Binside TV: KANYE WEST SPOTTED @ VANITY FAIR PARTY ROBERT DE NIRO, JANE ROSENTHAL, UMA THURMAN AND SPIKE LEE KICK-OFF 2009 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL

The Tribeca Film Festival kicked off yesterday with an opening day press conference and celeb packed Vanity Fair party. Rapper Kanye West was spotted at the swanky soiree. This year's festival is featuring premieres from Steven Soderbergh (The Girl Friend Experience), Spike Lee (Kobe Doin' Work) and Woody Allen (Whatever Works). Woody Allen's film marks the director's return to his New York roots with this comedy starring Larry David. The film is scheduled to have it's red carpet premiere this evening. We caught a pre-festival screening of the 70's blaxploitation spoof Black Dynamite which was a crowd pleaser at Sundance and is a definite must see. Click here for more pics...

Tribeca Film Festival co-founders Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal kicked off the eighth annual Tribeca Film Festival at the Borough of Manhattan Community College in lower Manhattan. De Niro and Rosenthal were joined by Uma Thurman, who will serve as a juror for the World Narrative competition and who announced her fellow 2009 Festival jurors, Spike Lee, who directed two films featured in this year’s Festival, and Rich Lehrfeld, VP, Global Sponsorship and Experiential Marketing for American Express, the founding sponsor of the Festival.

The 2009 Tribeca Film Festival will run from April 22 – May 3 and will include 85 features and 46 short films representing 36 different countries. The film slate, chosen from 4,720 submissions, features 45 world premieres, 5 international premieres, 15 North American premieres, 3 U.S. premieres and 12 New York premieres. In addition to the film line-up, there will also be an array of panel discussions, valuable networking opportunities for filmmakers and the industry, gala premieres of highly anticipated new studio releases – including Sony Pictures Classics’ Whatever Works and Fox Searchlight Pictures’ My Life in Ruins – and a number of free, community events, including the Tribeca Drive-In, the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Day and the Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair.

“At its core, our Festival has always been about great films; but it has also been about community and renewal. These themes were resonant right after we founded the Festival after 9/11, as well as in the years that followed and especially now – at a time of such uncertainty for so many people struggling with the global economic crisis. In good times and bad, people love to go to the movies, and we are thrilled to be here once again to present 12 days of films and events that will appeal to the industry and the general public alike. Whether you’re an accomplished filmmaker or just need a way to escape everyday life for a few hours, there’s something for you at Tribeca,” said Rosenthal.

“It’s great to see how much the Festival has grown since we began in 2002 and how it has impacted the neighborhood,” said De Niro. “We invite everyone to come to Tribeca to enjoy all that our Festival has to offer – from great films to industry gatherings to free community events.”

“Year after year, the Tribeca Film Festival brings a vibrant energy to New York City and excitement to filmmakers, film fans, and merchants in the local communities," said Rich Lehrfeld, VP, Global Sponsorship and Experiential Marketing, American Express. “American Express is proud to continue our support of the Festival as we have since its inception, driving business to local merchants, celebrating filmmakers and the art of storytelling, and creating unforgettable experiences for our Cardmembers.”

“I want to thank American Express, our founding partner, who was with us from the very beginning when we set out to drive business, energy and excitement downtown post-9/11. They have offered unwavering support of that original mission and of the art of filmmaking and storytelling in a most powerful way,” added Rosenthal, who also noted, “We are grateful to all our partners and corporate sponsors – returning and new – who make our programming possible.”

“I’m so proud of the films we are showing this year, from the heaviest hitting documentary to the lightest comedy, there is something for everyone. I can’t wait for to share the films with our audience,” said Nancy Schafer, Executive Director of the Tribeca Film Festival.

Jurors for the competitive categories were announced by Academy Award-nominated actress Uma Thurman.

“For me, and for people everywhere who love film, Tribeca has become a major event to which we all look forward with anticipation. And as a New Yorker, it’s been wonderful to see the impact the festival has had on the City. This year is especially exciting because I get to be a part of it as a juror. I look forward to watching some incredible films,” said Thurman.

Following is a list of the 2009 Festival jurors and their respective categories:

World Competition Categories:

The jurors for the 2009 World Narrative Competition are Bradley Cooper, Richard Fischoff, Todd Haynes, Meg Ryan and Uma Thurman.
The jurors for the 2009 World Documentary Competition are Liz Garbus, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. , Whoopi Goldberg, Morgan Spurlock and Brian Williams.

