April 1st, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, NY – (April 1, 2013) –The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), presented by founding partner American Express, today announced a variety of programming that will allow domestic audiences to experience the Festival from across the country, including the lineup and programming for the Tribeca Online Festival, and Tribeca Film’s video-on-demand offerings during TFF. The 12th annual Tribeca Film Festival runs from April 17-28 in lower Manhattan.

“We are always looking for ways to expand our community and engage new audiences,” said Geoff Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer, Tribeca Enterprises. “For the past three years, viewers nationwide have been able to take in a selection of Festival films and activities, even if they aren't able to make it to Tribeca. This year we have expanded the opportunity for the public to participate in the Festival not just as observers, but also as creators through our first ever Vine competition, which is open to anyone with an imagination and a Vine app.”

The Festival announced the program for the fourth annual Tribeca Online Festival, a digital initiative that offers front row access to exclusive Festival content and new storytelling opportunities. New this year is the launch of Tribeca Film Festival’s #6SECFILMS Vine Competition, an online juried competition using the six-second, micro-movie making app. Filmmakers can  submit in one of four categories -- #genre, #auteur, #animate and #series – using both the category hashtag and #6SECFILMS. Shortlists in each category will be viewable for the public on April 17 and will compete for cash prizes of $600. Submissions are now open through midnight on April 7. Winners will be announced by the Tribeca Online Festival on April 26.

As in years past, the Tribeca Online Festival (TOF) will provide free streaming of Festival films. Seven titles including features Alias Ruby Blade: A Story of Love and Revolution, Lil Bub & Friendz, and Farah Goes Bang (which will be streamed just after their Festival theatrical premieres), and short films RPG OKC, Delicacy, The Exit Room, and A Short Film About Guns will be accessible on tribecaonlinefestival.com . Via TribecaOnlineFestival.com audiences can vote on the best online feature and short, with the winners receiving a total of $16,000 in prize money.  

The Tribeca Online Festival will stream a number of highly anticipated conversations during the Festival as well as the 2013 TFF awards show on Thursday April 25, 2013.   

Tribeca Film will also release 2013 TFF selections What Richard Did, Greetings from Tim Buckley, Fresh Meat and The English Teacher nationwide via on demand during the Festival window. The titles will be available in more than 50 million homes in the U.S. and Canada through all major cable video-on-demand providers, as well as iTunes, Amazon Watch Instantly, VUDU, Xbox, Google Play and YouTube.

Details on the VOD and Tribeca Online Festival offerings follow:

TRIBECA ONLINE FESTIVAL

FREE STREAMING OF OFFICIAL FESTIVAL SELECTIONS:

Three feature titles and four short films from the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival will be available on TOF. Each film will have limited screening windows and capacity. Online viewers will be able to vote for the Best Tribeca Online Feature Film, a prize of $10,000, and the Best Tribeca Online Short Film, a prize of $5,000. Winners will be announced at the Tribeca Film Festival Awards on April 25.
The full list of feature films streamed on the Tribeca Online Festival is as follows:

• Alias Ruby Blade: A Story of Love and Revolution, directed by Alex Meillier, written by Tanya Ager Meillier and Meillier. (USA) – North American Premiere. Kirsty Sword Gusmão went to Timor-Leste to document injustice in an area closed to Western journalists. Over the next decade, she became the lynchpin that sustained the nation’s harrowing struggle for independence and met the man who would redefine the cause for which she was fighting. Using astonishing footage of the years-long resistance, director Alex Meillier presents a highly personal account of the courage needed to create a new democracy in modern times.

• Lil Bub & Friendz, directed by Andy Capper and Juliette Eisner. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. Called “the most famous cat on the Internet,” the wide-eyed perma-kitten Lil Bub is the adorable embodiment of the Web’s fascination with all things cats. Join Lil Bub and her owner on a wild cross-country romp as they meet the Internet’s most famous cat-lebrities. Chock full of adorable kitties, hilarious videos and the dedicated cat enthusiasts who love them, Lil Bub & Friendz is a fun and hip peek behind the memes we know and love. Includes Mike "The Dude" Bridavsky, Ben Lashes, Grumpy Cat, Nyan Cat, Keyboard Cat.

• Farah Goes Bang, directed by Meera Menon, written by Laura Goode and Menon. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. Farah hits the road with her buddies to stump for John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election, hoping the trip will be her opportunity to finally shed her unwanted virginity. She soon finds her efforts on both political and sexual fronts continuously thwarted. Comically balancing that moment’s climate of intolerance with a universal coming-of-age tale, Farah Goes Bang paints a comic portrait of the overdue growing pains of a group of girlfriends and the country itself.

 

The full list of short films streamed on the Tribeca Online Festival is as follows:

• RPG OKC, Directed and written by Emily Carmichael, (USA), World Premiere. Two video game characters forge an unlikely romance.

• Delicacy, Directed by Jason Mann, written by Frieda Luk and Jason Mann, (USA), New York Premiere. A culinary connoisseur and a chef go on a hunt for a rare animal.

