Tribeca Film Fest to Offer Virtual Premium Access
The Tribeca Film Fest, the festival co-founded by Robert De Niro, is going virtual, according to a post on its blog, offering film fans around the country a chance to engage online with the films and filmmakers being feted.
Beginning April 23, those who purchase a Virtual Premium pass will get “full backstage access” to the festival goings-on, which means being able to watch eight or more of the feature films premiering at the festival and red carpet coverage, and to participate in live Q&As with the filmmakers (according to a representative for the fest, these chats will be text-based).
The Virtual Premium pass costs $45 — which isn’t too bad, given that you get to watch yet-to-premiere films like Edward Burns’s Nice Guy Johnny or opening night selection Shrek Forever After. The pass is not available to international audiences, though, and the red carpet live-streaming will be available to the general public, not just pass holders.
However, full passes to the physical fest cost $250-$450 (though you can buy tickets for individual films separately). That extra $200 might be worth the chance to touch Shrek star Cameron Diaz in person — something the Internet can’t currently replicate. But you’ll also probably have to get out of your pajamas.
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This is a very innovative marketing approach by the people behind Tribeca. The Tribeca Film Festival has a very strong brand name, and they are leveraging that name to bring the festival to audiences all around the world that can’t make it to NYC. I don’t think they need to have any concern about losing some attendance by making this offering, as there is still nothing like being at the festival and experiencing these movies for the first time with an audience. As I understand it, having the opportunity to live stream the premiere of a feature movie going on at a festival has never been done before, at least not for movies of this caliber. Looking forward to seeing the stats about the performance of this new venture by Tribeca. Could be a new model for film festivals worldwide.
I totally agree — the only catch is that the full pass is only available in the United States, not around the world.
Agreed.
Sophie in Canada
So disappointed it’s isn’t being made available worldwide.
Ben
Australia