Tribeca Film to Launch Four Movies on VOD During Tribeca Film Festival

Tribeca Film announced Monday the four titles it will release on VOD during the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival: The Giant Mechanical Man, Death of a Superhero, Sleepless Night and Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story, a documentary whose North American rights the company recently acquired. The festival runs April 18-29 in New York City.

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Directed by Raymond De Felitta, Booker's Place looks at the fight for civil rights through the life of Booker Wright. De Felitta and David Zellerford produced the Eyepatch Productions project. Tribeca Film's Nick Savva negotiated the deal with Steven Beer of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, on behalf of the filmmakers. De Felitta's City Island won the audience award at the Tribeca fest in 2009 before grossing $7.9 million worldwide in theaters.

“Tribeca Film was founded as a distribution platform to help filmmakers find audiences and, equally important, audiences find films utilizing new connections and strategies,” said Tribeca Enterprises chief creative officer Geoff Gilmore. “To that end, we are pleased to support these four features. They embody the exceptional artistry and personal resonance that filmmaking at its finest can provide, and we are proud to be able to share these films with audiences across the country.”

From April 17 through June 19, three of the films will be available via cable, telco and satellite systems, as well as online via digital VOD services. Booker's Place will begin its VOD run April 26. Tribeca Film will roll out the films theatrically during the same period.

Tribeca Film has recently released Last Night, Brother's Justice and Detachment.

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Below are further details on the VOD premieres:

BOOKER’S PLACE: A MISSISSIPPI STORY, directed by Raymond De Felitta. (USA) – World Premiere in TFF’s Spotlight section. In 1965, filmmaker Frank De Felitta made a documentary for NBC News about the changing times in Mississippi that featured Booker Wright – an African-American waiter who worked in a “whites only” restaurant. Booker went on national television and exploded the myth of who he was and his position serving the white community. 46 years later, Frank’s son, director Raymond De Felitta (CITY ISLAND, TWO FAMILY HOUSE), documents a journey into the past and current-day Mississippi with Booker’s granddaughter, in search of who Booker Wright was, the intricacies surrounding his courageous life and untimely murder, and the role Frank De Felitta’s documentary may have played in it. BOOKER’S PLACE will begin a theatrical release on April 25 in L.A. and April 27 in New York.

DEATH OF A SUPERHERO, directed by Ian Fitzgibbon, written by Anthony McCarten. (Ireland, Germany) – U.S. premiere in TFF’s Viewpoints section. Donald is a teenager with extraordinary talents, wild daydreams, and a bright future as an artist of fantastical graphic novels. But when Donald discovers that a very real enemy is trying to kill him, an unorthodox psychologist tries to help him find the light in an otherwise dark world. Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Andy Serkis and Aisling Loftus star in this exceptionally honest drama about discovering life, love, and death. DEATH OF A SUPERHERO will have a limited theatrical release beginning May 4.

THE GIANT MECHANICAL MAN, directed and written by Lee Kirk. (USA) – World Premiere in TFF’s Spotlight section. Thirty-somethings Janice (Jenna Fischer) and Tim (Chris Messina) haven’t quite learned how to navigate adulthood. Tim is a street performer whose unique talents as a “living statue” don’t exactly pay the bills. Janice is out of work and under pressure by her sister (Malin Akerman) to date an egotistical self-help guru (Topher Grace). In this charming comedic romance, these two strangers help each other to realize that it only takes one person to make you feel important. THE GIANT MECHANICAL MAN will have a limited theatrical release starting April 27 in New York.

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SLEEPLESS NIGHT (Nuit Blanche), directed by Frederic Jardin, written by Frederic Jardin and Nicolas Saada. (France, Belgium, Luxembourg) – New York Premiere in TFF’s Cinemania section. Vincent is a dedicated police officer, or so it seems. After he steals a massive bag of cocaine, his young son winds up being held for ransom by the mob boss it belongs to. When Vincent travels to the outskirts of Paris to trade the drugs for his son, he gets caught in an intense cat-and-mouse game that quickly spirals out of control. This night might not only be the longest of his life—it could be the last. SLEEPLESS NIGHT will have a limited theatrical release beginning May 11 in New York.