Tribeca '11: Rebranding The Chelsea... Er... Tribeca Film Festival and Street Fair

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Parent Category: Blogs

Category: Eric Lurio

Published on Friday, 22 April 2011 21:27

Written by Eric Lurio

I know, it’s a tradition, but I think it’s about time that the Tribeca Film Festival should change its name. Most film festivals that call themselves after a certain geographic area usually take place there. But not Tribeca, Nooooooo! It hasn’t actually been there for years.

Okay, take this year for example, where the main venue is in Chelsea, at the corner of 23rd Street and 8th Avenue. This is nowhere near Tribeca. The street festival that’s going to take place during this weekend right next to the venue isn’t there either. Nor is the secondary venue, on 2nd Avenue and 12th Street. The opening film is closer to Tribeca, but the World Financial Center's North Cove Marina is actually in Battery Park City.

The fact that there’s a second street fair that really IS in Tribeca has little to do with it.  98% of the films will have been shown by then, and the hoopla surrounding the event will have already begun to fade. Usually only the people from the neighborhood will show up.

Quite clearly, the Tribeca Film Festival is no longer serving its original purpose, as it’s totally divorced from promoting the actual Tribeca neighborhood. And from what I heard the teensy-weensy Manhattan Film Festival, which is takes place at Symphony Space, (at the corner of West 96th and Broadway) is ripe for the picking since it's grown by leaps and bounds.

The Tribeca people should buy it up and re-brand itself. After all, it’s still in Manhattan. The Chicago Film Festival isn’t in Oak Park, the Miami Film Festival isn’t in Fort Lauderdale, and so Tribeca should either be in Tribeca or be called something else.

It’s only logical.

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