Economic blues got you counting your pennies? Volcanic ash delaying your flight to New York? Can't get motivated to get dressed and come downtown? Afraid to be seen in public? Well, if you are a cinema lover and cannot quite overcome your own neuroses or spewing volcanos to attend this year's Tribeca Film Festival, don't despair.....the Festival is now coming to you.

Tribeca Film, supported by founding partner American Express, has acquired the rights to distribute 12 independent films across multiple platforms, beginning with video-on-demand.  Seven of the films have premiered this week at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival at the same time their VOD runs begin. The other films in this initial slate are past Tribeca films that have been acclaimed on the film festival circuit (although not  having picked up traditional distribution in the process).

The film package is currently available in up to 40 million homes via cable and satellite systems, including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, Cox Communications, Verizon FiOS, Bright House Networks, RCN, and Bresnan Communications.  Subscribers will be able to access all films at affordable price points in the “Tribeca Film” category of their Movies On Demand channel and/or via pay-per-view offerings. For more information, visit: www.tribecafilm.com

The films will be given a brief theatrical run immediately following the Festival, and then will presumably be headed to pay television and dvd outlets. The move into distribution has been mostly praised in the filmmaker community, although some have raised concerns about festivals taking on the mantle of distributors, possibly alienating the very professionals they are looking to attract and also possibly giving preferential treatment and screening slots at the Festival for its own titles. These are still undefined waters but with so many films not finding traditional distribution deals, a new alternative that connects filmmakers with audiences is a positive development, and one that is being watched closely by other film festival events around the world.

TRIBECA FILM TITLES 

·         The Birth of Big Air, directed by Jeff Tremaine.  (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. In 1985, at the tender age of 13, Mat Hoffman entered into the BMX circuit as an amateur. By 16, he had risen to the professional level. Throughout his storied career, Hoffman has ignored conventional limitations and pushed the boundaries of gravity. Academy Award® nominee Spike Jonze and extreme sports fanatic Johnny Knoxville, along with director Jeff Tremaine, showcase the inner workings and exploits of the man who gave birth to “Big Air.”

• Climate of Change, directed by Brian Hill.  (USA, UK) – North American Premiere, Documentary. A group of 13-year-olds in India rally against the use of plastics. A renaissance man in Africa teaches villagers to harness solar power. Self-described “hillbillies” in Appalachia battle the big business behind strip mining. Tilda Swinton beautifully narrates this rich and inspiring documentary about a world of regular people taking action in the fight to save our environment.

• The Infidel, directed by Josh Appignanesi, written by David Baddiel. (UK) – International Premiere, Narrative. Mahmud Nasir (comedian Omid Djalili) may not be the most observant Muslim, but deep down he is a true believer. His life is turned upside down when he learns he was adopted—but most scandalous is that his birth mother was Jewish! And his given name was Solly Shimshillewitz! As Mahmud tumbles into a full-scale identity crisis, a true comedy of religious errors unfolds. With Richard Schiff and Matt Lucas.

·         Metropia, directed by Tarik Saleh, written by Fredrik Edin, Stig Larsson, and Tarik Saleh. (Sweden, Denmark, Norway) – New York Premiere. In the year 2024, all of Europe is united by a vast web of underground railways, populated by an army of downtrodden worker bees. When one such cog starts hearing voices and encounters a femme fatale shampoo model who seems to hold some answers, he finds himself unearthing a vast Orwellian conspiracy in this visually arresting animated noir. With the voices of Vincent Gallo, Juliette Lewis, Udo Kier, Stellan Skarsgård, and Alexander Skarsgård.

·         Road, Movie, directed by Dev Benegal.  (USA, India) – US Premiere, Narrative.  Loath to take over the family hair-oil business, young Vishnu jumps at the chance to drive his uncle’s beat-up Chevy truck across India to its new owner. The young runaway, wandering old entertainer, and beautiful woman he picks up along the way make for a magical journey that will change Vishnu’s life. With the sumptuous landscape of India as his canvas, director Dev Benegal paints a delightfully original road movie.

• sex & drugs & rock & roll, directed by Mat Whitecross.  (UK) – North American Premiere, Narrative.  Awards: Nominated, Best Leading Actor, Best Music, 2010 BAFTA Awards; Nominated, Best Actor, British Independent Film Awards; Nominated, British Actor of the Year, Young British Performer of the Year, London Critics Circle Film Awards.  sex & drugs & rock & roll is The Road to Guantanamo codirector Mat Whitecross’ ripsnorting portrait of mercurial British punk rock pioneer Ian Dury (BAFTA nominee Andy Serkis).

• The Trotksy, directed and written by Jacob Tierney. (Canada) – US Premiere, Narrative. Like most high schoolers, Leon Bronstein (Jay Baruchel, Tropic Thunder) is having an identity crisis. What differentiates Leon, however, is that he believes he is the reincarnation of Soviet thinker Leon Trotksy and predestined to follow the same path as his namesake.  
• ·         My Last Five Girlfriends, directed and written by Julian Kemp. (UK) – Narrative. Based on the international best seller On Love by Alain de Botton, this delightful romantic comedy explores with delicious wit and whimsy just how modern urban relationships go wrong.

        The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle, written and directed by David Russo (USA) – Narrative. After losing his cubicle job in Seattle, spiritually confused Dory feels like his life is going down the drain. Forced to take a job as a night janitor at a shady research firm, he and his cast-off coworkers are unwittingly used as guinea pigs for new products that are doing strange things to their bodies and minds. Quirky, humorous, and dark, David Russo’s feature debut is a stylish, bittersweet fable about the search for meaning in our throwaway society.

·         The Swimsuit Issue (Allt flyter), directed by Måns Herngren, written by Jane Magnusson, Brian Cordray and Herngren. (Sweden) – Narrative.  What begins as a joke turns into a new shot at glory for a group of over-the-hill athletes who decide to form Sweden’s only all-male synchronized swimming team. The less they’re taken seriously, the more determined they are to win the world championship in this fun, feel-good comedy about friendship and family.

·         The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia, directed by Julien Nitzberg. (USA) – Documentary. Shoot-outs, robberies, gas-huffing, drug dealing, pill popping, murders, and tap dancing — what do these all have in common?  The White Family. From executive producers Johnny Knoxville and Jeff Tremaine comes a shocking portrait of Boone County, West Virginia’s most notorious and surly family.

·         TiMER, directed and written by Jac Schaeffer. (USA) – Narrative. Finding true love is easier than ever thanks to a bio-technological implant called the TiMER, which counts down to the exact time people meet their soul mates. Love-starved Oona (Emma Caulfield, TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer) is pushing 30, but her TiMER hasn't even started counting down yet. What's worse, she's falling for a guy (John Patrick Amedori, Gossip Girl) who is set to meet his true love in four months.

Sandy Mandelberger, Festival Dailies Editor