TFF Press Release Edited for Style
Epic reunions and not-to-be-missed intimate conversations will take center stage during the 17th annual Tribeca Film Festival, April 18-29. TFF will celebrate by bringing back Schindler’s List, Scarface, and In the Soup.
Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece, Schindler’s List, which won seven Oscars®, will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a special post-screening conversation with Spielberg and actors Liam Neeson, Sir Ben Kingsley, Embeth Davidtz, and more. Scarface, one of the most referenced films in pop culture, will celebrate its 35th anniversary with a screening and conversation with director Brian De Palma and actors Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer.
L to r: Ralph Finnes as SS thug Amon Goeth; Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler. Picture courtesy TFF.
Steven Spielberg. Picture courtesy TFF.
Anniversary celebrations of Schindler’s List and Scarface will take place at the Beacon Theatre, tickets go on sale tomorrow, March 20 at 10:00 a.m. Director Alexandre Rockwell’s hidden treasure, In the Soup, celebrates its 25th anniversary with the exclusive world premiere 4K restoration, followed by a conversation with the director, actors Steve Buscemi, Jennifer Beals, Sam Rockwell, and cinematographer Phil Parmet.
Joining the celebration: Bradley Cooper, Claire Danes, Jamie Foxx, Lesli Linka Glatter, Spike Lee, John Legend, Nancy Meyers, Sarah Jessica Parker, Alexander Payne, Laura Poitras, Jason Reitman and more. Tribeca will Host Post-Screening Conversations with Steve Buscemi, Brian De Palma, Sir Ben Kingsley, Liam Neeson, Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer,Sam Rockwell, Steven Spielberg and more.
Tribeca Talks will feature Engaging Conversations with Alec Baldwin, Edward Burns (an Hunter College alumnus).
The Tribeca Talks program returns this year with an exciting lineup of discussions with acclaimed filmmakers, artists, entertainers, and icons. Groundbreaking filmmakers participating in the Tribeca Talks: Directors Series include Alexander Payne, Lesli Linka Glatter, Jason Reitman, Laura Poitras, and Nancy Meyers.
Tribeca Talks: Storytellers, which spotlights pioneering creators who work across mediums to tell their stories, will feature an eclectic lineup of entertainers including Bradley Cooper, Alec Baldwin, Spike Lee, John Legend, Edward Burns, and Jamie Foxx. Debuting this year is Tribeca Talks: The Journey, which will feature a conversation with Sarah Jessica Parker about her career path across multiple endeavors.
John Legend. Picture courtesy TFF.
“As we welcome new filmmakers to the Tribeca community, it is a great time to pause and take a look back at master filmmakers and some of their singular works that have changed filmmaking and influenced popular culture,” said Paula Weinstein, EVP of Tribeca Enterprises. “Our anniversary screenings and our Talks allow a rare behind the scenes look at the creative process – be it director, actor, songwriter – we give our audiences a window into the thoughts and inspiration of the best story tellers working today.”
The Tribeca Talks: Master Class, focuses on specific sectors of the filmmaking process and this year will present Writing & Showrunning for TV from the prolific creator duo Robert and Michelle King and Executive Producers from The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Steve Bodow and Jennifer Flanz. There will also be a Sound & Music Design for Film Master Class with Glenn Kiser, Director of the Dolby Institute.
Tribeca Talks: The Future of Film unveils the promising intersection of storytelling and technology and how innovations like Blockchain technology and Artificial Intelligence are influencing the industry. Rounding out the Talks program, and part of the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival, is a conversation with the team from the 30 for 30 podcast series on bikram yoga.
“A key component of the creative community the Festival fosters is celebrating and learning from some of the all-time greats in our industry,” said Cara Cusumano, Tribeca’s Director of Programming. “Tribeca’s Talks and Reunions expand the movies beyond the screen through these illuminating live events with some of today’s most engaging cinematic voices.”
