For the first time, the sixteenth annual Tribeca Film Festival will accept submissions in new categories including virtual reality, episodic television, and digital entertainment, organizers announced today. Previously, the festival only accepted submissions for feature films, short films, Storyscapes (featuring both art installations and VR content for experiential storytelling), and The Tribeca X Award — which launched last year to celebrate branded storytelling.
At next year’s event, to be held from April 19 to April 30 in New York City, creators can apply to have their work debut within Tribeca’s Virtual Arcade, which will feature VR and augmented reality creations, as well as 360 films. The festival’s television section and its N.O.W. program (which stands for ‘new online work’) are also open for submissions. (While Tribeca has showcased and highlighted digital content in the past, this is the first time it is opening up submissions for all creators).
“Tribeca is a forward-thinking storytelling festival and we have been supporting work that goes beyond the big screen for many years,” said festival director Genna Terranova in a statement. “As the technology and tools proliferate in the creative community and new distribution models emerge, we feel it is the right time to expand and support artists on these growing platforms in a broader way.”
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Submissions for this year’s festival will open on Sept. 6. The early deadline for feature and short films, TV and episodic storytelling, and online work is Oct. 19, while the official entry deadline is Nov. 23. The deadline for short films and experiential storytelling entries is Dec. 2, and Feb. 15 is the official deadline for Tribeca X.
At the same time as it announced these expansions for the 2017 festival, Tribeca said it will continue to host The Nora Ephron Prize, which annually bestows $25,000 upon a female filmmaker whose work embodies Ephron’s spirit and vision. And Cara Cusumano, who has been with Tribeca since 2008, has been named director of programming, and will be responsible for spearheading feature film and TV programming at this year’s festival. Previously, Cusumano served as a programmer for Tribeca.