New York Competition Categories:

The 2009 Best New York Narrative jurors are Adrien Brody, Karen Durbin, Richard Ledes, Melissa Leo, Parker Posey, Andre Leon Talley and Beau Willimon.
The 2009 Best New York Documentary jurors are Jon Robin Baitz, Mary Boone, Marc Ecko, Douglas Keeve and Rachael Ray.

Short Film Competition Categories:

The 2009 Narrative Short jurors are Thomas Haden Church, James Franco, Mary Harron, Debra Messing and Mary-Kate Olsen.
The 2009 Documentary and Student Short jurors are Bobby Cannavale, Gael Greene, AJ Jacobs, Rachel Maddow and Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.

Celebrated filmmaker and proud New Yorker Spike Lee was also on hand to talk about being a part of the Tribeca Film Festival for the first time. Lee directed two films in this year’s Festival – Kobe Doin’ Work, which will have its world premiere as part of the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival, and Passing Strange, which will have its New York premiere and screen as part of a special panel discussion for American Express cardmembers. Additionally, Lee serves as an Ambassador for the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival, which in just its third year, the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film has become the premier showcase for independent films about sports and competition.

“Glad I'm part of a great NY Film Institution,” said Spike Lee. “Looking forward to Premiering Passing Strange and Kobe Doin' Work with the great Tribeca Film Festival.”

To showcase the variety and strength of this year’s film slate, which Schafer noted has “something for everyone,” she showed clips from four highly-anticipated Festival films during today’s press conference:

TiMER. Directed and written by Jac Schaeffer. (USA) – World Premiere. Finding true love is easier than ever thanks to a bio-technological implant called the TiMER, which counts down to the exact time people meet their soul mates. Love-starved Oona (Emma Caulfield, TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer) is pushing 30, but her TiMER hasn't even started counting down yet. What's worse, she's falling for a guy (John Patrick Amedori, Gossip Girl) who is set to meet his true love in four months. Newcomer Jac Schaeffer crafts a smart romantic comedy that leaves behind the burning question… would you want to know?
Burning Season. Directed by Cathy Henkel. (Australia) – International Premiere. TFF award winner Henkel returns with this powerful portrait of three lives affected by deliberately lit fires raging across Indonesia. Destroying pristine rainforest, endangering wildlife, and contributing to climate change, these fires only benefit the lucrative palm oil industry. Following a carbon-trading entrepreneur, an orangutan rescuer, and a palm oil farmer, this doc inspirationally shows those caught at the intersection of big business and conservation. Hugh Jackman narrates.
Vegas: Based on a True Story. Directed by Amir Naderi, written by Susan Brennan, Bliss Esposito, Charlie Lake Keaton and Naderi. (USA) – North American Premiere. Returning to the Festival, acclaimed director Amir Naderi applies his inimitable cinematic style to Vegas. The film takes place away from the glittering strip of luxury mega casinos, but the judgment-clouding greed of Sin City is just as pervasive on the desert outskirts of town, where an otherwise happy family is thrown into turmoil after learning of a forgotten fortune that may be buried beneath their scrubby little home.
Racing Dreams. Directed by Marshall Curry. (USA) – World Premiere. What Little League is to baseball, go-karting is to auto racing. Oscar®-nominated director Marshall Curry (Street Fight) follows the exhilarating and emotional journeys of three top racers competing for the national championship. Three adolescents and their families must discover if they have the talent and dedication—and sponsorship dollars—to one day become NASCAR superstars. Part of the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival.

Prior to the screening of these clips, Schafer welcomed and introduced the directors of these four films. Schaffer is a first time filmmaker and new to Tribeca, while Australian filmmaker Henkel won the Best Feature Documentary Award at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival, Curry won the Audience Award at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival for his documentary Street Fight, which went on to be nominated for an Academy Award, and Naderi returns to Tribeca for the third time, having previously debuted two films during the 2003 and 2004 Tribeca Film Festivals.

About the Tribeca Film Festival
Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff founded the Tribeca Film Festival in 2001 following the attacks on the World Trade Center, New York City to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of the lower Manhattan district through an annual celebration of film, music and culture. The Festival’s mission is to help filmmakers reach the broadest possible audience, enable the international film community and general public to experience the power of cinema and promote New York City as a major filmmaking center.

Tribeca Film Festival is well known for being a diverse international film festival that supports emerging and established directors. The Tribeca Festival has screened over 1,100 films from over 80 countries since its first festival in 2002. Since its founding, it has attracted an international audience of more than two million attendees and has generated over $530 million in economic activity for New York City.