Reunions
Schindler’s List – 25th Anniversary
Steven Spielberg’s 1993 epic masterpiece Schindler’s List, remains one of contemporary cinema’s most challenging and sensitive portraits on the human toll of the Holocaust. Anchored by stunning performances from Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Sir Ben Kingsley, and Embeth Davidtz, the film received near universal acclaim, going on to win seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, with an additional five nominations. Twenty-five years later, Schindler’s List continues to be widely considered one of the greatest films of all time. A Universal Pictures release.
After the Screening: a conversation with director Steven Spielberg and actors Liam Neeson, Sir Ben Kingsley and Embeth Davidtz. Moderated by New York Times critic Janet Maslin.
DATE: Thursday, April 26, 6:30 p.m. Beacon Theatre
Scarface – 35th Anniversary
“Say hello to my little friend” – Al Pacino as Tony Montana. Picture courtesy of TFF.
Brian De Palma’s modernization of Howard Hawks’ 1932 classic Scarface is a somber consideration for the humanizing motives of evil men. It went on to receive three Golden Globe nominations and became one of the most referenced films in pop culture. [Also one of the most violent.] Al Pacino delivers his riskiest performance in a career-defining role, garnering a cult following for the film.
Revisit the gangland masterpiece thirty-five years later, a rich, harrowing, eminently quotable ride to excess and self-destruction that laid the groundwork for all the anti-hero stories to come. A Universal Pictures release.
After the Screening: a conversation with director Brian De Palma and actors Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer.
DATE: Thursday, April 19, 7 p.m., Beacon Theatre
In the Soup – Restoration; 25th Anniversary
Directed by Alexandre Rockwell, In the Soup portrays the story of Adolpho (Steve Buscemi), who is writing a screenplay from his crumbling NYC apartment, and falling for the girl-next-door.
Seymour Cassel as Joe and Steve Buscemi as Aldolpho Rollo in IN THE SOUP. Photo credit: Phil Parmet.
In a desperate attempt to get his screenplay funded, he connects with Joe (Seymour Cassel), a shady high-roller willing to play dirty. After winning the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 1992, the film all but disappeared and only one damaged archival print remained. Through the efforts of Factory 25 and a Kickstarter campaign, the film’s print has been restored. Join us in celebrating the world premiere of the 4K restoration of In the Soup, a hidden treasure of American cinema. A Factory 25 Release,
After the Screening: a conversation with director Alexandre Rockwell, actors Steve Buscemi, Jennifer Beals, and Sam Rockwell, and cinematographer Phil Parmet.
DATE: Tuesday, April 24, 7:30 p.m., SVA Theatre
TRIBECA TALKS: DIRECTORS SERIES
Today’s most groundbreaking filmmakers discuss their careers and highlights.
Alexander Payne
Academy Award-winner Alexander Payne will discuss his career as the writer/director of notable satires and dark comedies (Election, Citizen Ruth and Downsizing), as well as family comedy-dramas (The Descendants, About Schmidt and Nebraska).
DATE: Saturday, April 28, 3 p.m. SVA Theatre
Jason Reitman with Tamara Jenkins & New York Premiere of Tully
Following the New York Premiere of his film Tully, writer, director, and producer Jason Reitman will sit down with revered writer/director Tamara Jenkins (The Savages, Slums of Beverly Hills) to discuss his latest film, as well as his eminent career as the writer/director of witty, satirical indie comedies such as Thank you For Smoking and Up in the Air. Reitman’s collaborations with screenwriter Diablo Cody have produced such memorable films as Young Adult and Juno, the latter of which was Roger Ebert’s favorite film of 2007.
Nominated for four Academy Awards by the age of 32, and the winner of a Golden Globe for best screenplay for Up in the Air, Reitman has established himself as a formidable voice in independent filmmaking.
