THE TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL

> LIGHTS, CAMERA, DIVERSITY.

THIS YEAR THE TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL WILL BE KICKING OFF ITS 18th ANNIVERSARY AT THE APOLLO THEATER.

WITH 103 FEATURE FILMS FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE.

IT IS ABOUT MORE THAN STORY TELLING.

IT IS ALSO ABOUT INCLUSION.

WITH OVER 40% OF FEATURE FILMS DIRECTED BY WOMEN.

29% PEOPLE OF COLOR AND 13%, PEOPLE WHO IDENTIFY AS LGBT.

THIS JUST MIGHT BE THE FESTIVAL'S MOST INCLUSIVE YEAR YET.

HERE WITH A PREVIEW IS LAUREN, THE SENIOR PROGRAMMER.

NICE TO HAVE YOU HERE.

THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

I WANT TO GET INTO SOME SPECIFICS BUT FIRST I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE SELECTION PROCESS.

I LOOKED AT IT AND SAID THIS IS REALLY DAUNTING.

GIVE ME AN ESTIMATE OF HOW MANY SUBMISSIONS DO YOU HAVE?

SURE.

BETWEEN OUR FEATURE FILMS AND SHORT FILMS, OVER 9,000 SUBMISSIONS THIS YEAR.

IT GROWS EVERY YEAR.

SO OF COURSE, WE HAVE A DEDICATED TEAM OF SCREENERS AND PROGRAMMERS LOOKING AT THE FILMS AND GIVING THEM ALL A FAIR SHOT FOR INCLUSION.

SO HOW DO YOU MAKE THE SELECTION?

DO YOU START WITH CERTAIN CATEGORIES AND A ROUGH NUMBER FOR EACH?

OR DO YOU EACH YEAR, IT DEPENDS UPON THE QUALITY OF THE FILM?

IN TERMS OF THE FEATURE, WE LIKE TO KEEP IT AROUND 100.

RELATIVELY SMALL FOR A FESTIVAL OF OUR SIZE.

WE DO HAVE SEPARATIONS WITHIN THE PROGRAM.

LIKE OUR U.S. NARRATIVE COMPETITION AND OUR INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE COMPETITION.

SO WE'RE REALLY JUST LOOKING FOR A WELL ROUNDED GROUP OF FILMS THAT REALLY APPEALED TO THE NEW YORK COMMUNITY AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY.

I MENTIONED THE INCLUSION AT THE TOP.

AND MY QUESTION IS, OFTENTIMES PEOPLE SAY, IS THIS A CHICKEN OR AN EGG SITUATION?

ARE YOU GETTING MORE IN TERMS OF THOSE INCLUSION NUMBERS BECAUSE YOU'RE LOOKING FOR MORE?

OR YOU GET MORE BECAUSE MORE PEOPLE ARE COMING TO YOU?

OR SOME COMBINATION OF ALL OF THOSE THINGS?

I THINK IT IS A COMBINATION.

WE ARE DEFINITELY LOOKING TO WIDEN THE BREADTH OF FILMMAKERS AND CREATORS WE HAVE AT THE IF I AM FILM FESTIVAL.

IF YOU ARE ABLE TO DIVERSIFY THE VOICES TELLING THE STORIES, THEN YOU GET A MUCH RICHER EXPERIENCE FOR THE AUDIENCE.

SO WE ARE DEFINITELY OUT THERE HOOK.

AND WE WANT TO REFLECT THE CITY THAT WE ARE IN.

AND IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE REALLY DO HAVE TO LOOK AT INCLUSION.

I SUSPECT SOME PEOPLE WOULD SAY, HOW WOULD I NOTICE THE DIFFERENCE?

DIFFERENT VOICES?

STORIES ARE BEING TOLD BY PEOPLE OF COLOR, BY WOMEN, BY PEOPLE WHO ARE IDENTIFYING THEMSELVES, AS I MENTIONED, LGBTQ.

