Tribeca Film Group Set to Undertake New Business Venture

The New York Times reports that The Tribeca Film Festival is set to become associated with a new business venture to distribute films digitally and in theaters under its name.  The initiative also focuses on releasing films online to the public at the same time that they will be playing at the festival.

The appeal of film festivals has been faltering due to the hardships faced by independent filmmakers from the collapse of traditional financing resources and the existence of distributors such as Miramax Films and Warner Independent Pictures.  Other festivals, such as Sundance and South by Southwest, have previously made efforts to alter their style of distribution.  YouTube set up a rental service designed for viewers to have access to certain films as they premiered at Sundance and South by Southwest had some of its films available on Amazon and iTunes simultaneously with their premieres.

Tribeca is taking a different approach by distributing its content under the name Tribeca Film, thus being able to maintain the promotional appeal of a film festival in its ventures.   According to Jane Rosenthal, a producer and co-founder of the festival, the plans are to release ten films a year through video-on-demand and sometimes theatrically.  Five of the new venture’s releases are set for distribution accompanying their premiere at Tribeca.  Some of these include “Climate Change,” a documentary about environmental activism and “Road, Movie,” a film about a road trip through India.

At this time, Tribeca only has deals with cable and telecom operators such as Comcast, Cablevision and Verizon FiOS to release movies on a pay-per-view basis.  These mediums will only be able to reach about 40 million households.  Geoff Gilmore, chief creative officer of Tribeca Enterprises, noted that it would take time to strike a balance between the curatorial functions of the festival and the commercial aspects of Tribeca Films.

The way theatrical distribution is going to be handled still hasn’t been decided; according to Ms. Rosenthal, the focus for now will be on digital media, including DVD releases.