De Niro's festival goes global
Martin Scorsese joined Robert De Niro at last year's festival
Op-ed
In two to three days I am finishing the score(music) for the film Justice. World Premier of the Evan Oppenheimer's film Justicewill be on May 8 & 9th. All are welcome.
Nenad Bach
Last Updated: Wednesday, 26 March, 2003, 11:30 GMT
New York's Tribeca Film Festival has unveiled an eclectic list of international titles in the three competition sections of the second annual event.
Selections include 11 world, four international and 22 North American premiθres.
"We're pleased to be introducing the work of an exciting group of new moviemaking talents from all over the world," said executive director Peter Scarlet.
"I think viewers will find it an intriguing, challenging and interesting selection."
The festival - which will run from 3 to 11 May - is the brainchild of actor Robert De Niro.
He created it to help revitalise New York's Lower East Side after the 11 September attacks on the US.
Bittersweet tale
Four US entries from first and second-time filmmakers will premiθre in the narrative feature section.
Included is Justice.Evan Oppenheimer's examination of post-11 September grief through the work of a maverick comic book artist and Clark Walker's tale of Texas adolescents.
Both east Asia and France figure prominently in the feature lineup.
Li Yang's film Blind Shaft, about Chinese mine workers involved in murder and extortion, is included alongside South Korean Chan-ok Park's Jealousy Is My Middle Name.
Also selected is the debut of French-Italian director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi's It Is Easier for a Camel, about a woman who retreats into daydreams.
Vida Zaher-Khadeem's Firedancer, which chronicles the struggles of Afghan emigrants in the US, has been selected.
The film was completed after the director's murder in 2001.
Hip-hop entrepreneurs
The festival's documentary section is split into two parts - one for first and second-time directors and the other for more established film-makers.
Entries include A Normal Life, about Albanian Kosovar refugees, by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Hugo Berkeley and director Bruce Brown's Endless Summer, which documents life in a surfing community.
Music films also get a look in.
Maxie Collier's study of hip-hop entrepreneurs, Paper Chasers, which features Ludacris and Public Enemy is included alongside David G Berger - Holly Maxson and Kate Hirso's portrait of the jazz musician.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/2887549.stm
Full Lineup For Tribeca Film Festival
By Linda Perney
NYNewsday.com
March 26, 2003, 6:54 PM EST
Directors of Manhattan's Tribeca Film Festival have announced the film lineup for the second annual event, slated to run May 3 to 11. Selected films touch on subject matter as diverse as growing up Jewish in Baghdad and skateboarding in West Texas. Eleven of the films will have their world premieres at the festival.
This year, there are five new competitive categories: Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Feature, Best Documentary>2 (for directors who have made more than two features), Best Actress, Best Actor, Emerging Narrative Feature Filmmaker, and Emerging Documentary Feature Filmmaker. In addition, there is the Audience Award (open to all festival entrants), Best Documentary Short, and Student Visionary Award.
Filmmakers from some 20 countries are entered, and the movies represent diverse cultures and sensibilities. "We're eager to again present such a world-class lineup of feature films in competition to share with New Yorkers and visitors from around the globe," said festival co-founder Jane Rosenthal.
Feature
Among the Feature Films, entrants include Li Yang's "Blind Shaft," from China, about two miners who take up murder and extortion, which won the Berlin Silver Bear award. Variety called another entrant, Nawfel Sahed-Ettaba's "The Bookstore," "an unheralded discovery," a richly layered portrait of people in a tight-knit neighborhood in North Africa. From France, first-time director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi's film, "It is Easier For a Camel...," focuses on a woman who retreats from the reality of her life.
Immigrant culture, with its themes of alienation and hope, has traditionally drawn filmmakers. This year, two films -- both about Afghan migrants -- have been chosen for the festival. Vida Zaher-Khadeem's "FireDancer," completed after the director was murdered two years ago, chronicles one man's struggles in the United States, while Homayoun Karimpour's "Nilofar in the Rain" explores the problems faced by Afghan refugees in both Pakistan and Paris.
The United States has contributed four films: "Bomb the System," by Adam Bhala Lough, portrays the world of graffiti artists. In "Levelland," Clark Walker tells the tale of teenagers in a small Texas town, while Evan Oppenheimer's "Justice" tackles the subject of grief in a post-9/11world. Ramin Niami's feature, "Paris," is a thoroughly modern take on film noir.
Diverse Documentaries
Entrants in the Documentary section likewise cover a great deal of ground -- from "Paper Chasers," Maxie Collier's record of hip-hop culture that features Public Enemy, Ludacris, and Damon Dash to "Sumo East and West," which looks at how foreign cultures have affected Japan's ancient art of wrestling.
From the United States, Rory Kennedy's "A Boy's Life" shows the challenges faced by a welfare worker, a school principal, and a family as they struggle to save a mentally ill boy in an impoverished town in the Deep South. Another noteworthy production is director Michael Almereyda's "This So-Called Disaster," with Nick Nolte, Sean Penn and Woody Harrelson -- a behind-the-scenes look at a stage play, Sam Shepard's "The Late Henry Moss."
