Tribeca 2011: Two Day Recap

I want to start off by apologizing for the delay in my coverage. I originally planned to do daily recaps from each day at the festival but my 90-minute commute to and from the festival quickly killed that idea. Below is a recap of my experience at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival so far…

THURSDAY APRIL 21

My first day at the festival didn’t start off with a bang. I planned on attending the press screening of THE BANG BANG CLUB but just couldn’t get to the festival in time. Instead I picked up my press badge and decided to check out the complimentary snack area. I opted for a breakfast ice cream bar courtesy of MAGNUM Ice Cream. Free Ice Cream for breakfast? Yes, I am living the dream.

Following my deliciously inappropriate breakfast, I decided to canvas the press lounge and theater to see what kind of promo materials I could find. I love collecting that kind of stuff to see what other filmmakers are doing to promote their films. Sadly, there was not much out but since it was only the first full day I didn’t think much of it.

At noon I caught the press screening of THE TRIP, which stars Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as themselves on a food tour through the English countryside. The film was hilarious and definitely a good way to kick off the movie watching portion of my festival experience.

After the screening, I grabbed a quick lunch (plus another free ice cream bar) and headed back to the Clearview Cinemas for the press screening of JANIE JONES. The film stars Abigail Breslin as a talented 13-year-old musician who is abandoned by her mother (Elizabeth Shue) and is forced to stay with a struggling rocker (Alessandro Nivola) who doesn’t believe she is really his kid. While fairly conventional, it was still an enjoyable film.

Following the screening I headed over to the Filmmaker Lounge where they were hosting a filmmaker / press reception. While waiting for the doors to open, I started talking with Alan J. LaFave, Festival Director for the HELL’S HALF MILE FILM + MUSIC FESTIVAL. Although we never actually met before, he recognized me from STUCK LIKE CHUCK, which screened at his festival in 2009. We ended up chatting for over 2 hours about movies and festivals.

As the party ended, I grabbed one more ice cream bar for the road and made my way to the bus home. I got home about 10:30 and called into FILMSNOBBERY LIVE! which is a weekly live show about indie film that I cohost. After speaking with actor Jay Ferraro, I talked about my first day impressions of the festival before signing off and passing out on my bed.

FRIDAY APRIL 22

I woke up late but somehow managed to make it to the Clearview Cinemas in time for SAINT. The Dutch horror comedy reimagines Saint Nicholas as a bloodthirsty bishop who emerges whenever there is a full moon on December 5 to kidnap children and murder anyone else who gets in his way. There are many moments of crazy batshit insanity that I absolutely loved but others that I felt took down the movie as a whole. It is still a very enjoyable flick that is destined to become a holiday cult classic.

After SAINT, I headed across the lobby to theater 7 for the press screening of PUNCTURE. The film stars Chris Evans as a drug addict / lawyer who takes on a major health care case that could save millions of lives but may also be too much for him and his partner to handle. Just like its main character, the film is flawed but still enjoyable.

After the screening, I spoke briefly with Alan J. LaFave again before bumping into the legendary Bob Hawk. For those unfamiliar, he is a film consultant known for discovering Kevin Smith, Edward Burns and many others. Several months ago I went to lunch with him to discuss my current film project so it was great getting to catch up. Since talking with Hawk used up much of my break, I grabbed another Magnum Ice Cream bar from the press lounge before heading back to the theater to catch my final screening for the day.

I got back just in time for the press & industry screening of Israel’s first ever horror film, RABIES. This is my favorite film from the festival so far and set the bar pretty high for the rest. This flick brilliantly plays with genre conventions and makes for one hell of a good time. I was completely caught by surprise and ended up raving about it to several people right after.

Besides being an amazing film, this screening was especially awesome because one of the Tribeca jury groups was in attendance. I watched the film sitting behind Paul Dano, Anna Kendrick, Rainn Wilson and several other really cool people. I was able to remain professional but really wish I had a chance to talk with some of them after the screening. I also hope Paul Dano got his hat back. He left it at his seat and the woman next to me brought it to one of the volunteers. Fingers crossed for a safe recovery.

I made my way to the Cadillac Press Lounge for the Documentary Filmmaker & Press Reception. While I didn’t meet any filmmakers, I did quickly become friends with Peter Gutierrez and Ben Umstead from Twitch. We talked about the festival, horror films and general movie geekdom. We also all seemed to agree that we have not seen any filmmakers actively promoting their films and that there should be an easier way to distinguish who is a filmmaker based on our badges. Apparently I was the first filmmaker they had even spoken to at the festival. Despite it not being part of Tribeca, I gave them both copies of STUCK LIKE CHUCK because I am a total press whore.

Eventually we made our way to the Filmmaker Lounge where the DOHA Film Institute was hosting its own reception. I again bumped into Alan LaFave. I find it funny that I keep missing tons of celebrities that are popping up in pictures all around the festival but I keep running into Alan. I wonder if there are secret backrooms that us lower level press people don’t know about? When they were getting ready to close, I grabbed yet another ice cream for the bus ride and left. That night I sat on my computer determined to begin my coverage. About 20 minutes later I was out cold, which brought an end to my second day at the festival.

SATURDAY APRIL 23 & SUNDAY APRIL 24

I did not attend the festival these days because I had to spend time with my family. However, I was able to make some time to write this article as well as a few of my reviews. I will not be attending the festival on Monday but I will check out some of the online films throughout the day. I will be back at the festival starting Tuesday morning to cover Will Ferrell’s new film, EVERYTHING MUST GO.

Jerry Cavallaro  – www.StuckLikeChuck.com