Tully, directed by Jason Reitman, written by Diablo Cody. Produced by Diablo Cody, A.J. Dix, Helen Estabrook, Aaron L. Gilbert, Beth Kono, Mason Novick, Charlize Theron, Jason Reitman. (USA) – A harried mother of three crosses paths with a free-spirited nanny named Tully in this charming, modern take on the fairy godmother story. With Charlize Theron, Mackenzie Davis, Mark Duplass, Ron Livingston. A release from Focus Features
DATE: Thursday, April 19, 5:15 p.m., BMCC Tribeca PAC
Laura Poitras
Academy Award-winning filmmaker, journalist and artist Laura Poitras has spent her career uncovering America’s hidden truths. Her film CITIZENFOUR won an Oscar for best documentary feature, and My Country, My Country was an Academy Award nominee in 2007. Poitras received the George Polk Award for National Security Journalism and in 2014 she shared the Pulitzer Prize for public service. She is the co-creator of the visual journalism project Field of Vision.
Saturday, April 28, 4 p.m. SVA Theatre
Nancy Meyers with Carrie Rickey
Trailblazing writer, director and producer Nancy Meyers will discuss her illustrious body of work with the astute and distinguished film critic and writer Carrie Rickey, whose body of work explores art that reflects the female experience. Together, they will walk through Nancy’s prolific career, from her auspicious debut as the co-screenwriter of the groundbreaking film Private Benjamin, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, to her landmark work as the writer/director of such films as It’s Complicated, Something’s Gotta Give and The Intern.
Meyers has the uncanny ability to tap into the very heart of modern relationships, and her films have chronicled women and men, at work and in love, in a singular fashion that makes each film instantly recognizable as a Nancy Meyers movie.
DATE: Wednesday, April 25, 6 p.m., Tribeca Festival Hub
Lesli Linka Glatter with Claire Danes
Virtuosic filmmaker Lesli Linka Glatter is one of the most prolific television directors in the industry, with more than 100 hours of episodic television, seven Emmy nominations and 2 DGA Awards under her belt.
Her impressive and innumerable directorial credits include: Twin Peaks, Freaks and Geeks, Gilmore Girls, The West Wing, Mad Men and Homeland, for which she is also an executive producer. To discuss her illustrious career, Lesli will be joined by her Homeland collaborator and esteemed actress Claire Danes, whose versatility and tenacity as a performer has garnered her three Emmy Awards, four Golden Globes and two SAG Awards. These two seminal and intrepid women will discuss their impressive careers and the trails they’ve blazed for women in a profession that continues to be dominated by men.
DATE: Thursday, April 26, 5:30 p.m. Tribeca Festival Hub
TRIBECA TALKS: STORYTELLERS
Celebrating some of today’s most innovative creators who have broken from the mold and pioneered their own forms of storytelling, often mastering multiple mediums.
Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro
Academy Award nominee Bradley Cooper will sit down with Robert De Niro to discuss his career as an actor, producer and now director; from his early work in acclaimed comedies such as Wet Hot American Summer, Wedding Crashers and The Hangover trilogy, to his impactful dramatic turns in Silver Linings Playbook and American Sniper, which led to him becoming the tenth actor to receive an Academy Award nomination three years in a row.
Most recently, Cooper has been working on his directorial debut, a modern adaptation of A Star is Born, which he also produced, co-wrote, and stars in alongside Lady Gaga. Cooper and De Niro have worked together on such films as Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, Joy and Limitless which was their first picture together.
DATE: Saturday, April 21, 6 p.m. Tribeca Festival Hub
Alec Baldwin and Spike Lee
Alec Baldwin and Spike Lee, two of the industry’s most prolific storytellers, will discuss their passionate and reverential relationship to film: Their favorite movies of all time, the films that have influenced them as creators, and the power of storytelling.