Tribeca Film Festival unveils international lineup for second event
Jeremy Kay in Los Angeles 26 March 2003
The theme of cultural exploration is writ large over this year's second Tribeca Film Festival, which features 11 world premieres and three competition strands in its second edition running May 3-11.
Announcing the line-up today (Mar 25), founders Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal and executive director Peter Scarlet said the feature-length competitive sections included 41 pictures including four world premieres and 22 North American premieres.
The dramatic competition section consists of:
- Ballroom (Dancing) (France) Patrick Mario Bernard, Pierre Trividic & Xavier Brillat, directors
- Blind Shaft (China) Li Yang
- Bomb The System (US) Adam Bhala Lough
- The Bookstore (Tunisia) Nawfel Sahed-Ettaba
- Chicken Poets (China) Jinghui Meng
- It Is Easier For A Camel (France) Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
- Jealousy Is My Middle Name (Korea) Chan-ok Park
- Justice (US) Evan Oppenheimer
- Levelland (US) Clark Walker
- Margarette's Feast (Brazil/US) Renato Falcc?o
- Nilofar In The Rain (Afghanistan/France) Homayoun Karimpour
- Open My Heart (Italy) Giada Colagrande
- Paris (US) Ramin Niami
- Some Secrets (Czech Republic) Alice Nellis
- Squint Your Eyes (Poland) Andrzej Jakimowski
- Yossi & Jagger (Israel) Eytan Fox
Among the documentaries are Rory Kennedy's A Boy's Life, Nick Broomfield and Joan Churchill's Aileen: Life And Death Of A Serial Killer and Michael Almereyda's This So-Called Disaster featuring Sean Penn, Sam Shepard, Nick Nolte and Woody Harrelson.
The three competitive strands are Features and Documentary Features - for first and second-time film-makers - and Documentaries, for directors of more than two pictures.
Award categories to be presented in the three competition sections include - Best Narrative, Best Documentary Feature, Best Documentary, Best Actress, Best Actor, Emerging Narrative Feature Film-maker and Emerging Documentary Feature Film-maker.
Additional Festival awards include the Audience Award (for which every feature film in the festival is eligible), Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary Short and the Student Visionary Award.
"We are eager to again present such a world-class line-up of feature films in competition to share with New Yorkers and visitors from around the globe," Rosenthal said in a statement. "This year's selections are created by extraordinary film-makers who have proven their talents on a variety of levels."
Screenings will take place at locations throughout New York's Tribeca district, when festival-goers will also get a chance to attend panel discussions film-maker workshops and other events. The juries for each section will be announced in due course.
Tribeca Fest Gaze Grows Global
Wed Mar 26, 1:32 AM ET
Add Movies - Reuters to My Yahoo!
By David Rooney
NEW YORK (Variety) - The Tribeca Film Festival has unveiled an eclectic slate of international titles hailing from locales that range from Afghanistan (news - web sites) to the Lower Manhattan neighborhood itself in the three feature competition sections of the second annual event, running May 3-11.
Selections include 11 world, four international and 22 North American premieres.
"We're pleased to be introducing the work of an exciting group of new moviemaking talents from all over the world and to be presenting the work of an additional dozen who aren't beginners but who have yet to get the recognition they deserve," said executive director Peter Scarlet. "I think viewers will find it an intriguing, challenging and interesting selection."
Four U.S. entries will premiere in the narrative feature competition for first- and second-time filmmakers. These are 23-year-old Adam Bhala Lough's trip inside the dangerous world of Gotham graffiti artists, "Bomb the System"; Evan Oppenheimer's examination of post-Sept. 11 grief through the work of a maverick comicbook artist, "Justice"; Clark Walker's bittersweet tale of West Texas adolescents, "Levelland"; and Ramin Niami's contemporary noir, "Paris."
Given the success of last year's Tribeca discovery and top prize winner, "Roger Dodger," acquisition execs will be scouring this crop for a potential breakout title.
'PROMISING' SLATE
"I think the fact that just among the feature selections there are six world premieres, of which five are American, is promising," Scarlet added.
East Asia figures prominently in the feature lineup, including Berlin Silver Bear winner "Blind Shaft" by Li Yang, about Chinese mine workers involved in murder and extortion; experimental theater director Jinghui Meng's drama about the transition from idealism to commercialism in Chinese culture, "Chicken Poets"; and South Korean helmer Chan-ok Park's "Jealousy Is My Middle Name," an honoree at the Rotterdam and Pusan fests.
Also selected is the debut of French-Italian thesp Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, "It Is Easier for a Camel ...," about a woman retreating into daydreams to maintain balance in her life, starring the director with Chiara Mastroianni, Jean-Hugues Anglade (news), Emmanuelle Devos and Lambert Wilson. The second entry representing France is "Ballroom," by Patrick Mario Bernard, Pierre Trividic and Xavier Brillat, about an artist who sets up his studio in a former dance hall.
