After receiving harsh criticism in 2007 for considering quantity
more important than quality, the Tribeca Festival hopes to enjoy a more
pleasant reception this year.
People complained last year that tickets were too expensive
or that the added uptown theaters made the festival’s navigation too difficult,
resulting in missing tightly scheduled screenings due to travel delay.
Film executives complained the festival was not commercial
enough, while others complained it was too commercial.
But the festival’s founders are hopeful they can surpass the
criticism and do better this year.
The festival started six years ago, founded by Jane Rosenthal;
her husband, Craig Hatkoff; and Rosenthal's producing partner, Robert De Niro.
It followed the September 11 terrorist attacks and it was supposed to help the
downtown community recover and rebuild.
Rosenthal was very much impressed by the tragedy on Sept.11,
saying that she could have been right in front of the two towers when the first
plane hit the building, if her driver had not decided to stop the car at a
yellow light.
“Aside from Sarajevo, there's no other film festival that
was started because of an act of war,” she said. “As filmmakers, we were still
uncovering, we were still trying to dig out when we started this festival.
Literally, when we started, there were tanks on Canal Street.”
For the 2008’s edition of the festival, the founders decided
to cut the festival’s lineup with around 25 percent, leaving 121 features, in
comparison with the 157 features it had last year.
The screening hubs have also been changed. The two of them
are settled in Union Square and Tribeca. And the tickets’ price has been
reduced from $18 to $15, with several weekend and midnight shows at just $8.
"One of our growing pains was learning how to say no,
condense and hone in on the best films," explains Nancy Schafer, one of
the festival's executive directors, according to Reuters.
The festival includes many film genres, from obscure indie
films to very commercial ones.
The lineup includes the documentary about orphans in Malawi,
“I Am Because We Are,” written and produced by Madonna, whose adopted son was
born in the above mentioned African country.
“Elite Squad,” a very violent police thriller that was
successful in its native Brazil, also features at the festival, along with the
British comedy “Somers Town” and Errol Morris’ Abu Ghraib documentary, “Standard
Operating Procedure.”
“War, Inc.,” a satire starring John Cusack as a hit man who
falls in love with a reporter played by Marisa Tomei, is also expected to generate
some buzz at Tribeca.
Mariah Carey’s fans will be pleased to see the singer and aspiring
actress in the road movie drama “Tennessee.”
The Wachowski brothers’ film, “Speed Racer,” featuring Emile
Hirsch and Christina Ricci, is due to close the festival.
