Last night the Tribeca Film Festival announced the winners of their various jury prizes, and you know what that means: it's time to take another look at the Tribeca 2007 Buzz-O-Meter, my oh-so scientific analysis of the pre-Fest attention derby. Here's a rundown of which films lived up to the buzz, which films didn't, and which come-from-behind contenders soiled the betting pool.
Buzz Fulfilled
Taxi to the Dark Side
Pre-Fest Buzz Class: Earth-Shattering
Pre-Fest Odds of Living Up To Buzz: 10:1
What Happened This Week: Alex Gibney's torture doc won the Festival's highest documentary prize, despite mixed reviews. At indieWIRE alone, Howard Feinstein criticized the film for covering familiar ground and dismissed it as "slow [and] right for TV", while Anthony Kauffman allowed for Taxi's similarities to Sundance hit Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, but said Gibney's film "nevertheless still gripped me by the throat and never let go."
What Happens Now: Expect a distribution deal to be announced soon.
A Walk Into The Sea
Pre-Fest Buzz Class: Earth-Shattering
Pre-Fest Odds of Living Up To Buzz: 5:1
What Happened This Week: Esther Robinson's doc kept up a steady stream of blog buzz throughout the week, ultimately taking the "NY Loves Film" award for best homegrown non-fiction film at the Fest.
What Happens Now: With two major fest prizes in tow (the pic was also named Best Documentary at Berlinale in February), Sea continues its tour of the circuit with screenings at the Seattle International Film Festival later this month.
Still Life
Pre-Fest Buzz Class: Earth-Shattering
Pre-Fest Odds of Living Up To Buzz: 2:1
What Happened This Week: Still Life failed to make a mark on the competition (it lost out in the Narrative feature category to David Volach's My Father My Lord), but nine months after the film's premiere at Venice 2006, it finally secured North American distribution.
What Happens Now: New Yorker Films is planning a platform release, beginning this fall in New York City.
Buzz Deflated
Gardener of Eden
Pre-Fest Buzz Class: Earth-Shattering
Pre-Fest Odds of Living Up To Buzz: 20:1
What Happened This Week: To be fair, Eden earned a fair amount of admiration from the difficult-to-impress Tribeca press, especially considering its dubious pedigree (a highly-stylized directorial effort from a flavor-of-the-month TV star? Considering Tribeca's track record with these sorts of films, it's amazing anyone bothered reviewing this at all). But while director Kevin Connolly and producer Leonardo DiCaprio head back to Hollywood with their share of friendly ink, Eden failed to make an impression on the Tribeca jury. It's also, as of this writing, without a distributor.
What Happens Now: Even as bloggers drool over the Eden poster, the pros express skepticism that the film will ever see the mainstream light of day. As Mike Goodrich put it as Screen Daily, "Leonardo DiCaprio's [involvement] might entice buyers to take the risk, but otherwise there is not enough novelty here to distinguish a low-budget US independent in today's brutally crowded distribution marketplace, domestically and especially overseas."
WTF? Buzz Spoiler
The Education of Charlie Banks
Pre-Fest Buzz Class: Not on the Buzz-O-Meter. I made the crucial mistake of underestimating the directing prowess of the former tattoo artist/rapcore sensation/amateur porn star who gave it all for the nookie. My bad!
What Happened This Week: Um...Durst went to Morimoto with a guy from the New York Times while critics dismissed his film as "facile". Then last night, out of nowhere, Alex Gibney (yeah, that Alex Gibney), Minnie Driver and the rest of the "Made in NY" jury named Charlie Banks as the best locally-produced narrative in the Festival. Weeee!
What Happens Now: One presumes Durst will manage to parlay a combination of this shot of cred and his own F-list celebrity into some sort of distribution deal. But will Tribeca--already a festival desperately in need of an identity fix--*ever* be able to regain its dignity as a showcase for important independent film, after giving The Dude From Limp Bizkit one of their highest salutes?
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