The struggles of Afghan emigrants in the U.S. are chronicled in Vida Zaher-Khadeem's "FireDancer," completed after the director's brutal murder in 2001, while Homayoun Karimpour's "Nilofar in the Rain" examines the troubled relationship between an Afghan refugee in Pakistan and another exiled in Paris.
DUAL DOC TRACKS
Documentary selections are split into two competitions: one for first- and second-time directors, the other for more established filmmakers.
Entries in these sections include "A Normal Life" about Albanian Kosovar refugees, by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Hugo Berkeley; "Sumo East and West," Ferne Pearlstein's examination of foreign inroads into the ancient Japanese art of sumo wrestling; and "Step Into Liquid," in which Dana Brown, the son of "Endless Summer" director Bruce Brown, documents a surfing community.
Music films are cued up with Maxie Collier's study of hip-hop entrepreneurs, "Paper Chasers," featuring Ludacris, Damon Dash and Public Enemy; and "Keeping Time: The Life, Music & Photographs of Milt Hinton," David G. Berger, Holly Maxson and Kate Hirso's portrait of the jazz musician.
Also screening is "This So-Called Disaster," director Michael Almereyda's look at the creation of a stage production, in this case Sam Shepard's "The Late Henry Moss," with Nick Nolte, Sean Penn and Woody Harrelson
Tribeca Film Festival Unveils 2003 Slate
Wed, Mar 26, 2003, 09:03 AM PT
HOLLYWOOD (Zap2it.com) - Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal unveiled the competitive line-up for their second annual Tribeca Film Festival Tuesday (March 26), featuring an impressive 11 world premieres and 22 North American premieres.
"We're pleased to be introducing the work of an exciting group of new moviemaking talents from all over the world and to be presenting the work of an additional dozen who aren't beginners but who have yet to get the recognition they deserve," executive director Peter Scarlet said in a statement. "I think viewers will find it an intriguing, challenging and interesting selection."
The three competitive strands are features and documentary Features -- for first and second-time filmmakers -- and documentaries, for directors of more than two pictures.
Four U.S. entries will premiere in the narrative feature competition for first- and second-time filmmakers; "Bomb the System" about New York City graffiti artists; "Justice," Evan Oppenheimer's examination of post-Sept. 11 grief through the work of a maverick comic book artist; "Levelland,"Clark Walker's tale of West Texas adolescents; and Ramin Niami's contemporary drama, "Paris."
The three documentaries are Rory Kennedy's "Boy's Life," Nick Broomfield and Joan Churchill's "Aileen: Life And Death Of A Serial Killer," and Michael Almereyda's "This So-Called Disaster," featuring Sean Penn, Sam Shepard, Nick Nolte and Woody Harrelson.
The festival runs May 3 to 11, with screenings taking place in the Manhattan neighborhood of New York City.
Tribeca Fest Sets Competition Slate for 2003 Event
by Eugene Hernandez
------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Tribeca Film Festival executive director Peter Scarlet joined event founders Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal in announcing the competition lineups for the 2003 second-annual Tribeca Film Festival (May 6-11). Forty-one films will screen in three competitive sections at this year's festival.
"We are eager to again present such a world-class line-up of feature films in competition to share with New Yorkers and visitors from around the globe," said Rosenthal in a prepared statement. "This year's selections are created by extraordinary filmmakers who have proven their talents on a variety of levels."
In addition to a dramatic and a documentary competition, organizers have created a new "Documentaries >2" section which offers work by more established filmmakers. Competition films are from those who are presenting their first or second feature film. Jurors are yet to be announced.
Scarlet stated, "We're pleased to be introducing the work of an exciting group of new moviemaking talents from all over the world and to be presenting the work of an additional dozen who aren't beginners but who have yet to get the recognition they deserve."
Festival tickets will go on sale on April 27, with American Express card members getting a jump on the sale from April 21-26. The card company is the primary sponsor of the annual event. Residents who live below Canal Street in Manhattan will get a $2 discount.
