January 28th, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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New York, NY – (January 28, 2014) –The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), presented by AT&T, today announced Tribeca Interactive & Interlude: A Music Film Challenge in collaboration with The Lincoln Motor Company via Genero.tv’s global creative community. For the first time, Tribeca and its partners invite storytellers and content creators to work with Interlude’s interactive video platform to create an interactive music film for major music artists Damon Albarn, Aloe Blacc, and Ellie Goulding, with the winning project for each screening at TFF.

The new Challenge underscores the shared commitment of the partners to explore the future of storytelling in the digital age using the creative flexibility and audience engagement capabilities of Interlude’s patented interactive video technology. Working with Genero’s global creative community of more than 250,000 filmmakers from 190 countries, this program furthers Tribeca’s dedication to supporting new approaches to storytelling, and bringing new content with a fresh perspective to a wide variety of audiences both locally in New York City and internationally across social and digital channels through collaboration with technology innovators.

The Challenge will begin on January 28 when digital storytellers can create interactive music films for the music tracks “Heavy Seas of Love” by Damon Albarn from his forthcoming solo album, “Ticking Bomb” by Aloe Blacc, and “Dead in the Water” by Ellie Goulding. A jury will select finalists for each of the three music tracks, with the artists aiding the jury to select the winner for each of their respective songs. The winning entry will be aligned with Damon Albarn's “Everyday Robots” album official campaign, Aloe Blacc's “Lift Your Spirit,” and Ellie Goulding’s “Halcyon Days” respectively. The winning filmmakers will receive $10,000 each and a trip to attend the Tribeca Film Festival. Submissions close on March 27 at genero.tv/Tribeca.

• “New technologies are unlocking a world of storytelling opportunities for filmmakers to captivate, engage, and entertain audiences. We are always looking for ways to introduce new technology to the filmmaking community at the Festival,” said Jane Rosenthal, co-founder, Tribeca Film Festival.

 

“Lincoln embraces the spirit of forward-thinking design and transformation, and we look to collaborate with those who share this vision,” said Matt VanDyke, director, Global Lincoln. ”The Festival redefines the art of filmmaking and film viewing experiences with two innovative platforms, and Tribeca attracts those who fully embrace this personal approach to the art of storytelling.”

Said Aloe Blacc, "I'm excited to see how 'Ticking Bomb' is interpreted by Genero's community of directors. Whilst the song is meant to shed light on an issue close to my heart, I'm interested to see how the song inspires and translates through Genero's community. I'm definitely not expecting videos that offer a literal interpretation of the lyrics, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with!"

To participate, filmmakers will use Treehouse – Interlude’s self-service authoring suite – to create an interactive music film set to one of the three songs. With Treehouse’s simple and intuitive interface, participants can design their interactive music films in a multi-branch, multi-layered, tree-structured style, which will allow viewers to play an active role in the storytelling process. To encourage participation, Genero will leverage its vast community and engage filmmakers from across the world who have made official music videos for artists, including Moby, David Lynch, Duran Duran, Muse, David Guetta, and many more.

In the past few years, Interlude has collaborated with a number of leading music artists to create videos that have received wide recognition – including two MTV O Music Awards – and was behind the globally acclaimed interactive video for Bob Dylan’s classic “Like a Rolling Stone.” Now with Tribeca Interactive & Interlude: A Music Film Challenge in collaboration with The Lincoln Motor Company, the partners are inviting storytellers around the world to use Interlude’s unique technology to express their artistic visions.

• “It is very rewarding to see a film festival as respected and beloved as Tribeca embrace interactive video,” said Yoni Bloch, co-founder and CEO of Interlude. “Technology is empowering creativity and shaping storytelling in the digital age, and we can’t wait to see how filmmakers and others leverage Treehouse to fuel their creativity and inspiration.”

 

TFF will showcase the finalists’ films during the Tribeca Online Festival and display them throughout Festival venues and lounges via interactive kiosks, in addition to the Challenge website.

• “Tribeca Interactive & Interlude: A Music Film Challenge in collaboration with The Lincoln Motor Company is an amazing platform for our filmmaking community to showcase their talents and further their careers,” said Andrew Lane, co-founder of Genero. “Working beyond linear videos and into a new format of interactivity, this is a fresh opportunity for our community, and we are confident their unparalleled creativity will result in engaging and memorable work for Damon Albarn, Aloe Blacc, and Ellie Goulding.”

 

Lincoln’s collaboration with Tribeca, Interlude and Genero builds upon its leadership in recent initiatives involving the music and film industry, including Lincoln’s interactive concert experience with Beck in February 2013 and support of emerging film talent with Vanity Fair and Film Independent in September 2013.

To participate, visit genero.tv/Tribeca. Questions regarding submissions may be directed to info@genero.tv.

About Damon Albarn
Everyday Robots, the first fully-realized Damon Albarn solo album is released in April 2014. Its twelve songs invite the listener into Albarn’s world for a genuine ‘one-to-one’ and are the most soul-searching and autobiographical since his musical journey began.

Albarn is first to admit he’s a restless soul when it comes to music. What’s certain is that all of the projects of his musical career thus far - from Blur to Gorillaz, The Good, The Bad & The Queen, Mali Music, Monkey: Journey To The West or Dr Dee - help form this singular artist’s musical DNA.