• The Exit Room, Directed and written by Todd Wiseman Jr, (USA), World Premiere. It is 2021, and imprisoned journalist Joseph Michaels faces government execution and contemplates a desperate escape attempt in order to return to his young family.

• A Short Film About Guns, Directed by Minos Papas, (Cyprus), (U.K.), (USA), World Premiere. Four experts on arms trafficking recount first-hand experiences with the black market and how the illegal flow of weapons facilitates loss of life and devastation.

TRIBECA FILM VIDEO-ON-DEMAND

• What Richard Did, directed by Lenny Abrahamson, written by Malcolm Campbell. (Ireland) – U.S. Premiere, Narrative. Charismatic Richard leads a group of devoted friends through the rituals of their final summer break together: partying on the beach, hazing younger students, hooking up. But the good times will not last forever. When jealousy leads to a senseless act, Richard’s perfect life unravels amid self-doubt, shame, grief and guilt. What Richard Did is a gripping dissection of an action and its consequences, featuring a stellar lead performance by Jack Reynor.  A Tribeca Film release.

• Greetings from Tim Buckley, directed by Daniel Algrant, written by David Brendel, Emma Sheanshang and  Algrant. (USA) – U.S. Premiere, Narrative. “Like father, like son” is a demanding expression for someone who never knew his dad. When young Jeff Buckley (Penn Badgley) is asked to participate in a tribute concert for his late musician father Tim, music opens his eyes to the artistic legacy that he is destined to follow. Imogen Poots co-stars in this quiet and powerful tribute to those legends sustained by admiration, love and, in this case, beautiful music.  A Focus World and Tribeca Film release.

• Fresh Meat, directed by Danny Mulheron, written by Briar Grace-Smith. (New Zealand) – New York Premiere, Narrative. After a poorly executed escape from the police, a gang of dysfunctional criminals flees to the suburbs and gets more than it bargained for when it crash lands in the garage of an upper-class Maori family whose refined palates have developed a taste for human flesh. This action-packed horror comedy tells a blood-spattered tale of basement butchery and shifting allegiances as these unlikely adversaries enter a deadly showdown. A Tribeca Film release.

 

• The English Teacher, directed by Craig Zisk, written by Dan Chariton and Stacy Chariton. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. Teacher Linda Sinclair (Julianne Moore) balances her staid home life with an incredible passion for her subject, but her routine is forever altered when a former star pupil and his unsupportive father reenter her life. Go-to television director Craig Zisk, whose credits include Scrubs, Weeds and United States of Tara, takes a turn on the big screen with this insightful comedy about self-discovery co-starring Greg Kinnear, Nathan Lane, Michael Angarano and Lily Collins. A Cinedigm and Tribeca Film release.

 

To keep up with Tribeca, visit the Tribeca Film Festival website at www.tribecafilm.com, and log in at http://www.tribecafilm.com/register/, where you can also subscribe to the Tribeca Newsletter.

Like the Tribeca Film Festival Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/TribecaFilm. Follow us on Twitter @TribecaFilmFest and join the conversation by using the hashtag #TFF2013.

About the Tribeca Film Festival:
The Tribeca Film Festival helps filmmakers reach the broadest possible audience, enabling the international film community and general public to experience the power of cinema and promote New York City as a major filmmaking center. It is well known for being a diverse international film festival that supports emerging and established directors.

Founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff in 2001 following the attacks on the World Trade Center, to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of the lower Manhattan district through an annual celebration of film, music and culture, the Festival brings the industry and community together around storytelling.

The Tribeca Film Festival has screened more than 1,400 films from more than 80 countries since its first edition in 2002. Since inception, it has attracted an international audience of more than 4.0 million attendees and has generated an estimated $750 million in economic activity for New York City.

About the 2013 Festival Sponsors
As Founding Sponsor of the Tribeca Film Festival, American Express is committed to supporting the Festival and the art of filmmaking, bringing business and energy to New York City and offering Cardmembers and festivalgoers the opportunity to enjoy the best of storytelling through film.

The Tribeca Film Festival is pleased to announce the return of its Signature Sponsors: Accenture, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Bloomberg, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® Gin, Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), Brookfield, Cadillac, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, ESPN, GE FOCUS FORWARD (in partnership with cinelan), Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Heineken USA, JetBlue, Magnum® Ice Cream, NBC 4 New York, NCM Media Networks, The New York Times, and OppenheimerFunds. The Festival is also honored to welcome the following new Signature Sponsors: IWC Schaffhausen, PepsiCo, and Sony Electronics.

About Tribeca Film
Tribeca Film is a comprehensive distribution label dedicated to acquiring and marketing independent films across multiple platforms, including theatrical, video-on-demand, digital, home video and television.  It is an initiative from Tribeca Enterprises designed to provide new platforms for how film can be experienced, while supporting filmmakers and introducing audiences to films they might not otherwise see.

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PRESS CONTACTS:

Tammie Rosen
VP of Communications
(212) 941-2003
trosen@tribecaenterprises.com

Anna Dinces
Associate VP
212-843-9253
adinces@rubenstein.com

Tahra Grant
Associate VP
212-843-9213
tgrant@rubenstein.com