NYU.1287 Style Guide 5.13
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film C COMING OFAGE A CROWD-PLEASING FESTIVAL MARKS U ITS NEW PLACE IN THE FILM INDUSTRY by Renée Alfuso / CAS ’06 here’s no doubt park set up for movies premiering Robert De Niro (HON ’96), her that the TriBeCa on TriBeCa/ESPN Sports Day. film partner of more than 20 L Film Festival has Since it was launched from the years, is retooling the festival to T had something of a ashes of 9/11—in just 120 days— be both a neighborhood carnival Willy Wonka ef - more than two million visitors and a serious cinematic con - fect on its community. Each have flocked to the festival, and it tender. In 2007, she created a spring, it temporarily transforms has screened over 1,100 films year-round industry department T the neighborhood into a giant from more than 80 countries. It to put those who acquire films di - playground where movies come has also generated more than $530 rectly in touch with the artists to life—blankets and lawn chairs million in economic activity for who make them. That same year, lined the Hudson for a lavish luau lower Manhattan. 34 films that premiered at when the animated comedy Surf’s The purpose of most film fes - TriBeCa were acquired for distri - Up screened, and thousands joined tivals, however, is not just to bution—almost double the num - in a zombie dance disco to cele - screen movies but to sell films to ber from the previous year. brate the 25th anniversary of distributors and reach the broadest Documentaries have found the Michael Jackson’s Thriller . of audiences. With this in mind, most success, with Taxi to the Dark There’s also the basketball shoot - Jane Rosenthal (GAL ’77), who Side taking home the 2008 Oscar UR ing contests and football theme co-founded TriBeCa with and Pray the Devil Back to Hell E EACH SPRING, TRIBECA TAKES OVER THE STREETS OUTSIDE THE FESTIVAL’S FILM SCREENINGS WITH (COUNTERCLOCKWISE) PERFORMERS, GAMES, AND A DRIVE-IN ON THE HUDSON. landing on the short list this year was able to separate itself from its or exposed,” adds Sharon Badal cus on its community audience. after both premiered at TriBeCa. uptown neighbor. The New (TSOA ’80, GAL ’92), who pro - This year’s festival kicks off with “Our birth was about what we York Film Festival, which The grams short films for the festival the world premiere of Woody could do for our community, so New York Times has described as in addition to her role as associate Allen’s Whatever Works , which that will always be our roots,” “elitist,” selects just 28 features teacher at the Tisch School of the marks his cinematic return to New Rosenthal says. But the festival is each year with no competitive Arts. Those voices come from all York after shooting his last four making its name by striking an un - categories or prizes. In contrast, over the world, in foreign films films abroad. And there are still usual balance among the fun, art, TriBeCa recognizes outstanding that would otherwise have a diffi - special neighborhood events like and business of film. films with an array of awards for cult time reaching U.S. audiences, the TriBeCa Drive-In outdoor Seven years old, TriBeCa is still features, shorts, and documen - but also from the festival’s own screenings and the Family Festival the new guy amidst a sea of well- taries, and a handful of prizes for backyard with community-based Street Fair, where costumed char - established film festivals: Cannes films made in or about New York. cinema like those discovered acters and performers roam along began back in 1946, the New For viewers, the NYFF feels through the TriBeCa All Access rows of tents offering local food, York Film Festival is approaching like a private Upper West Side program, which connects film - arts and crafts, puppet and magic its 50th run, and even the hip in - cocktail soiree to TriBeCa’s rau - makers from underrepresented shows, and face painting. “[Here] die-fest Sundance started out as cous downtown block party, groups with industry professionals. you don’t have to just be an in - the United States Film Festival in where the box office hit Star Wars As they’ve found their equilib - dustry insider to have access to the 1978, before Robert Redford Episode II: Attack of the Clones pre - rium over the years, Rosenthal world of the film festival,” Rosen - transformed it years later. The miered alongside the chick-flick says, the festival has refocused its thal says. “Anybody can come.” media was quick to compare Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sister - program by cutting down the And this won’t change