Global Showbiz Briefs: Tribeca Heads To UK; New Zealand Film Revenues Surpass $3B; Sundance London; Odin’s Eye
Tribeca Expands In UK
The Tribeca Film Festival is coming to the UK, after a fashion. Distributor Tribeca Film will release select titles from the festival across multiple platforms in the region beginning April 16 and for an eight-week run. The movies, including two that are screening at the festival this year, will be accessible via pay-per-view with Virgin Media and on select digital platforms including iTunes, PlayStation, and Xbox. Greetings From Tim Buckley and Fresh Meat along with previous fest selections Supporting Characters, Rubberneck, Monogamy and The Wild And Wonderful Whites Of West Virginia will be available. Tribeca chief creative officer Geoff Gilmore tells me the festival is also exploring the initiative in places beyond the UK. “We want to see how the model works and how much the Tribeca Festival brand can expand.” Gilmore says it’s clear that festival platforms are “something you have to take advantage of in the distribution world.
‘The Hobbit’ Helps New Zealand Post Bumper Film Revenues
New Zealand chalked up $NZ1.04B ($880M) in feature film revenues in 2012, jumping by 47% on the prior year, according to a Statistics New Zealand survey. Total screen industry revenues hit $3.3B, up 10%, and surpassing $3B for the first time since the industry survey began in 2005. Film revenue from Wellington, where Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit movies are based, was $828M, up 67%. However, demonstrating that the Kiwi industry is not defined purely by Middle Earth, 40 feature films were completed last year, five more than in 2011. New Zealand Film Commission CEO Graeme Mason said the commission is currently involved in more than 20 local features. He noted The Hobbit films qualified for the country’s Large Budget Screen Production Grants and that Jane Campion’s miniseries Top Of The Lake was accessed by the Screen Production Incentive Fund. TV broadcasting revenues grew by 4% to $1.3B.
Sundance London Lists Talks
Sundance Institute and The O2 have lined up the series of talks for Sundance London, the film and music festival that kicks off its second edition this month. The festival is a showcase for U.S. indie films that screened earlier this year in Park City. Among the panels are a discussion with the creative team behind Sundance Institute including its director, John Cooper, director of the feature film program international, Paul Federbush, and director of programming,Trevor Groth. Filmmakers Francesca Gregorini (Emanuel And The Truth About Fishes), Jeff Nichols (Mud) and Jordan Vogt-Roberts (The Kings Of Summer) will also be on hand as will documentary directors Barbara Kopple, Roger Ross Williams and Gabriela Cowperthwaite. Sundance Institute’s Keri Putnam and Kickstarter’s Kendel Ratley will lead a discussion on fundraising and audience building. For the full list of talks and musical acts click here.
Odin’s Eye Taps Ildi Toth Davy
Ildi Toth Davy has joined Odin’s Eye Entertainment as Los Angeles-based based head of international sales and acquisitions. Davy has been managing director, sales and acquisitions, at Altadena Films, which she founded with Joe Dreier and Steven Mackler in 2007, and also worked for Overseas Film Group/First Look. In the LA office she joins Andrew Hazelton, a former Village Roadshow exec who serves as VP of distribution and marketing. Both report to Odin’s Eye Entertainment Sydney-based founder Michael Favelle. The international sales and distribution company’s slate includes Chinese adventure One Mile Above, which opens in the U.S. on June 8 in a co-venture with Milt Barlow’s newly established Asia Releasing, UK horror comedy Stalled, Australian WW1 drama Forbidden Ground and Dutch thriller Taped. – Don Groves
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