“Unless you happen to be Tom Cruise, launching a new movie today is a study in frustration. Or self-destruction.”So states one veteran indie film distributor commenting on the current film market (see below), whose testimony is supported by the filmmakers and wannabes gathered this week at the Tribeca Festival.Tribeca marks the start of festival season in the U.S., where opportunity and disaster loom side by side.
Indie filmmakers view Tribeca as a delicious launching pad, but this year its agenda is also crammed with streamers, music, audio awards, assorted activist presentations and even celebrity sightings: Taylor Swift will introduce her new short and Wednesday night saw Jennifer Lopez tout her new documentary Halftime, which was the festival’s opening film but, even with Lopez’s promotional clout, will not have a theatrical release.
It debuts on Netflix next Tuesday. There will also be premieres of indie dramas and rom-coms, but they’ll take some work to find.
Tribeca dropped the word “film” from its title, so its busy program reflects the content maze: It’ll be tougher than ever to discover the next Last Picture Show or Sex, Lies and Videotape, those revered “sleepers” from generations past.
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