My most recent search on my beloved new Internet obsession, Wikipedia, was not used to do research for a paper or to cram for a midterm; it was to see just how this online encyclopedia defined “film festival,” or specifically the Tribeca Film Festival, which is running through May 4.
Last time I checked, film festivals such as the up-and-coming Tribeca Film Festival were made to showcase the work of independent and little known filmmakers in search of a distribution deal, funding for their next project or just general networking opportunities. I needed a new definition for film festival after seeing photos from Tribeca’s opening night premiere of “Baby Mama.”
Wikipedia says Tribeca “offers moviegoers a wide variety of independent films,” yet all the news I’ve seen concerning the festival has been limited to studio pictures such as “Speed Racer,” which will close the festival this Sunday, and “Baby Mama”.
While both seem like high-quality films, it is a bit strange that the current number one movie in America (“Baby Mama”) and one of the summer’s most anticipated films (“Speed Racer”) would be the highlights of a film festival geared toward independent filmmaking.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not biased against studio fare but there is a distinction to be made. For example, it was announced last week that “Burn After Reading,” the new comedy from the Coen Brothers, will open this summer’s Cannes Film Festival. Although the film has a powerhouse distributor in Universal Picture’s art house label, Focus Features, Cannes has always been known to screen both independent and big-budget pictures. Tribeca, on the other hand, is supposed to be geared toward independent filmmaking and “promoting New York City as a major filmmaking center,” according to the festival’s official Web site.
So why waste precious screening time on flashy buzzed-about films such as “Speed Racer” and past Tribeca opener, “Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones” when they were not even filmed in New York?
Sure Tribeca is no Sundance, the holy grail of film festivals for independent filmmakers hoping to be the next Tarantino or Kevin Smith, but they shouldn’t shy away from the main cause of promoting NYC and independent film just to get bigger name panels or more media coverage.
In the movie industry today, the domination of powerful conglomerates makes it more difficult for indie filmmakers to break through, and subsequently makes screening times at festivals such as Tribeca a precious commodity.
A commodity not even Tina Fey or George Lucas should be able to take away.
If you think “Baby Mama” deserves all the publicity it can get, e-mail Stanhope at kstanhope@media.ucla.edu.