Wednesday (April 22nd) amid a lot of fanfare, the Tribeca Film Festival kicks off with the glitzy world premiere of Woody Allen's "Whatever Works".
The highly-anticipated comedy is the first film the quirky film director has shot in Manhattan since 2004.
"Whatever Works" was written & directed by Allen and stars character actor Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Evan Rachel Wood (The Wrestler), Patricia Clarkson (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), and Ed Begley Jr.(Pineapple Express).
Recently, festival co-founder Jane Rosenthal gushed about how excited she was to launch Allen's new pic at Tribeca.
"I fell in love with New York through Woody Allen’s movies and I am excited we are opening this year’s Festival with Whatever Works."
According to Rosenthal, the stand-out feature is a uniquely funny addition to the celebrated director's body of work.
Allen, the die-hard New Yorker, enthused that it was a lovely idea to show his film in al festival in his own hometown.
"Very exciting," he beamed.
Sony Pictures classics is planning a June 19th release date if you miss the opening.
Tribeca promises to be the entertaining, thought-provoking fest, it has proven to be over the past few years since it first started up.
The roster of projects is far-reaching, too, and includes:
Tribeca will close out the festival with "My Life in Ruins" which was directed by Donald Petrie and written by Mike Reiss.
The Fox Searchlight release stars Nia Vardalos, Richard Dreyfuss, María Ádanez, Sheila Bernette, María Botto, Rachel Dratch, Alexis Georgoulis, Ralph Nossek, Bernice Stegers, and Harland Williams.
Nia Vardalos, the writer and star of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", has turned out a hilarious uplifting comedy about her character's lost kefi (Greek for "mojo"), according to Festival organizers.
Discouraged by her lack of direction in life, she works as a travel guide, leading a rag-tag group of tourists as she tries to show them the beauty of her native Greece while waiting to land her dream job.
Opening their eyes to an exotic foreign land, she too begins to see things in new ways - finding her kefi - and possibly love in the process.
Several of the cast members will attend the special screening to be held at the BMCC TPAC in lower Manhattan on Saturday May 2nd.
The new release is slated for unveiling in Theatres nationwide on June 5, 2009.
Another festival treat will be the screening of an actual work-in-progress which focuses on the high-profile Pop Singer Bon Jovi.
Directed by filmmaker and photographer Phil Griffin and produced by Academy-Award and Emmy-winning producers @radical.media, the documentary was filmed on the road backstage with the band during their 2008 Lost Highway World Tour.
The behind-the-scenes doc also features an up-close and personal glimpse at two sold-out frenzied concerts at Madison Square Gardens which wowed fans at the end of the celebrated tour.
"Throughout the process of working with Bon Jovi, I was amazed at the candor and humility Jon and his band showed me,” said director Phil Griffin.
"The result is not a neatly wrapped up bundle of staged interviews and musical interludes, but rather a series of open and sometimes difficult conversations, explored against a backdrop of music spanning 25 years. It is a film about the peace of Tico, the complexity of Richie, the drive of Jon and the brutal honesty of Dave. It is their willingness to share their stories that gives us what I hope is a very human story - that humanity is what I believe has seen this band stand the test of time."
Festival organizers are wildly enthusiastic about the upcoming screening, too.
"This compelling documentary gives you a glimpse behind the scenes of one of the great rock bands and unveils how they have stayed on top for the past 25 years. Jon has been a stalwart supporter and remarkable friend to our Festival, making it incredibly exciting to premiere the Bon Jovi story at Tribeca," according to a press release.
In addition to movie debuts (and red carpet extravaganzas) there will be a number of panel discussions, including conversations with Spike Lee, Barry Levinson, Steven Soderbergh, Kirby Dick, and Alex Gibney.
Tribeca will also present a much-anticipated line-up of short films.
This year’s Festival shorts are a culmination of works from across the globe, including Cuba, Brazil, Norway, Italy, South Korea and Australia.
The Festival received 2463 short film submissions this year - of which - 46 were selected to be presented in six thematic programs.
The voices behind these works range from first-time to veteran filmmakers that include animators, graphic artists and actors taking the helm behind the camera. Collectively, through captivating narratives and gripping documentaries, they tell stories about life’s lessons drawn from dreams, desires and the coming-of-age experience.
"The films in this year’s program represent a strong showcase in the craft of short filmmaking. It's exciting that as digital content platforms continue to emerge, short films are accessible to, and being watched by an increasingly larger audience.” said Maggie Kim, Tribeca Film Festival shorts programmer.
Among the highlights is a short narrative written and directed by Tom Everett Scott, as well as a documentary narrated by Richard Gere.
Directors making return visits to the Festival include Jason DaSilva, Brian Durnin, PaulaGaitan, Ken Jacobs, and Mark Street.
Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff founded the Tribeca Film Festival in 2001 following the attacks on the World Trade Center to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of lower Manhattan through an annual celebration of film, music and culture.
The Festival’s mission is to assist filmmakers reach the broadest possible audience, while enabling the international film community and the general public, the opportunity to experience the power of cinema (and promote New York City as a major filmmaking center).
The popular annual festival works under the auspices of Tribeca Enterprises, a diversified multi-platform media company, located in downtown New York City.
The company currently operates a network of branded entertainment businesses including the Tribeca Film Festival and Tribeca Cinemas.
The Company's mission is to provide artists with unique platforms to expand the audience for their works and to broaden the access point for consumers to experience independent film and media.
Since its founding, the Festival has attracted over two million attendees from the US and abroad and has generated more than $425 million in economic activity for New York City.
Info: http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org
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