Alec Baldwin. Picture courtesy TFF
Spike Lee is an Academy Award-winning director, producer, writer, actor and activist and NYU Grad Film Tenured Professor, best known for his groundbreaking and acclaimed films, Do The Right Thing, Malcolm X, 4 Little Girls, When The Levees Broke,25th Hour and Inside Man. Alec Baldwin is a critically acclaimed actor, writer, producer, and activist, most recognizable for his roles in Beetlejuice, The Hunt for Red October, Glengarry Glen Ross, 30 Rock, and Saturday Night Live. He is also the hosts of his podcast, Here’s the Thing, for WNYC radio and is the author of three books.
DATE: Tuesday, April 24, 8:30 p.m., The Festival Hub
John Legend
John Legend. Picture courtesy TFF.
Celebrated singer, songwriter, actor, and producer, John Legend has been releasing billboard hits since his debut album Get Lifted in 2004. He’s earned a total of ten Grammy Awards. John Legend also formed a film and television production company, Get Lifted, in 2014, and executive produced and starred in La La Land and the hit television show, Underground.
He won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his song “Glory” in Selma. In addition to his work in music and film, Legend is also well known for his philanthropic work in education and criminal justice reform. He founded #FREEAMERICA, a campaign designed to change the national conversation of our country’s misguided policies and to make a change in America’s criminal justice system.
DATE: Thursday, April 19, 6 p.m., SVA Theatre
Edward Burns with Mike Vaccaro & World Premiere of Summertime
In conjunction with the World Premiere of his film Summertime, actor, producer, writer, and director Edward Burns will sit down with award-winning journalist and lead sports columnist for The New York Post Mike Vaccaro to discuss his latest directorial effort, as well as his prolific career in front of and behind the camera.
Burns launched his career as a writer/director/actor with The Brothers McMullen, the Grand Jury Prize winner at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival, and went on to write, direct and act in She’s the One, Sidewalks of New York, and Newlyweds. Burns is also known for his star-turning performance in Saving Private Ryan. Most recently, Burns made his mark in television, on the critically acclaimed series Public Morals for TNT and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners, in which he wrote, directed, starred and executive produced.
Summertime, directed and written by Edward Burns. Produced by Aaron Lubin, Edward Burns. (USA) – World Premiere. Set in the summer of 1983 in Rockaway Beach, the film follows a group of recent high school and college graduates as they work summer jobs, fall in and out of love, and prepare for their new worlds to begin after Labor Day weekend. With Pico Alexander, Edward Burns, Amadeus Serafini, Caitlin Stasey, Rita Volk, Lindsey Morgan, Anthony Ramos.
DATE: Friday, April 27, 8 p.m., BMCC Tribeca PAC
Jamie Foxx
Prolific actor, musician, and comedian Jamie Foxx is a Hollywood triple threat. Perhaps his most iconic role as an actor, his portrayal of musician Ray Charles in the biopic Ray, landed him an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA in 2005. The very same year, Foxx was nominated for a second Oscar for his acting in the film Collateral, making him only the second man in history to receive two acting Oscar nominations in the same year for two different roles.
In addition to film, Foxx is a GRAMMY award-winning musician, producing four albums that have charted the top ten of the US Billboard 200. Recently, Foxx has taken on the dual role of host and executive producer for the game show Beat Shazam, which will have its second season premiere in May on FOX, and he will also be appearing in Robin Hood, scheduled for theatrical release in November.
DATE: Monday, April 23, 6 p.m., BMCC Tribeca PAC
TRIBECA TALKS: THE JOURNEY
Industry stalwarts take the stage to discuss the bold choices they have made throughout their careers that have pushed them towards their achievements.
This new series will extend year-round with TUMI taking The Journey on the road throughout 2018 with the first Talk starting at the Festival.
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker will discuss her illustrious career across multiple platforms in Broadway, film, television, fashion and the literary world. From acting and producing with her Emmy Award-winning role in Sex & the City to her current show Divorce, for which she has been nominated for a Golden Globe. She has become synonymous with New York where she lives and runs her own production company Pretty Matches. She will speak to the path she has so boldly crafted for herself to forge such achievements.
