Tribeca Film Festival Features To Be Available On Video On Demand

New York City, NY, United States (AHN) – Most film festivals are limited to the multiplex, but movie organizers have ideas to change that format.

The organizers of the Tribeca Film Festival have announced plans to bring the lineup of this year’s event to viewers at home by premiering numerous selections on cable and satellite outlet Video On Demand. the films are set to debut on the Movies On Demand channel April 21 along with the first-runs of the movies at the festival itself. The films will also be available in hotels, on airplanes and other such platforms.

The film festival is run by Tribeca Enterprises, started in 2003 by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, in cooperation with American Express.

“We are excited to be offering audiences more choices through Tribeca Film,” said Geoff Gilmore, Tribeca chief creative officer, in a press release. “One of Tribeca’s missions has always been to find new ways for audiences to discover film and for filmmakers to get attention for their work. We feel Tribeca Film gives us a way to accomplish that, not just in conjunction with the Tribeca Film Festival but year-round and nationwide.”

A wide array of films will be on the slate for the dual premieres. Among the 12 arranged for VOD and the film festival alike are the BMX documentary “The Birth of Big Air,” featuring work by “Jackass” creators Spike Jonze, Johnny Knoxville and Jeff Tremaine; the culture clash comedy “The Infidel”; the futuristic cartoon “Metropia,” with voices by Vincent Gallo, Udo Kier, Juliette Lewis and Stellan and Alexander Skarsgård; and the BAFTA-nominated testament to punk music “sex & drugs & rock & roll,” starring “The Lord of the Rings” actor Andy Serkis.

Other films premiering will also be available for free on ESPN, with which Tribeca is partnered. These include Spike Lee’s L.A. Lakers-centric documentary “Kobe Doin’ Work” and the Albert Maysles and Bradley Kaplan-directed boxing documentary “Muhammad and Larry,” focusing on Muhammad Ali’s 1980 defeat to younger contender Larry Holmes.

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