Tribeca All Access Alumni Projects Planet B Boy and Lillie & Leander to have World Premiere at Tribeca Film Festival

[New York, NY – March 21, 2007] – Tribeca Film Festival, presented by American Express, along with the Tribeca Film Institute today announced the selected projects for Tribeca All Access (TAA), a program designed to help foster relationships between film industry executives and filmmakers from traditionally underrepresented communities. Tribeca All Access will present 32 new projects at the five-day event, which runs April 25 – 29 during this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, held from April 25 – May 6.

TAA, in its 4th year, will provide the participating directors and screenwriters the opportunity to meet one-on-one with more than 100 potential investors, development executives, producers, and agents in prescheduled meetings. The 32 narrative and documentary directors and screenwriters selected to participate represent members of the African American, Latino, Asian American, Native American and Pacific Islander communities. This year’s TAA projects span a range of topics, from a romantic comedy starring a neurotic lesbian to a documentary that goes inside the world of a professional league of born-again Christian wrestlers.

“Tribeca All Access is now a recognized incubator for U.S.-based writing and directing talent,” said Jane Rosenthal, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Institute. “We are very proud to present this platform to celebrate a multiplicity of filmmaking voices.”

Two alumni of the 2005 TAA program – Benson Lee and Jeffrey Morgan – will have their works premiere at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. Director Benson Lee will present the world premiere of ‘Planet B-Boy,’ a documentary film on world championship break dancing, in Documentary Competition. Jeffrey Morgan will present the world premiere of ‘Lillie & Leander: A Legacy of Violence,’ a feature-length documentary that examines what happens when a woman stumbles upon an explosive family secret that hints at decades of racially charged murders. Morgan’s film will play in this year’s Discovery program.

“Tribeca All Access is about identifying talent and challenging expectations,” said Beth Janson, TAA Program Director for the Tribeca Film Institute. “We are extremely proud of our selections this year and look forward to facilitating many new and exciting relationships.”

This month, Dennis Lee, winner of the 2005 TAA Creative Promise Award is scheduled to go into production on his feature directorial debut ‘Fireflies In The Garden’ with Ryan Reynolds, Emily Watson, Carrie Ann Moss and Julia Roberts. 

“Tribeca All Access was a turning point in my career,” said Lee. “It’s a congenial and nurturing program that offers invaluable insight into the film industry. The connections I made through TAA continue to enhance my career.”

2007 Tribeca All Access participants were selected from an open call for submissions, which garnered over 300 entries from across the country. Two filmmakers and one screenwriter will be awarded the Tribeca All Access Creative Promise Award, which comes with a prize of $10,000 for narrative and documentary and $5,000 for screenwriting. Announcements regarding the winners will be made at the Tribeca All Access Awards Ceremony at the Tribeca Film Center on April 28th.

TAA is made possible by Bloomberg. Additional support provided by NYC Economic Development Corporation, Time Warner Inc., and the New York State Council on the Arts.