TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
Think you’ve see it all in New York? Think again.
2009 Tribeca Film Festival Presented By American Express
April 22 - May 3
About the Tribeca Film Festival:
Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff founded the Tribeca Film Festival in 2001 following the attacks on the World Trade Center, New York City to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of the lower Manhattan district through an annual celebration of film, music and culture.
The Festival’s mission is to help filmmakers reach the broadest possible audience, enable the international film community and general public to experience the power of cinema and promote New York City as a major filmmaking center.
Tribeca Film Festival is well known for being a diverse international film festival that supports emerging and established directors. The Tribeca Festival has screened over 1100 films from over 80 countries since its first festival in 2002. Since its founding, it has attracted an international audience of more than two million attendees and has generated over $530 million in economic activity for New York City.
There will be two festival hubs: Lower Manhattan and Union Square.
Lower Manhattan venues include BMCC TribecaPAC, Tribeca Cinemas. Also, Drive-In at World Financial Center and Family Festival on Greenwich St.
Union Square venues include AMC Village VII (Third Ave. and 11th), SVA Theater (23rd between 8th and 9th Avenues), and Directors Guild Theater (various panel & post-screening conversations).
2009 FILMS
• 85 Features and 46 Shorts make up this year’s film program.
• Opening Night Film: Sony Pictures Classics’ Whatever Works, directed by Woody Allen, starring Ed Begley, Jr., Patricia Clarkson, Larry David, Conleth Hill, Michael McKean, Evan Rachel Wood.
• Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival Gala: Spike Lee’s Kobe Doin’ Work (ESPN).
• Closing Night Film: Fox Searchlight’s My Life in Ruins, a Donald Petrie film, starring Nia Vardalos, Richard Dreyfuss, Rachel Dratch, Alexis Georgoulis, Rachel Dratch, Harland Williams, Jareb Dauplaise.
• The 2009 Tribeca Film Festival will present a total of 85 feature films and 46 shorts selected from 4,720 film submissions, of which 2,284 were feature film submissions. These selections include 46 World Premieres, 5 International Premieres, 15 North American Premieres, 3 U.S. Premieres and 12 New York City Premieres.
• 37 first time directors
• 24 of the 88 directors are women
• 32 Tribeca Film Festival alumni directors/producers (features and shorts)
• 36 countries are represented: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, Denmark, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Palestine, Poland, Russia, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan R.O.C., Turkey, U.K., and USA.
• Established directors include Woody Allen (Whatever Works), Steven Soderbergh (The Girlfriend Experience), Spike Lee(Kobe Doin’ Work, Passing Strange), Conor McPherson (The Eclipse) , Kirby Dick (Outrage), the Polish Brothers (Stay Cool), Lucia Puenza (The Fish Child), Marshall Curry (Racing Dreams), Jose Padilha (Garapa), Kristian Levring (Fear Me Not), Stephan Elliot (Easy Virtue), Dan Sturman and Bill Guttentag (Soundtrack for a Revolution), and Yojiro Takita (Departures).
• Tribute: William Goldman will be honored at the Drive-In Screening of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Fellow film luminaries Scott Frank, Tony Gilroy, David Koepp and Aaron Sorkin will be on hand to help honor Goldman at this special event
• The Festival features the 3rd year of the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival – showcasing 8 competition-themed films presenting diverse topics ranging from sumo wrestling and basketball to Go Kart Racing and an international debate championship.
• Films supported in funding by the Tribeca Film Institute programs that are in the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival:
• From Tribeca All Access (a program designed to open doors for underrepresented filmmakers) – Entre Nos, Off and Running
• From Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund (provides finishing funds for films with subjects omitted from main stream media) – Only When I Dance, Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi
• Prevalent themes in the slate this year are: family relationships, politics, New York City culture, love stories, and music.
FREE EVENTS
The Festival has a leaner program this year, but our free community events remain intact. In fact the Festival has added additional free events through conversations and panels.
The Festival is proud to once again be featuring the Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair and three drive-in screenings - events that have become a hallmark of the Festival.
FREE - Tribeca Drive-In Outdoor Screenings (see below for more information)
FREE - Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair- May 2 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. along Greenwich Street (between Hubert and Duane Streets). The fair, a Festival favorite which drew crowds of more than 250,000 people last year, is free and open to the public, and promises to be a day of family fun and lively entertainment. (see below for more information)
FREE - Tribeca/ESPN Sports Day- Tribeca/ESPN Sports Day will be on Saturday, May 2nd from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. starting on N. Moore, between Greenwich and West Streets, and is free and open to the public. Together with the Family Festival Street Fair, Tribeca/ESPN Sports Day will give fans of all ages the opportunity to participate in a variety of interactive sports related games and demonstrations.
FREE - Apple “Meet the Filmmakers” – Free daily afternoon and evening conversations with Tribeca Filmmakers at the Apple SoHo store.
FREE - Tribeca Talks – “Industry” and “Pen to Paper”
This year the Tribeca Talks panel series will feature two free discussion programs to provide audiences with a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges and triumphs of movie-making: the newly created “Tribeca Talks: Pen to Paper,” hosted by Barnes & Noble, will feature conversations about the art of screenwriting, and “Tribeca Talks: Industry” will focus on the business of film.
Family Festival
Please check the various sections of this site periodically through the end of the Festival for more information about the 2009 Family Festival. Have questions? Contact us at family@tribecafilmfestival.org.
Download our Backpack Flyer, chock-full of Kid-Friendly events!
Catch premieres of family-friendly films, celebrate local young filmmakers, check out red-carpet recaps from Tribeca kid reporters, and come downtown for an exciting all-day Street Fair. The 2009 Tribeca Family Festival brings together films, families, and fun!
Family Festival Street Fair
Saturday, May 2
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Come celebrate on Greenwich Street in Tribeca between Hubert and Chambers Streets, featuring free perfomances, and activities, local merchants, and much more!
The Tribeca Family Festival is proud to present family films for ages 6 and up. Catch life-size turtles in action, go-karting kids with NASCAR dreams, and the pressures of teenage national debate teams. Learn more!
Join us as we showcase local Manhattan youth filmmakers in the Downtown Youth Behind the Camera program. Learn more!
Family Festival Photos from Years Past
Community Events
Family Festival Photos