The complete competition lineup follows (information provided by The Tribeca Film Festival):
DRAMATIC FEATURES SECTION
"Ballroom" (Dancing) directed by Patrick Mario Bernard, Pierre Trividic and Xavier Brillat (France) -- International Premiere
"Blind Shaft" (Mang Jing) directed by Li Yang (China) -- North American Premiere
"Bomb the System" directed by Adam Bhala Lough (U.S.A.) -- World Premiere
"The Bookstore" (el Kotbia) directed by Nawfel Sahed-Ettaba (Tunisia) -- North American Premiere
"Chicken Poets" (Xiang Ji Mao Yi Yang Fei) directed by Jinghui Meng (China)
"Fire Dancer" directed by Jawed Wassel (Afghanistan /U.S.A) -- International Premiere
"It Is Easier for a Camel" (Il Est Plus Facile Pour Un Chameau) directed by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi (France) -- International Premiere
"Jealousy Is My Middle Name" (Jiltoo-neun Na-e Him) directed by Chan-ok Park (Korea) -- North American Premiere
"Justice" directed by Evan Oppenheimer and starring Erik Palladino (U.S.A.) -- World Premiere
"Levelland" directed by Clark Walker (U.S.A.) -- World Premiere
"Margarette's Feast" (A Festa de Margarette) directed by Renato Falcγo (Brazil/U.S.A.) -- North American Premiere
"Nilofar in the Rain" (Nilofar dar Baraan) directed by Homayoun Karimpour (Afghanistan/France) -- World Premiere
"Open My Heart" (Aprimi Il Cuore) directed by Giada Colagrande (Italy) -- International
"Paris" directed by Ramin Niami and starring Bai Ling and Chad Allen with an original score by John Cale (U.S.A.) -- World Premiere
"Some Secrets" (Vylet) directed by Alice Nellis (Czech Republic)
"Squint Your Eyes" (Zmruz Oczy) directed by Andrzej Jakimowski (Poland) -- North American Premiere
"Yossi & Jagger" directed by Eytan Fox (Israel) -- North American Premiere.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES SECTION
"A Boy's Life" directed by Rory Kennedy (U.S.A.)
"Carlo Giuliani, a Boy" (Carlo Giuliani, Ragazzo) directed by Francesca Comencini (Italy) - North American Premiere
"Every Child is Born a Poet: The Life & Work of Piri Thomas" directed by Jonathan Robinson (U.S.A.) - World Premiere
"Heaven's Path" (Rah-e Behesht) directed by Mahmoud Behraznia (Iran) - North American Premiere
"Keeping Time: The Life, Music & Photographs of Milt Hinton" directed by David G. Berger, Holly Maxson and Kate Hirson (U.S.A.)
"A Normal Life" directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Hugo Berkeley (U.S.A./Kosovo) - World Premiere
"Paper Chasers" directed by Maxie Collier and featuring Ludacris, Damon Dash, Fat Joe, and Public Enemy (U.S.A.) - World Premiere
"Seville, Southside" (Poligono Sur) directed by Dominique Abel (Spain) -North American Premiere
"Song of the Millennium" (Le Chant du Millιnaire) directed by Mohammed Zran (Tunisia) - North American Premiere
"Step into Liquid" directed by Dana Brown (U.S.A.) - World Premiere
"Sumo East AND West" directed by Ferne Pearlstein (U.S.A.) - World Premiere
"Sunset Story" directed by Laura Gabbert (U.S.A.) - World Premiere.
DOCUMENTARIES > 2
"Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer" directed by Nick Broomfield and Joan Churchill (United Kingdom) - North American Premiere
"And Along Came a Spider" (Va Ankaboot Amad) directed by Maziar Bahari (Iran) - North American Premiere
"Dance, GrozNy, Dance" (Dans Grozny, Dans) directed by Jos de Putter (Netherlands) - North American Premiere
"Dream Cuisine" (Aji) directed by Ying Li (Japan) - North American Premiere
"Forget Baghdad: Jews and Arabs" - The Iraqi Experience directed by Samir (Switzerland/Germany) - North American Premiere
"HUSH!" (Tishe!) directed by Victor Kossakovsky (Russia) - North American Premiere
"Jonas at the Ocean" directed by Peter Sempel and featuring Vincent Canby, Nick Cave, Allen Ginsberg, Harvey Keitel, Nam June Paik and Wim Wenders (Germany) - North American Premiere
"The Lost Film" (El film el mafkoud) directed by Khalil Joreige and Joanna Hadjithomas (Lebanon/France) - North American Premiere
"On Hitler's Highway" directed by Lech Kowalski (France) - North American Premiere
"Our Times" (Ruzegar-e Ma) directed by Rakhshan Bani-Etemad (Iran) - North American Premiere
"This So-Called Disaster" directed by Michael Almereyda and starring Sean Penn, Sam Shepard, Nick Nolte and Woody Harrelson (U.S.A.) - North American Premiere
"Trial" (Mohakeme) directed by Moslem Mansouri (Iran/U.S.A.) - North American Premiere.
Tribeca Film Festival Founders Announce 11 World Premieres
POSTED: 3:20 p.m. EST March 26, 2003
NEW YORK -- The co-founders of the Tribeca Film Festival, Robert DeNiro and Jane Rosenthal, Wednesday announced the films slated for competition.
Tribeca Film Fest Returns Among the movies are 11 world premieres, including "Jonas At The Ocean," starring Harvey Keitel, and a film titled "This So-Called Disaster," starring Sean Penn, Sam Shephard, Nick Nolte and Woody Harrelson.
NewsChannel4 is a proud sponsor of the Tribeca Film Festival. Tickets go on sale April 27.