because TriBeCa to these predecessors hood , just blocks from the Oscar- number of features it screens to 85 while TriBeCa is finding its place, and early on criticized it for being nominated Norwegian film Elling from as many as 174 in 2006. it hasn’t lost the spirit of why it too broad and lacking a clear during the inaugural festival. “It’s Many critics took note of the came into being. Rosenthal ex - enough identity. “We had so New York and there’s not just one change, as Stephen Holden of The plains: “As there were steel work - much focus on us and everybody type of filmgoer here,” director of New York Times wrote last year, ers and firefighters and police who was looking at us and saying, programming David Kwok ex - “A sign of the festival’s confidence did their jobs, as filmmakers, the ‘What are you going to be? What plains. “You have your cinephiles, is its willingness to shrink. No only thing we knew how to do are you going to be? ’ ” says Rosen - but you also have the recreation - longer does it project the panicky was to put on a show.” thal, adding that it took years al filmgoer, so our hope is to be sense of an event grabbing too be fore Sundance established itself able to cross those audiences.” many things offered to it in a mad The 2009 TriBeCa Film Festival with the 1989 screening of sex, “The key is to have as many scramble to demonstrate its size runs from April 22-May 3. For the lies, and videotape . voices as you can and especially and importance.” full lineup, visit www.tribecafilm Right away, though, TriBeCa voices that are not often explored What hasn’t changed is the fo - .com/festival. P H O T O S C O U R T E S Y T H E T R I B E C A F I L M F E S T I V A L LEFT: MICHAEL JACKSON’S THRILLER COMES TO LIFE WITH A ZOMBIE DANCE DISCO. RIGHT: FESTIVAL CO-FOUNDERS ROBERT DE NIRO (RIGHT) AND JANE ROSENTHAL, WHO HAS PRODUCED MANY OF THE ACTOR’S FILMS, INCLUDING MEET THE PARENTS . NYU / SPRING 2009 / 23 C U L T UR E documentary A House Reunited LEFT : TO ESCAPE SUBURBAN SPRAWL, A NEW FILM FOLLOWS THE MOVE OF A SOUTHERN MIDWAY PLANTATION WAS TRUCKED TO QUIETER PASTURES. RIGHT : HISTO - PLANTATION—AND RECKONS WITH ITS COMPLICATED PAST RIAN ROBERT HINTON (LEFT) AND FILMMAKER GODFREY CHESHIRE by Kathryn Robertson / CAS ’09 CONSIDER THE MOVE’S MEANING. R I n 2004, historian Robert home, which was now lapped by a with remarkable empathy, wit, graveyard where Hinton's rela - G H T P Hinton received a nervous new highway and suburban subdi - and learning,” and New York mag - tives were buried were testaments H O T O voicemail from one Godfrey visions, was to hoist the 280-ton azine named it runner-up for best to what they endured. “My peo - © C O Cheshire, a filmmaker and building onto wheels and slowly documentary film of 2008. ple built the house, and I wanted N R A D I R critic based in New York roll it to a new, nearby resting Central to the film is the ten - it to be preserved as proof of their I C H City. In a lilting North Carolinian place. Cheshire knew that he could sion between the perspectives of labor and their skill,” he says. “As A R D J accent, Cheshire, who is white, not tell the home’s full story with - Cheshire, the writer, director, and long as it exists, no one can say that O R D A explained that he had seen Hinton’s out discussing slavery. He needed co-producer, and Hinton, chief they weren’t enslaved.” N recent letter to the editor in The Hinton’s help, both as a scholar and historian and associate producer. In a final scene, Cheshire’s New York Times Book Review , in as someone intimately connected For Cheshire, and many of his rel - cousin hosts an uncommon and which he talked about growing up to Midway. atives, the film was an opportuni - unlikely family reunion at Midway, black in Raleigh. He was working The resulting documentary, ty to indulge in nostalgia, to revel now located three miles north of on a project related to a plantation Moving Midway , presents a region in seven generations of family lore the original site on a spread of 46 near there called Midway. Could full of complexity, emotion, and about ghosts and outsize charac - acres. “I would like to think there’ll they talk? quirk as it follows the home’s ters. Though the house was built be further contacts between the Hinton knew Midway Planta - physical move and contemplates in 1848, it stood on land granted two branches of the family and tion; he’d long suspected his the mythology surrounding these to the family by the English crown maybe even some shared reunions grandfather had been born a slave icons of the Old South and the liv - in 1739.