By Aileen Torres
The Tribeca Family Festival begins tomorrow, Sat. May 1 and continues through the next Sat. It will feature film screenings, workshops and panels. The culminating event will be a street fair on May 8, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
A total of 10 feature films will be shown, and there will also be two shorts programs, one catering to children at least five years old, and the other geared toward a pre-teen audience.
“The Butterfly Lovers” will be the first film shown. This animated movie from Taiwan by the director Tsai Ming-Ching will screen at 1:00 a.m. on Sat. May 1. There will be a special screening of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s new film, “New York Minute,” also starring Eugene Levy. The movie, directed by Dennie Gordon, will debut on Tues., May 4 at 4:30 p.m.
Another highlight of the Family Film Fest will be ”Blue Butterfly,” a Canadian film directed by Léa Pool about a terminally ill boy who dreams of catching the world’s most beautiful butterfly. One of the characters in the film is an entomologist, based on an actual individual and portrayed by William Hurt. The entomologist accompanies the boy into the Costa Rican rain forest to fulfill his quest.
The real-life entomologist is the host of the Canadian show “Insectia,” and he will be present for the premiere of the film. He will also participate in the street fair by sharing his knowledge of various rare insects.
Then there is the street fair — considered the heart of the Tribeca Family Festival.
“More than anything, it’s a celebration of community,” said Peter J. Downing, Creative Director of the family festival. “It’s unlike any other street fair that’s done in this city, or perhaps even anywhere else, because it’s all about this specific neighborhood.”
The street fair will occupy eight blocks along Greenwich St, from Beach to Duane. Representatives of family-oriented neighborhood stores and restaurants, such as Bubbys and Bazzini will be present, as will representatives of local schools. All the local schools south of Canal have been invited to come to the fair to raise funds or build awareness for their institutions. Local school groups, such as dance groups, hip-hop groups, musical ensembles, or even slam poets, also have the opportunity to perform during the day.
In addition, there will be “really outstanding art collections from the students,” said Downing. The art will be on exhibit in storefronts along Greenwich. There will also be eight-foot tall panels adorning the festival’s main stage created by students from local schools.
Live performances will play on eight stages, both outdoor and indoor. Among those performing are school groups; acappella groups, rock and roll bands, martial arts groups, and gymnasts. More than 50 performers and artists, ranging from amateurs to professionals, will be present.
“Every ten feet you walk, there’s always something going on, something to see,” said Downing. “These street performers, they’re just wonderful surprises, from stilt walkers and clowns, to musicians, magicians, Chinese dragons from Chinatown and drum dancers and all sorts of different arts and crafts, paper folding, so we’re working on embracing a lot more of the ethnic communities downtown this year and should have even more wonderful arts and entertainment elements.”
Twenty-five storytellers will comprise a special program — “one of the largest assembly of storytellers for a single-day event outside of the big storytelling conference that they do in Nashville,” said Downing.
American Express and Scholastic are among this year’s festival sponsors.
“We’re also working with the tourist board of South Africa,” said Downing. “This is the tenth anniversary of freedom in South Africa, so they will have a presence at the film festival and definitely at the family festival, so we’re talking about drummers and Zulu musicians and dancers and all sorts of crafts from Africa.” (See page 63.)
The family street fair and film screenings are just one part, albeit major ones, of the festival, which Robert De Niro began in May 2002.
“De Niro saw the towers fall from his window and had been considering some kind of film festival down here for quite some time,” said Downing. “The tragic events of that fateful day were really what inspired him to quickly set into motion creating a festival that was of, for and inspired by this community – to help revitalize and bring business back.”
The family festival itself has grown since its first year, when it was mainly limited to the street fair.
It continues to be unique, said Downing.
“It kind of comes out of nowhere, appearing for one day and bringing the neighborhood to life in a really wonderful and special way that celebrates the neighborhood. There’s so much to do; no two people’s experience will be exactly the same for the day because there’s just so much to choose from.”
And what truly makes the whole event worthwhile, for Downing, in particular, is the constant sight of smiling faces throughout the day.
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