The Tribeca Film Festival has announced the first of the 34 films to be screened in its ninth edition.
The films include 24 World Narrative and Documentary Competition films as well as the out-of-competition feature film selections in the Showcase and Special Events strands.
The festival - running from April 21 to May 2 - will feature 45 world premieres in its line-up. Twenty of the 96 directors are returning TFF filmmakers. The 2010 film slate was chosen from a total of 5,055 submissions, a record number for the Festival.
There is, as always a British and Irish presence in this year's slate, including the world premiere of artist-turned-director Clio Barnard's The Arbor - focusing on playwright Andrea Dunbar's troubled relationship with her daughter.
Irish films My Brothers, directed by Paul Fraser (best knownn for writing Somers Town and Dead Man's Shoes) and Snap, directed by Carmel Winters will also receive their world premiere. My Brothers tells the story of three boys' emotional odyssey to replace their dying father's watch, while Winters' film is a tense psychological drama about history repeating itself for three generations of a family.
This year for the first time, audiences will have the opportunity to experience the Festival from their homes. Through video-on-demand, more than 40 million households will have access to 12 feature length films acquired by the recently launched Tribeca Film.
Seven of the 12 films are part of the 2010 TFF line-up and will be screened day-and-date with the Festival; they include two titles in the Showcase section. Additionally, audiences across the US will be able to watch a selection of films through the Tribeca Film Festival Virtual. TFF Virtual will also feature panel discussions, Q&A’s with filmmakers and actors, live TFF red carpet action and more—all via the internet.
Festival executive diretor Nancy Shafer said: “I’m energized by the strong line up of films this year.
"While it’s an incredibly exciting time for Tribeca with the launch of Tribeca Film and the Tribeca Film Festival Virtual—expanding our reach so more and more people can engage in the festival experience—the Tribeca Film Festival is still the heart and soul of what we do. We are looking forward to the New York City audiences seeing these great films.”
Director of programming David Kwok added: “This year’s competition, the core of the Festival, represents contemporary international filmmaking at its finest, bringing together fresh voices with established storytellers. These stories will leave audiences engaged, as well as entertained, which is what our Festival is all about.
"We also take tremendous pride in all of the filmmakers who are returning to Tribeca to premiere their films with us.”