DATE: Friday, April 27, 6 p.m.,Tribeca Festival Hub
TRIBECA TALKS: MASTER CLASS
Supported by The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment
Tribeca Talks: Master Class events featuring conversations focusing on a specific sector of the filmmaking process. These programs are free.
Writing & Showrunning for TV
American television writing duo, Robert and Michelle King, will sit down with The Daily Show Executive Producers Steve Bodow and Jennifer Flanz, to discuss what it takes to write and produce a compelling show and the grit required to churn out episodes that feel timely and fresh. The Kings are a Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award-nominated writing team.
Their work on their two major hit series The Good Wife and The Good Fight touch on a wide range of issues, from political corruption to cyber-security — making their shows simultaneously gripping and true to life. Bodow and Flanz have collectively won over 20 Primetime Emmy Awards for The Daily Show’s hilariously cutting political satire, garnering remarkable success and notoriety for the show.
DATE: Saturday, April 28, 2 p.m., SVA Theatre
Sound & Music Design for Film
Since 1927, sound has transported film audiences from the theater to the alternate realities projected on the screen in front of them. From the haunting theme of Jaws to the lightsabers of Star Wars, filmmakers know that sound has the power to surprise, uplift, and terrify.
But what if you’re a low-budget filmmaker working on a documentary or narrative film without access to big studio budgets or musicians and sound teams? Join festival film creators as they discuss the art of designing sound and music that will stick with people long after watching a movie, no matter the size of your budget. Moderated by Glenn Kiser, Director of the Dolby Institute.
DATE: Friday, April 20, 5 p.m. SVA Theatre
TRIBECA TALKS: FUTURE OF FILM
The Future of Film is anchored to conversations around storytelling and technology. These programs are free.
Artificial Intelligence and Augmented & Reality: The Future of Immersive Storytelling
Augmented Reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are two tech advances with the potential to fundamentally change society. AR layers digital information onto our actual reality, while AI allows machines to learn in an unprecedented way.
How are these innovative technologies being used to forge new methods of storytelling, and are they the future of immersive entertainment? Panelists include Fable Studios co-founder Edward Saatchi, and Asad Malik, the creator of Terminal 3, an interactive AR documentary which is world premiering in the Tribeca Immersive program.
DATE: Tuesday, April 24, 1 p.m., Tribeca Festival Hub
Education and Advocacy in VR
Virtual Reality (VR) is creating new and unique opportunities for teachers, creators, advocates, and audiences to connect in meaningful ways. Leaders in the field will show how VR is forging new means to immerse its viewers in issues in order to inspire, educate, and effect change.
Panelists include the creator of SPHERES: Pale Blue Dot, Eliza McNitt, the co-creator of 1000 Cut Journey, Courtney Cogburn, Executive Producer of Oculus VR for Good, Amy Seidenwurm, and Elise Pearlstein, Executive Producer of This is Climate Change and SVP of and TV and Film at Participant Media.
DATE: Tuesday, April 24, 2 p.m., Tribeca Festival Hub
Blockchain: Can Blockchain Breed Blockbusters?
Blockchain was originally devised for the digital currency Bitcoin, but the tech community is now finding other potential uses for the technology, from feeding digital kittens to funding films. Blockchain-based funding has the potential to enable new and creative stories to be financed that might have otherwise been turned away by Hollywood studio executives.
Blockchain technology is being positioned to disrupt the traditional method of financing and distribution in the film world, but what does this mean for the industry? Panelists include the writer/director of Braid, Mitzi Peirone.
