25/04/2006

Since the Tribeca Festival was founded in 2002 by Robert de Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkof it has been an excellent showcase for European cinema. At this year’s edition (April 25–May 7), Germany will be represented by seven films, two of which will feature in competition.

The first is The Free Will by Matthias Glasner. The three-hour plus film, produced by Colonia Media, Label 131 and Schwarzweiss Filmproduktion, and featured in competition at this year’s Berlinale, tells the story of a rapist who spends nine months in a psychiatric hospital. The second is A Perfect Day [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Joana Hadjithomas and Khail Joreige (see review). This French/Lebanese co-production describes life in Beirut 15 years after the war.

Alongside the Competition section for documentaries, the Iranian/US/German co-production Sounds of Silence by Amir Hamz and Mark Lazarz will have its international premiere, while the International Showcase sidebar section will give New York audiences a chance to discover Eden, a charming culinary comedy produced by Gambit Film, which was first screened at Rotterdam. Its director Michael Hofmann recently told Cineuropa that the film received much acclaim in San Francisco.

Piet DeRycker and Thilo Graf Rothkirch will present the animated film Laura’s Star (see interview with DeRycker), co-produced with Rothkirch through his Berlin-based company, and Guilio Ricciarelli will also speak about childhood in his short Vincent. The Restored/Rediscovered section also includes the German/Portuguese co-production Burning Patience (1983) on the life of Pablo Neruda, taken from Antonio Skármeta’s novel, on which Il postino was also based.

(Translated from French)