This album is quite clearly about his experiences, from early childhood right through. Ghosts of Albarn’s boyhood in Leytonstone and Colchester walk hand-in-hand with reflections on life and love, on nature versus technology. He visits more recent habitats...under London’s Westway and idyllic Devon… as well as pondering the trappings of modern existence such as computer games and mobile phones.

‘Everyday Robots’ was recorded in Albarn’s 13 Studio in London and is produced by Richard Russell, head of XL Recordings.

About Aloe Blacc
The soulful singer-songwriter who co-wrote and provided vocals for Swedish DJ Avicii’s international hit single “Wake Me Up,” which hit No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Songs and Dance/Electronic Songs charts, as well as in over 100 countries around the world, including the U.K., where it became the fastest-selling single of 2013.

This year Blacc made his first major-label debut via XIX Recordings/Interscope Records in September with the release of his EP, entitled ‘Wake Me Up’.

Blacc has also been in the studio working on his upcoming album, 'Lift Your Spirit', with such songwriters and producers as Pharrell, DJ Khalil and Harold Lilly, among others. 'Lift Your Spirit' is now available for pre-order http://smarturl.it/LiftYourSpiritAB

About Ellie Goulding
UK singer/ songwriter Ellie Goulding recently released ‘Halcyon Days,’ a special edition that includes ten new tracks in addition to the deluxe sophomore album Halcyon. Halcyon Days features her fourth consecutive platinum single “Burn” as well as her other platinum selling single “Anything Could Happen” and the Top 10 song, “I Need Your Love,” the Calvin Harris collaboration.

The New York Times described ‘Halcyon’ as “a deeply felt swirl of synthesizers, piano and slowly building crescendos.” “The hooks always go to town, and her voice mates gorgeously with electronics,” raved Rolling Stone.

Goulding’s debut album, ‘Lights’ was the best-selling debut album of 2010 in the UK and has spawned several singles including her quadruple platinum selling title track.

Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival (http://tribecafilm.com/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 1,500 films from more than 80 countries since its first edition in 2002. Since inception, it has attracted an international audience of more than 4.5 million attendees and has generated an estimated $850 million in economic activity for New York City.

 

2014 Tribeca Film Festival Sponsors
As Presenting Sponsor of the Tribeca Film Festival, AT&T is committed to supporting the Festival and the art of filmmaking through access and innovation, aiming to make this the most interactive film festival in the country, where visitors experience the Festival in ways they never imagined.

The Tribeca Film Festival is pleased to announce its Signature Sponsors: Accenture, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, American Express, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® Gin, Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), Brookfield, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, ESPN, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Heineken, IWC Schaffhausen, NBC 4 New York, NCM Media Networks, The New York Times, and PepsiCo. The Festival welcomes the following new Signature Sponsors: The Lincoln Motor Company and Santander.

Interlude
Interlude (www.interlude.fm) is a digital media company that designs, develops and markets interactive video technology. Treehouse is Interlude’s self-serve authoring suite that enables all video creators, whether enthusiasts or professionals, to create interactive videos. Founded by Israeli musician Yoni Bloch and his band, Interlude is backed by Sequoia Capital, Intel Capital, NEA, Marker and Innovation Endeavors.

Genero.tv
Genero.tv connects music artists with a global community of over 250,000 filmmakers, providing a platform for artists to find video directors or generate amazing videos, while giving filmmakers access to career-changing opportunities. The Genero community has created over 5,000 videos, including official videos for Moby, M83, James Brown, Muse, John Mayer, Duran Duran, David Bowie, The Flaming Lips, Tricky, Ringo Starr, David Guetta, Passion Pit, Linkin Park, Bingo Players, Steve Aoki, alt-J, Owl City and many more. More info: http://genero.tv/partners

Lincoln Motor Company
Lincoln Motor Company is the luxury automotive brand of Ford Motor Company, committed to creating compelling vehicles with an exceptional ownership experience to match. Lincoln is in the process of introducing four all-new vehicles through 2016. For more information about Lincoln, please visit media.lincoln.com or www.lincoln.com. Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/lincoln.

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***EDITOR/ART NOTE: Images of each artist can be downloaded at:
http://tribecafilm.com/press-center/festival/music-challenge-stills

Press registration for the 13th annual Tribeca Film Festival is now open.  For more information on deadlines and materials, and to apply for credentials, please use the following link: https://secure.sportssystems.com/events2/credapp.cfm

Press Contacts

For Tribeca:

Sophia Hitti
Rubenstein Communications
(212) 843-8069
smhitti@rubenstein.com

Tahra Grant
Rubenstein Communications 
212-843-9213
tgrant@rubenstein.com

Tammie Rosen 
Tribeca Enterprises 
(212) 941-2003 
trosen@tribecaenterprises.com

For Interlude:

Elise Chambers
Method Communications
(801) 461-9776
elise@methodcommunications.com

Jacob Moon
Method Communications
(801) 461-9797
jacob@methodcommunications.com

For Genero.tv:

Andrew Lane
(646) 675-5303
andrew.lane@genero.tv

For Lincoln Motor Company:

Stéphane Cesareo
(313) 323-8917
scesareo@lincoln.com

Vanessa Bohlscheid
(646) 496-2791

vbohlsch@lincoln.com