Copyright 2003 by WNBC.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
De Niro's festival goes global
Martin Scorsese joined Robert De Niro at last year's festival
Op-ed
In two to three days I am finishing the score(music) for the film Justice. World Premier of the Evan Oppenheimer's film Justicewill be on May 8 & 9th. All are welcome.
Nenad Bach
Last Updated: Wednesday, 26 March, 2003, 11:30 GMT
New York's Tribeca Film Festival has unveiled an eclectic list of international titles in the three competition sections of the second annual event.
Selections include 11 world, four international and 22 North American premiθres.
"We're pleased to be introducing the work of an exciting group of new moviemaking talents from all over the world," said executive director Peter Scarlet.
"I think viewers will find it an intriguing, challenging and interesting selection."
The festival - which will run from 3 to 11 May - is the brainchild of actor Robert De Niro.
He created it to help revitalise New York's Lower East Side after the 11 September attacks on the US.
Bittersweet tale
Four US entries from first and second-time filmmakers will premiθre in the narrative feature section.
Included is Justice.Evan Oppenheimer's examination of post-11 September grief through the work of a maverick comic book artist and Clark Walker's tale of Texas adolescents.
Both east Asia and France figure prominently in the feature lineup.
Li Yang's film Blind Shaft, about Chinese mine workers involved in murder and extortion, is included alongside South Korean Chan-ok Park's Jealousy Is My Middle Name.
Also selected is the debut of French-Italian director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi's It Is Easier for a Camel, about a woman who retreats into daydreams.
Vida Zaher-Khadeem's Firedancer, which chronicles the struggles of Afghan emigrants in the US, has been selected.
The film was completed after the director's murder in 2001.
Hip-hop entrepreneurs
The festival's documentary section is split into two parts - one for first and second-time directors and the other for more established film-makers.
Entries include A Normal Life, about Albanian Kosovar refugees, by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Hugo Berkeley and director Bruce Brown's Endless Summer, which documents life in a surfing community.
Music films also get a look in.
Maxie Collier's study of hip-hop entrepreneurs, Paper Chasers, which features Ludacris and Public Enemy is included alongside David G Berger - Holly Maxson and Kate Hirso's portrait of the jazz musician.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/2887549.stm
Full Lineup For Tribeca Film Festival
By Linda Perney
NYNewsday.com
March 26, 2003, 6:54 PM EST
Directors of Manhattan's Tribeca Film Festival have announced the film lineup for the second annual event, slated to run May 3 to 11. Selected films touch on subject matter as diverse as growing up Jewish in Baghdad and skateboarding in West Texas. Eleven of the films will have their world premieres at the festival.
This year, there are five new competitive categories: Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Feature, Best Documentary>2 (for directors who have made more than two features), Best Actress, Best Actor, Emerging Narrative Feature Filmmaker, and Emerging Documentary Feature Filmmaker. In addition, there is the Audience Award (open to all festival entrants), Best Documentary Short, and Student Visionary Award.
Filmmakers from some 20 countries are entered, and the movies represent diverse cultures and sensibilities. "We're eager to again present such a world-class lineup of feature films in competition to share with New Yorkers and visitors from around the globe," said festival co-founder Jane Rosenthal.
Feature
Among the Feature Films, entrants include Li Yang's "Blind Shaft," from China, about two miners who take up murder and extortion, which won the Berlin Silver Bear award. Variety called another entrant, Nawfel Sahed-Ettaba's "The Bookstore," "an unheralded discovery," a richly layered portrait of people in a tight-knit neighborhood in North Africa. From France, first-time director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi's film, "It is Easier For a Camel...," focuses on a woman who retreats from the reality of her life.
Immigrant culture, with its themes of alienation and hope, has traditionally drawn filmmakers. This year, two films -- both about Afghan migrants -- have been chosen for the festival. Vida Zaher-Khadeem's "FireDancer," completed after the director was murdered two years ago, chronicles one man's struggles in the United States, while Homayoun Karimpour's "Nilofar in the Rain" explores the problems faced by Afghan refugees in both Pakistan and Paris.
The United States has contributed four films: "Bomb the System," by Adam Bhala Lough, portrays the world of graffiti artists. In "Levelland," Clark Walker tells the tale of teenagers in a small Texas town, while Evan Oppenheimer's "Justice" tackles the subject of grief in a post-9/11world. Ramin Niami's feature, "Paris," is a thoroughly modern take on film noir.
Diverse Documentaries
Entrants in the Documentary section likewise cover a great deal of ground -- from "Paper Chasers," Maxie Collier's record of hip-hop culture that features Public Enemy, Ludacris, and Damon Dash to "Sumo East and West," which looks at how foreign cultures have affected Japan's ancient art of wrestling.
From the United States, Rory Kennedy's "A Boy's Life" shows the challenges faced by a welfare worker, a school principal, and a family as they struggle to save a mentally ill boy in an impoverished town in the Deep South. Another noteworthy production is director Michael Almereyda's "This So-Called Disaster," with Nick Nolte, Sean Penn and Woody Harrelson -- a behind-the-scenes look at a stage play, Sam Shepard's "The Late Henry Moss."
