In its 23rd year, the Tribeca Festival is back in lower Manhattan from June 5-16, showcasing the top emerging and established film and content creators. With over 13,000 submissions, the 2024 festival will include 103 features from 114 filmmakers in 48 countries with 30 movies directed by first-time filmmakers.
The festival operation sprawls across Manhattan with feature and short film premieres, curated panels and talks, live music and podcasts, games and immersive experiences all with the goal of “eventizing” each offering. “We’re always trying to make sure the experience is bespoke for everyone while maintaining an identity and a feel that works for everybody and makes sense. We always have that spirit of experimentation in the types of programming we do.
With a focus on transactional video-on-demand and ad-based video-on-demand with streaming platforms spanning The Roku Channel, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube Movies & TV, Kanopy Peacock and others, Tribeca Films aims to acquire 25 films annually. “There are some overlooked bright spots of monetization with academic institutions, education, and public library streaming,” said Savaa about the financial outlook for independent creators.
As the 2024 festival nears, support for creators is in large part due to its organizers – many of whom have been with the company for over a decade. José F. Rodriguez, now a Senior Programmer at the Tribeca Film Festival started in 2010 at the Tribeca Film Institute nonprofit which closed operations in 2020. An an entry level associate, Rodriguez gave grants to filmmakers tackling urgent timely stories and went on to run workshops in Latin America, bringing storytellers to the U.S.
“The Creators Market was way for us to recover the incubator at a time when so many funds are going by the wayside and the funding world keeps shrinking – it’s even more important for us to expand and bolster what we do for creators,” said Rodriguez.