Tribeca Film Festival opens its 13th edition
Baku, April 17 (AZERTAC). When the Tribeca Film Festival opens its 13th edition on Wednesday, it will embrace a New York state of mind.
The selection also marks a win for the Tribeca Film Institute, the festival`s nonprofit organization, which supports some 60 independent projects each year. Although it can claim its third straight Academy Award nominee in as many years—the most recent is "Cutie and the Boxer"—"Illmatic" marks the first time a film backed by the institute has been chosen to open the festival.
Nathan and Ida Handwerker are featured in the documentary `Famous Nathan.` Daniel Farrell
The movie, which focuses on how Nas`s work was shaped by his childhood in Long Island City`s Queensbridge Houses and his relationship with his father, musician Olu Dara, "wasn`t just a sycophantic music documentary," said Beth Janson, the institute`s executive director.
The story struck One9 and Mr. Parker in 2004, when the longtime friends encountered Mr. Dara, a charismatic presence in city jazz circles since the 1970s.
Then the music editor at Vibe, Mr. Parker had a notion to expand on the magazine`s coverage of "Illmatic`s" 10th anniversary.
Though the filmmakers, both 42 years old, received their subject`s blessing early on, it took years for the project to coalesce. Assistance from the Ford Foundation included a 2013 production grant for $200,000 from its JustFilms initiative, which allowed the pair to work on it full-time.
In 2013, the Tribeca Institute also backed the documentary with a grant through Tribeca All Access.
A Tribeca All Access Alumni grant this year helped the pair complete the film, and they received the inaugural Candescent Award, also overseen by the institute.
Other news in this section