Tribeca Film Festival unveils international lineup for second event
Jeremy Kay in Los Angeles 26 March 2003
The theme of cultural exploration is writ large over this year's second Tribeca Film Festival, which features 11 world premieres and three competition strands in its second edition running May 3-11.
Announcing the line-up today (Mar 25), founders Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal and executive director Peter Scarlet said the feature-length competitive sections included 41 pictures including four world premieres and 22 North American premieres.
The dramatic competition section consists of:
- Ballroom (Dancing) (France) Patrick Mario Bernard, Pierre Trividic & Xavier Brillat, directors
- Blind Shaft (China) Li Yang
- Bomb The System (US) Adam Bhala Lough
- The Bookstore (Tunisia) Nawfel Sahed-Ettaba
- Chicken Poets (China) Jinghui Meng
- It Is Easier For A Camel (France) Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
- Jealousy Is My Middle Name (Korea) Chan-ok Park
- Justice (US) Evan Oppenheimer
- Levelland (US) Clark Walker
- Margarette's Feast (Brazil/US) Renato Falcc?o
- Nilofar In The Rain (Afghanistan/France) Homayoun Karimpour
- Open My Heart (Italy) Giada Colagrande
- Paris (US) Ramin Niami
- Some Secrets (Czech Republic) Alice Nellis
- Squint Your Eyes (Poland) Andrzej Jakimowski
- Yossi & Jagger (Israel) Eytan Fox
Among the documentaries are Rory Kennedy's A Boy's Life, Nick Broomfield and Joan Churchill's Aileen: Life And Death Of A Serial Killer and Michael Almereyda's This So-Called Disaster featuring Sean Penn, Sam Shepard, Nick Nolte and Woody Harrelson.
The three competitive strands are Features and Documentary Features - for first and second-time film-makers - and Documentaries, for directors of more than two pictures.
Award categories to be presented in the three competition sections include - Best Narrative, Best Documentary Feature, Best Documentary, Best Actress, Best Actor, Emerging Narrative Feature Film-maker and Emerging Documentary Feature Film-maker.
Additional Festival awards include the Audience Award (for which every feature film in the festival is eligible), Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary Short and the Student Visionary Award.
"We are eager to again present such a world-class line-up of feature films in competition to share with New Yorkers and visitors from around the globe," Rosenthal said in a statement. "This year's selections are created by extraordinary film-makers who have proven their talents on a variety of levels."
Screenings will take place at locations throughout New York's Tribeca district, when festival-goers will also get a chance to attend panel discussions film-maker workshops and other events. The juries for each section will be announced in due course.
Tribeca Fest Gaze Grows Global
Wed Mar 26, 1:32 AM ET
Add Movies - Reuters to My Yahoo!
By David Rooney
NEW YORK (Variety) - The Tribeca Film Festival has unveiled an eclectic slate of international titles hailing from locales that range from Afghanistan (news - web sites) to the Lower Manhattan neighborhood itself in the three feature competition sections of the second annual event, running May 3-11.
Selections include 11 world, four international and 22 North American premieres.
"We're pleased to be introducing the work of an exciting group of new moviemaking talents from all over the world and to be presenting the work of an additional dozen who aren't beginners but who have yet to get the recognition they deserve," said executive director Peter Scarlet. "I think viewers will find it an intriguing, challenging and interesting selection."
Four U.S. entries will premiere in the narrative feature competition for first- and second-time filmmakers. These are 23-year-old Adam Bhala Lough's trip inside the dangerous world of Gotham graffiti artists, "Bomb the System"; Evan Oppenheimer's examination of post-Sept. 11 grief through the work of a maverick comicbook artist, "Justice"; Clark Walker's bittersweet tale of West Texas adolescents, "Levelland"; and Ramin Niami's contemporary noir, "Paris."
Given the success of last year's Tribeca discovery and top prize winner, "Roger Dodger," acquisition execs will be scouring this crop for a potential breakout title.
'PROMISING' SLATE
"I think the fact that just among the feature selections there are six world premieres, of which five are American, is promising," Scarlet added.
East Asia figures prominently in the feature lineup, including Berlin Silver Bear winner "Blind Shaft" by Li Yang, about Chinese mine workers involved in murder and extortion; experimental theater director Jinghui Meng's drama about the transition from idealism to commercialism in Chinese culture, "Chicken Poets"; and South Korean helmer Chan-ok Park's "Jealousy Is My Middle Name," an honoree at the Rotterdam and Pusan fests.
Also selected is the debut of French-Italian thesp Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, "It Is Easier for a Camel ...," about a woman retreating into daydreams to maintain balance in her life, starring the director with Chiara Mastroianni, Jean-Hugues Anglade (news), Emmanuelle Devos and Lambert Wilson. The second entry representing France is "Ballroom," by Patrick Mario Bernard, Pierre Trividic and Xavier Brillat, about an artist who sets up his studio in a former dance hall.
