min [Short Documentary]
Telling a Bronx Tale 180 min
Tennessee USA, 2008, 95 min [Feature Narrative]
Terra USA, 2007, 80 min [Feature Narrative]
Teslamania USA, 2006, 6 min [Short Documentary]
Theater of War USA, 2008, 95 min [Feature Documentary]
This Is Not A Robbery USA, 2008, 75 min [Feature Documentary]
Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon 2008, 101 min [Feature Narrative]
Thriller Night 120 min
Toby Dammit Italy, 1968, 37 min [Feature Narrative]
The Tournament Italy, 2008, 14 min [Short Narrative]
Tribeca Talks Industry: Click to View: The Future of New Media 90 min [Panel]
Tribeca Talks Industry: Reuse, Remix & Renew 90 min [Panel]
Tribeca Talks Industry: Shane Meadows 90 min [Panel]
Tribeca Talks Industry: What You See Is What You Get USA, 90 min [Panel]
Tribeca Talks: Injecting the American Dream 90 min [Panel]
Tribeca Talks: Mike Figgis USA, 90 min [Panel]
Tribeca Talks: Pangea Day, TED & Tribeca 90 min [Panel]
Trucker USA, 2008, 90 min [Feature Narrative]
Two Mothers Germany, 2007, 87 min [Feature Documentary]
Two Timid Souls France, 1929, 76 min [Feature Narrative]
Under Our Skin USA, 2008, 103 min [Feature Documentary]
The Universe of Keith Haring 2007, 90 min [Feature Documentary]
The Wackness USA, 2008, 110 min [Feature Narrative]
Waiting For Hockney USA, 2008, 78 min [Feature Documentary]
War Child USA, 2008, 93 min [Feature Documentary]
War, Inc. USA, 2006, 106 min [Feature Narrative]
War, Love, God & Madness 2008, 72 min [Feature Documentary]
Whatever Lola Wants 2007, 115 min [Feature Narrative]
When I Become Silent Japan, 2008, 18 min [Short Narrative]
The Wild Man of the Navidad USA, 2008, 85 min [Feature Narrative]
Willingly Israel, 2007, 22 min [Short Narrative]
World Documentary Competition Award Winner 120 min [Feature Documentary]
World Narrative Competition Award Winner 120 min [Feature Narrative]
Worlds Apart Denmark, 2008, 108 min [Feature Narrative]
The Year of the Pig 2007, 10 min [Short Narrative]
Yellow Sticky Notes Canada, 2007, 6 min [Short Documentary]
Yonkers Joe USA, 2008, 100 min [Feature Narrative]
The Zen of Bobby V USA, 2008, 93 min [Feature Documentary]
Zombie Gets a Date USA, 2008, 3 min [Short Narrative]
Zoned In 2008, 90 min [Feature Documentary]





In 2002 the Tribeca Film festival was started by Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal as a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. “The mission of the film festival "to enable the international film community and the general public to experience the power of film by redefining the film festival experience." was put forth to the public but underneath this pretty phrase was the real: to bring money, business and people into the devastated vicinity of lower Manhattan.,

The Festival's program line-up offers documentaries, narrative features and shorts, as well as a program of family-friendly films and sports films in collaboration with ESPN.

The Festival also features panel discussions with personalities in the entertainment world and a music lounge produced with ASCAP to showcase up and coming artists. One of the more distinctive components of the Festival is its Artists Awards program where emerging and renowned artists celebrate filmmakers by providing original works of art that are given to the filmmakers competition winners. Past artists of the Artists Awards program have included Chuck Close, Alex Katz, and Julian Schnabel.

How much the festival actually helps filmmakers or the New York independent community remains questionable.

It is humanly impossible in this world of stimulus overkill to see each and every one of the selected films. However, after seeing several of them and assessing the selections as advertised in their circulars, both on the internet and at the theaters, it becomes painfully obvious that if the Tribeca Film Festival is an harbinger of things to come, Film as we once knew it is a rarity.

The industry seems to fill the gap in news and current event coverage that the legitimate news conveyers, newspaper, television, radio, seem to have neglected in favor of some gossip type reporting that interests few if any intelligent consumers.

The films today are basically documentaries/dramatizations that are thrilling, engrossing, informative but what they are not is the creative effort that used to constitute a film. There are exceptions, but they are few and far between and it seems like those exceptions have a formula, cop and robber, or robot, video game animation or some form of inexplicable violence, flamboyant nudity or right wing agenda to push abortion into the furthest reaches of consciousness.

The question posed by this trend is “what is a film”? What does it have that a documentary might not have? Simply putting people into an unusual, non Eurocentric setting does not make a film. There has to be an arch, character development, a plot worth engaging in and yes, the scenery does matter, the photography, the set designs and custom and make up and all of that, But what is so often missing is the struggle, the meaning that runs deeper than the surface of the explicit plot.

The Tribeca festival’s extravaganza in film, in networking, in cast meets and parleying with the shakers and makers is still in progress. It is an event worth seeing, if only to say, I saw it, I was there in 2008.


Linda Zises