Since its inception, it has been known as a diverse international film festival that supports emerging and established directors. The Festival has screened over 1400 films from over 80 countries since its first festival in 2002. Since its founding, it has attracted an international audience of more than 4 million attendees and has generated an estimated $750 million in economic activity for New York City.
Judging by the early screenings I have seen so far, the quality of the films is still on the rise. This year features Michael Shannon playing Elvis, Kevin Spacey as Nixon, Tom Hanks, and Viola Davis, the directorial debut of Katie Holmes, and a documentary about Ghostbusters fandom. There will also be a screening to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the classic, Taxi Driver. Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, and Jodie Foster will be in attendance for a chat afterwards.
In addition, J.J. Abrams, Joss Whedon, Jodie Foster, Alfonso Cuaron, Idina Menzel and Francis Ford Coppola are among the names signed up to participate in the Tribeca Talks series of public discussions during the festival.
Also, this year the Festival will screen 72 short films, featuring Meryl Streep, Juliette Lewis, Danny DeVito, Natalie Portman, Michael Cera and Zosia Mamet, plus an animated shorts program curated by Whoopi Goldberg.
For further information on the details of the festival, head on over to Tribeca Film Festival.