WHAT'S THE ANSWER?

HOW DOES THAT ENHANCE STORY TELLING?

I DON'T THINK THERE'S AN EASY ANSWER TO THAT.

I THINK IT IS REALLY ABOUT AN INDIVIDUAL.

SO AN INDIVIDUAL FILMMAKER OR CREATOR THAT IS COMING FROM A CERTAIN PERSPECTIVE.

YOU DO FEEL THAT WITHIN THE STORY TELLING.

BUT I DON'T THINK THAT THERE IS ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN PUT INTO A BOX THAT SAYS, THIS IS A FILM BY A PERSON OF COLOR OR THIS IS A FILM BY A PERSON WHO IDENTIFIES AS LGBTQ QIA.

I THINK MORE, WHEN YOU SEE ALL OF THESE FILMS ACROSS THE BOARD, FROM EVERY DIFFERENT TYPE OF CREATOR.

THAT'S WHERE THE RICHNESS AND THE ENRICHMENT OF THE ENTIRE PROGRAM COMES IN.

WHAT DO YOU THINK BITS THE TRI-BECA FESTIVAL?

WHY HAS THIS BECOME SO POPULAR SO QUICKLY?

WELL, I THINK IT ALL GOES BACK TO THE ORIGIN OF THE FESTIVAL.

SO THE FESTIVAL WAS STARTED 18 YEARS AGO BY OUR FOUNDERS.

ROB DE NIRO AND JANE ROSENTHAL AS A DIRECT RESPONSE TO 9/11.

AND THEIR IDEA WAS TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT COULD REALLY REVITALIZE THE COMMUNITY AT THAT TIME.

AND GET PEOPLE EXCITED TO BE IN NEW YORK AND START TO LOVE EACH OTHER AGAIN AND GET RID OF THE FEAR.

AND THE BEST WAY TO DO THAT IS THROUGH ART.

SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IS STILL IN OUR DNA.

AND IT HAS CONTINUED.

AND OUR FESTIVAL HAS GROWN AND EVOLVED TO BECOME SOMETHING MORE THAN JUST A FILM FESTIVAL.

WE ARE MORE OF A STORY TELLING FESTIVAL.

WE HAVE ALL OF THESE PLATFORMS LIKE TELEVISION, IMMERSIVMMERSI ONLINE WORK.

WE HAVE A GREAT SERIES OF TALKS, STORY TELLERS AND DIRECTOR SERIES.

LET'S TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE OTHERS.

IT IS SUCH A MARVELOUS LINEUP.

OFTENTIMES YOU HAVE FILMS THAT ARE HIGHLY ANTICIPATE.

OTHER TIMES THEY'RE FILMS NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT BUT THEY WALK AWAY KNOWING.

GIVE ME AN ILLUSTRATION OF ONE OF THE OTHERS.

SO OF COURSE, WE ARE STARTING OUR OPENING NIGHT WITH THE APOLLO WHICH WE'RE SO EXCITED ABOUT.

I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT THAT.

WHY THE APOLLO?

SO AGAIN, BACK TO THE ORIGIN OF OUR FESTIVAL.

WE'RE ALL ABOUT BRINGING ARTS TO THE COMMUNITY.

AND CONTINUING TO HAVE THAT RELATIONSHIP.

AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THE INSTITUTION OF THE APOLLO HAS BEEN ABOUT FOR 85 YEARS.

THE FILM DIRECTED BY ROGER ROSS WILLIAMS, ACADEMY AWARD WINNER, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, THAT FILM TELLS ABOUT THE IMPACT THAT THE APOLLO HAS HAD IN NOT JUST THIS CITY BUT IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.

SO WE'RE STRIVING FOR SOMETHING SIMILAR.

WE REALLY, REALLY WANTED TO DO THAT.

OF COURSE, WE'RE BETTER TO SHOW THAT FILM.

