Smaller Selection = Better Quality
Tribeca also has scaled back dramatically. Gone are the ballyhooed premieres of big summer blockbusters (no Spider Man sequels or Tom Cruise landing a helicopter for the premiere of Mission Impossible III). Instead, TFF has turned its focus to the discovery of undistributed foreign and independent films, productions set in New York City, and documentaries.Less often does equal more, and the quality of films has improved significantly. A great many of the movies at the fest have not (and might not) receive distribution -- allowing the chance for genuine discovery. Along with the post-screening Q&As with filmmakers and stars, this is one of the major thrills of seeing films at a festival. Next year, the still evolving festival will be sure to show the influence of new director Geoff Gilmore, who left Sundance for Tribeca.
Acquisitions
Several films from this year's fest have found homes. Tribeca might not be a raging market place like Sundance, but acquisitions certainly do happen. Magnolia Pictures picked up playwright Conor McPherson’s debut film Eclipse in a mid six figure deal. Ciaran Hinds, Iben Hjejle and Aidan Quinn star in the haunting story of a recent widower trying to adjust to his role as the sole caretaker of his two young children.Benten/Watchmaker Films acquired the rights to Fish Eyes, the debut feature film from 29-year-old Chinese filmmaker Zheng Wei. Set in the Mongolian desert during the months between the Sichuan earthquake and the Bejiing Olympics, the quiet and moody film observes the unhappy lives of a father and son whose quotidian routines are changed by the mysterious appearance of a young woman in their midst.
Lucía Puenzo's The Fish Child
My favorite film of the festival was Lucía Puenzo's dark, lesbian thriller The Fish Child, Puenzo's second film after the critically acclaimed XXY, adapted from the filmmaker's own novel. After the screening, Puenzo told the audience that the book was narrated from the point of view of the dog. The film, however, follows the enormously appealing Lala (Ines Efron), the mousy daughter of a influential judge who falls in love with the family's gorgeous 20-year-old Paraguayan maid Guayi (Mariela Vitale.)Unfortunately, many people are smitten with Guayi -- Lala's powerful father, for one, and the head of the local police force. Lala's obsession may or may not be reciprocated; when the young women hatch a plot to leave town together, their plans go dramatically awry. What begins as a quiet, thoughtful story of unlikely lovers becomes a fast-paced thriller. By the film's end, Lala displays a strength of character surprising even to herself. The performances of both Efron and Mariela Vitale, a famous Argentinian pop singer in her first film role, are fantastic.
2009 Tribeca Film Festival Awards
The 2009 Tribeca Film Festival ran from April 22 to May 3, 2009. Raymond De Felitta's City Island, a family comedy that's set in a sleepy harborside community of New York, starring Andy Garcia and Julianna Margulies, won the Heineken Audience Award, which came with $25,000 prize money. The top juried awards went to About Elly (Best Narrative Feature), North (Best New Narrative Filmmaker: Rune Denstad Langlo), Racing Dreams (Best Documentary Feature), and Fixer: The Taking of Amjal Naqshband (Best New Documentary Filmmaker). Rising star Zoe Kazan received the Best Actress Award for her sensitive portrayal of Ivy in The Exploding Girl.