DATE: Monday, April 23, 1 p.m., Tribeca Festival Hub
Interactive Technology in Storytelling
Entertainment media is finally evolving, and its technology which is revolutionizing it for the truly digital age. Join us in conversation with the world’s leading interactive video technology, Wirewax, and globally-renowned tastemakers Netflix, Digital Reign amongst others, to unveil how they’re poised to ride this new wave of digital entertainment. We’ll get inside the minds of those who are leading the march and using interactive video to deepen audience involvement and depart from passive video consumption. Panelists include David Shlafman, Interactive Originals at Netflix and Evette Vargas, CEO of Digital Reign.
DATE: Friday, April 20,1 p.m., Tribeca Festival Hub
The Game-Changer: Building Faster, Smarter Games on the Cloud
How can you game faster, build smarter and meet gamer demands through creating games on the cloud? Come and play games created by New York City game developers in a 48-hour game jam and join them as they discuss the process of designing and building games on the cloud inspired by the theme “Acceleration.”
IBM will partner with Tribeca Games for a game jam for 15 of New York’s top independent game developers. The jam will bring together three teams of five developers to build three new games using IBM tools and technology. These games will be made available for play during the Festival in the Festival Lounge at theTribeca Festival Hub.
DATE: Monday, April 21, 1 p.m., Tribeca Festival Hub
TRIBECA/ESPN SPORTS FILM FESTIVAL TALK
Tribeca Talks: 30 for 30 Podcast – Bikram
ESPN’s 30 for 30 Podcasts will premiere its first serialized season this spring: five episodes that delve deep into the complicated world of Bikram Yoga, a community grappling with its identity and survival and amid sexual assault allegations against its charismatic founder, Bikram Choudhury. Reporter and producer Julia Lowrie Henderson and host and editor Jody Avirgan will sit down to discuss their experience diving into this powerful story that offers timely lessons for how we think about sports, gender, power and community, as well as play an exclusive clip from the upcoming season.
DATE: Friday, April 27, 6 p.m., SVA Theatre
Passes and Tickets for the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival
Available for purchase now are Hudson Passes, an all access pass to screenings and talks taking place at BMCC, Regal Battery Park Theater, Cinépolis Chelsea, and School of Visual Arts (SVA) theaters as well as full access to all events at the Tribeca Festival Hub at Spring Studios, which includes VR and Immersive projects, special screenings and access to festival lounges. Hudson Passes can be purchased online at tribecafilm.com/festival/tickets, or by telephone at 646.502.5296 or toll free at 866.941.FEST (3378).
Single tickets cost $23 for evening and weekend screenings, $12 for weekday matinee screenings, $30 for Tribeca TV and film Special Screenings, $40 for Tribeca Talks panels and $40 for Tribeca Immersive. Single ticket sales begin Tuesday, March 27 and can be purchased online, by telephone, or at the ticket outlet located at Cinépolis Chelsea (260 W. 23rd Street).
The 2018 Festival will offer ticket discounts on general screenings and Tribeca Talks panels for students, seniors and select downtown Manhattan residents. Discounted tickets are available at Ticket Outlet locations only.
Packages and passes are now available for purchase on the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival App, on:
– iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tribeca-festival/id1208189515?mt=8
– Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tff2017.android
Tickets for events at the Beacon Theatre are available for purchase online beginning March 20 at 10 a.m. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the Beacon Theatre box office on Wednesday, March 21.
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About the Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is the leading cultural event that brings visionaries and diverse audiences together to celebrate storytelling in all its forms, including film, TV, VR, gaming, music, and online work. With strong roots in independent film, Tribeca is a platform for creative expression and immersive entertainment. The Festival champions emerging and established voices; discovers award-winning filmmakers and creators; curates innovative experiences; and introduces new technology and ideas through premieres, exhibitions, talks, and live performances.
The Festival was founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff in 2001 to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of lower Manhattan following the attacks on the World Trade Center. Now in its 17th year, the Festival has evolved into a destination for creativity that reimagines the cinematic experience and explores how art can unite communities. www.tribecafilm.com/festival
Gregg Morris can be reached at gmorris@hunter.cuny.edu