The struggles of Afghan emigrants in the U.S. are chronicled in Vida Zaher-Khadeem's "FireDancer," completed after the director's brutal murder in 2001, while Homayoun Karimpour's "Nilofar in the Rain" examines the troubled relationship between an Afghan refugee in Pakistan and another exiled in Paris.
DUAL DOC TRACKS
Documentary selections are split into two competitions: one for first- and second-time directors, the other for more established filmmakers.
Entries in these sections include "A Normal Life" about Albanian Kosovar refugees, by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Hugo Berkeley; "Sumo East and West," Ferne Pearlstein's examination of foreign inroads into the ancient Japanese art of sumo wrestling; and "Step Into Liquid," in which Dana Brown, the son of "Endless Summer" director Bruce Brown, documents a surfing community.
Music films are cued up with Maxie Collier's study of hip-hop entrepreneurs, "Paper Chasers," featuring Ludacris, Damon Dash and Public Enemy; and "Keeping Time: The Life, Music & Photographs of Milt Hinton," David G. Berger, Holly Maxson and Kate Hirso's portrait of the jazz musician.
Also screening is "This So-Called Disaster," director Michael Almereyda's look at the creation of a stage production, in this case Sam Shepard's "The Late Henry Moss," with Nick Nolte, Sean Penn and Woody Harrelson
Tribeca Film Festival Unveils 2003 Slate
Wed, Mar 26, 2003, 09:03 AM PT
HOLLYWOOD (Zap2it.com) - Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal unveiled the competitive line-up for their second annual Tribeca Film Festival Tuesday (March 26), featuring an impressive 11 world premieres and 22 North American premieres.
"We're pleased to be introducing the work of an exciting group of new moviemaking talents from all over the world and to be presenting the work of an additional dozen who aren't beginners but who have yet to get the recognition they deserve," executive director Peter Scarlet said in a statement. "I think viewers will find it an intriguing, challenging and interesting selection."
The three competitive strands are features and documentary Features -- for first and second-time filmmakers -- and documentaries, for directors of more than two pictures.
Four U.S. entries will premiere in the narrative feature competition for first- and second-time filmmakers; "Bomb the System" about New York City graffiti artists; "Justice," Evan Oppenheimer's examination of post-Sept. 11 grief through the work of a maverick comic book artist; "Levelland,"Clark Walker's tale of West Texas adolescents; and Ramin Niami's contemporary drama, "Paris."
The three documentaries are Rory Kennedy's "Boy's Life," Nick Broomfield and Joan Churchill's "Aileen: Life And Death Of A Serial Killer," and Michael Almereyda's "This So-Called Disaster," featuring Sean Penn, Sam Shepard, Nick Nolte and Woody Harrelson.
The festival runs May 3 to 11, with screenings taking place in the Manhattan neighborhood of New York City.
Tribeca Fest Sets Competition Slate for 2003 Event
by Eugene Hernandez
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New Tribeca Film Festival executive director Peter Scarlet joined event founders Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal in announcing the competition lineups for the 2003 second-annual Tribeca Film Festival (May 6-11). Forty-one films will screen in three competitive sections at this year's festival.
"We are eager to again present such a world-class line-up of feature films in competition to share with New Yorkers and visitors from around the globe," said Rosenthal in a prepared statement. "This year's selections are created by extraordinary filmmakers who have proven their talents on a variety of levels."
In addition to a dramatic and a documentary competition, organizers have created a new "Documentaries >2" section which offers work by more established filmmakers. Competition films are from those who are presenting their first or second feature film. Jurors are yet to be announced.
Scarlet stated, "We're pleased to be introducing the work of an exciting group of new moviemaking talents from all over the world and to be presenting the work of an additional dozen who aren't beginners but who have yet to get the recognition they deserve."
Festival tickets will go on sale on April 27, with American Express card members getting a jump on the sale from April 21-26. The card company is the primary sponsor of the annual event. Residents who live below Canal Street in Manhattan will get a $2 discount.