EXACTLY.

WE'RE EXCITED TO BE UPTOWN.

A GREAT KICKOFF.

ONE OR TWO OTHER FILMS FAIRLY ANTICIPATED.

WE'RE SUPER EXCITED ABOUT OUR CLOSING NIGHT'S FILM.

THIS IS A FILM WITH AN AMAZING PREMISE.

IT IS BASICALLY ABOUT STRUGGLING SINGER-SONGWRITER WHO GETS IN AN ACCIDENT DURING A WORLDWIDE BLACKOUT.

WHEN HE COMES TO, HE REALIZES THAT HE'S THE ONLY PERSON ON EARTH WHO KNOWS THAT THE BEATLES EVER EXISTED.

SO WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THAT?

I SAW A TRAILER FOR IT REASONLY.

MY WIFE AND I WATCHED IT SAYING, THAT SOUNDS FASCINATING.

IT IS SUCH A BRILLIANT PREMISE.

AND HE IS SO GOOD PLAYING.

HE'S AMAZING.

AND THIS IS HIS FEATURE FILM DEBUT.

HE CARRIES THIS FILM.

IT IS JUST REALLY, REALLY HEART WARMING, ROMANTIC, IT IS REALLY FUNNY.

IT MAKES YOU SMILE.

SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS YOU'RE DOING.

TALK ABOUT CONVERSATION.

YOU MENTIONED ROBERT DE NIRO.

AND YOU HAVE A REALLY FASCINATING CONVERSATION SCHEDULED WITH HIM.

TELL ME ABOUT THAT.

SO WE HAVE HIM IN CONVERSATION WITH MARINE SCORSESE.

THEY HAVE HAD SUCH A GOOD RELATIONSHIP OVER THE DECADES SO THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP, THE WORK THEY'VE DONE TOGETHER AND INDIVIDUALLY.

AND I THINK THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT THEY'VE HAD THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SIT DOWN IN FRONT OF AN AUDIENCE AND HAVE THIS CONVERSATION.

SO OF COURSE, I'M ANTICIPATING THAT.

I'M A FAN.

TO BE ABLE TO LISTEN ON ALL OF THAT.

YOU HAVE A MINUTE OR SO LEFT.

ONE THAT'S VERY FUN AND VERY NEW YORK.

WE HAVE A FILM PART OF OUR ESPN SPORTS FESTIVAL.

IT IS CALLED THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE HUNGRY OF I THINK ABOUT THE NATHAN'S HOTDOG EATING CONTEST.

IT IS ABOUT COMPETITIVE EATING.

IT IS REALLY, REALLY SOMETHING THAT I THINK AUDIENCES WILL LOVE.

I KNOW PEOPLE MIGHT SHY AWAY FROM WATCHING SOMEONE EATING THAT MANY.

IT'S LIKE WATCHING TRAIN WRECK.

OH, THAT'S AWFUL.

WHAT TIME IS IT ON?

EXACTLY.

YOU SEE THE REAL COMPETITIVE SPIRIT THAT COMES INTO THIS.

IT IS REALLY FASCINATING.

AND THEN OF COURSE, WE LOVE TO THINK OF OURSELVES AS A DISCOVERY FILM FESTIVAL AS WELL.

SO WE HAVE WONDERFUL FILMS IN OUR U.S. NARRATIVE COMPETITION.

WE HAVE SOME GREAT SPOTLIGHT FILMS.

WE HAVE SO MANY.

OVER 100.

BUT JUST OVER 100.

ANYBODY WHO HAS NEVER BEEN THERE BEFORE.

GET IT ON YOUR SCHEDULE.

ALL SORTS OF THINGS THAT YOU CAN GO PARTICIPATE IN.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SPENDING SOME TIME WITH US.

GOOD LUCK THIS YEAR AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO TALKING WITH YOU NEXT YEAR.

ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

HAVE A GOOD ONE.