Whalar partnership brings creator vertical to this year’s Tribeca Festival

Creators are coming back to New York City’s most prominent film festival. The Tribeca Festival is partnering with influencer marketing firm Whalar Group to establish a creator-oriented vertical, beginning with this year’s event.

According to Deadline, the vertical will launch with a talk that will take place at the 2024 Tribeca Festival. On June 8, filmmaker Archie Gips will sit down with Brandon Edelman and Coco Mocoe. Both of those creators are Whalar partners who entertain millions of TikTok followers with comedic and trendy takes.

Deadline notes that the talk will span a diverse cross-section of topics that matter in the creator economy. Attendees can expect Gips, Edelman, and Mocoe to touch on engagement, fandoms, and storytelling, among other subjects.

Whalar will continue the conversation at the “creator campuses

” it has set up through an initiative called The Lighthouse. At Lighthouse spaces in New York and Los Angeles, Whalar will establish a year-round series of talks and events.

“Creators are at the heart of everything we do, it’s woven into our DNA,” said Whalar Co-Founder and Co-CEO Neil Waller in a statement. “This partnership with Tribeca is a thrilling step forward, as they share our deep commitment to the art of brand storytelling.”

This is not the first time creator content has found a spot for itself at the Tribeca Festival. Nearly a decade ago, Tribeca presented a showcase of scripted projects led by digital native creators and startups. More recently, the festival served as the premiere venue for The YouTube Effect, a documentary directed by Bill and Ted co-star Alex Winter.

Tribeca Enterprises Co-Founder and Co-CEO Jane Rosenthal stated that the festival’s return to creator-centric programming is part of an effort to go “where our audience goes.” The other verticals at Tribeca are Film, TV, Music, Audio Storytelling, Games, and Immersive. More details about the annual gathering — which began on June 5 — can be found on its website.