The complete competition lineup follows (information provided by The Tribeca Film Festival):
DRAMATIC FEATURES SECTION
"Ballroom" (Dancing) directed by Patrick Mario Bernard, Pierre Trividic and Xavier Brillat (France) -- International Premiere
"Blind Shaft" (Mang Jing) directed by Li Yang (China) -- North American Premiere
"Bomb the System" directed by Adam Bhala Lough (U.S.A.) -- World Premiere
"The Bookstore" (el Kotbia) directed by Nawfel Sahed-Ettaba (Tunisia) -- North American Premiere
"Chicken Poets" (Xiang Ji Mao Yi Yang Fei) directed by Jinghui Meng (China)
"Fire Dancer" directed by Jawed Wassel (Afghanistan /U.S.A) -- International Premiere
"It Is Easier for a Camel" (Il Est Plus Facile Pour Un Chameau) directed by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi (France) -- International Premiere
"Jealousy Is My Middle Name" (Jiltoo-neun Na-e Him) directed by Chan-ok Park (Korea) -- North American Premiere
"Justice" directed by Evan Oppenheimer and starring Erik Palladino (U.S.A.) -- World Premiere
"Levelland" directed by Clark Walker (U.S.A.) -- World Premiere
"Margarette's Feast" (A Festa de Margarette) directed by Renato Falcγo (Brazil/U.S.A.) -- North American Premiere
"Nilofar in the Rain" (Nilofar dar Baraan) directed by Homayoun Karimpour (Afghanistan/France) -- World Premiere
"Open My Heart" (Aprimi Il Cuore) directed by Giada Colagrande (Italy) -- International
"Paris" directed by Ramin Niami and starring Bai Ling and Chad Allen with an original score by John Cale (U.S.A.) -- World Premiere
"Some Secrets" (Vylet) directed by Alice Nellis (Czech Republic)
"Squint Your Eyes" (Zmruz Oczy) directed by Andrzej Jakimowski (Poland) -- North American Premiere
"Yossi & Jagger" directed by Eytan Fox (Israel) -- North American Premiere.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES SECTION
"A Boy's Life" directed by Rory Kennedy (U.S.A.)
"Carlo Giuliani, a Boy" (Carlo Giuliani, Ragazzo) directed by Francesca Comencini (Italy) - North American Premiere
"Every Child is Born a Poet: The Life & Work of Piri Thomas" directed by Jonathan Robinson (U.S.A.) - World Premiere
"Heaven's Path" (Rah-e Behesht) directed by Mahmoud Behraznia (Iran) - North American Premiere
"Keeping Time: The Life, Music & Photographs of Milt Hinton" directed by David G. Berger, Holly Maxson and Kate Hirson (U.S.A.)
"A Normal Life" directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Hugo Berkeley (U.S.A./Kosovo) - World Premiere
"Paper Chasers" directed by Maxie Collier and featuring Ludacris, Damon Dash, Fat Joe, and Public Enemy (U.S.A.) - World Premiere
"Seville, Southside" (Poligono Sur) directed by Dominique Abel (Spain) -North American Premiere
"Song of the Millennium" (Le Chant du Millιnaire) directed by Mohammed Zran (Tunisia) - North American Premiere
"Step into Liquid" directed by Dana Brown (U.S.A.) - World Premiere
"Sumo East AND West" directed by Ferne Pearlstein (U.S.A.) - World Premiere
"Sunset Story" directed by Laura Gabbert (U.S.A.) - World Premiere.
DOCUMENTARIES > 2
"Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer" directed by Nick Broomfield and Joan Churchill (United Kingdom) - North American Premiere
"And Along Came a Spider" (Va Ankaboot Amad) directed by Maziar Bahari (Iran) - North American Premiere
"Dance, GrozNy, Dance" (Dans Grozny, Dans) directed by Jos de Putter (Netherlands) - North American Premiere
"Dream Cuisine" (Aji) directed by Ying Li (Japan) - North American Premiere
"Forget Baghdad: Jews and Arabs" - The Iraqi Experience directed by Samir (Switzerland/Germany) - North American Premiere
"HUSH!" (Tishe!) directed by Victor Kossakovsky (Russia) - North American Premiere
"Jonas at the Ocean" directed by Peter Sempel and featuring Vincent Canby, Nick Cave, Allen Ginsberg, Harvey Keitel, Nam June Paik and Wim Wenders (Germany) - North American Premiere
"The Lost Film" (El film el mafkoud) directed by Khalil Joreige and Joanna Hadjithomas (Lebanon/France) - North American Premiere
"On Hitler's Highway" directed by Lech Kowalski (France) - North American Premiere
"Our Times" (Ruzegar-e Ma) directed by Rakhshan Bani-Etemad (Iran) - North American Premiere
"This So-Called Disaster" directed by Michael Almereyda and starring Sean Penn, Sam Shepard, Nick Nolte and Woody Harrelson (U.S.A.) - North American Premiere
"Trial" (Mohakeme) directed by Moslem Mansouri (Iran/U.S.A.) - North American Premiere.
Tribeca Film Festival Founders Announce 11 World Premieres
POSTED: 3:20 p.m. EST March 26, 2003
NEW YORK -- The co-founders of the Tribeca Film Festival, Robert DeNiro and Jane Rosenthal, Wednesday announced the films slated for competition.
Tribeca Film Fest Returns Among the movies are 11 world premieres, including "Jonas At The Ocean," starring Harvey Keitel, and a film titled "This So-Called Disaster," starring Sean Penn, Sam Shephard, Nick Nolte and Woody Harrelson.
NewsChannel4 is a proud sponsor of the Tribeca Film Festival. Tickets go on sale April 27.
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