2012 Tribeca Film Festival and Tribeca Film Institute Program Juries Announced - Hugh Dancy, Whoopi Goldberg and More

The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), presented by founding partner American Express, today announced its jurors – a diverse group of 39 individuals, including award-winning filmmakers, writers and producers, acclaimed actors, respected critics and global business leaders. Irwin Winkler has been named President of the Jury. The Jury will be divided among the six competitive Festival categories and will announce the winning films, filmmakers and actors in those categories at the TFF Awards Night ceremony, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg on April 26, which will stream live on TribecaFilm.com. The 2012 Festival runs from April 18 –29.

"We are honored to have this accomplished group dedicate the time and care it takes to view and discuss the films in competition this year," said Jane Rosenthal, Co-Founder of the Tribeca Film Festival. 

In addition, the Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) announced the nine individuals who will serve as jurors for the Tribeca All Access (TAA) Creative Promise Awards, presented by Time Warner. The winning projects will be announced during the Tribeca Film Festival on April 26. The non-profit also announced the three jurors for the Latin America Media Arts Fund, including the Heineken VOCES awards. Jurors for the TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund were announced earlier this week. 

The six TFF juries will award $175,000 in cash and prizes. TAA will award an additional $20,000: $10,000 for narrative and $10,000 for documentary. All winners will also receive a work of original art by an acclaimed artist as part of the Tribeca Film Festival Artists Awards program, sponsored by Chanel. In addition, TFI will award $60,000 in grants to Latin American film and video artists, including two $10,000 Heineken VOCES grants for Latin American filmmakers living and working in the United States. 

Following is a list of all 2012 Festival, Tribeca All Access and Tribeca Film Institute jurors and their respective categories. 

World Competition Categories:

The jurors for the 2012 World Narrative Competition are:

• Patricia Clarkson: Oscar, Golden Globe and SAG Award-nominated actress. Films include: Cairo Time, Easy A, Friends with Benefits, Shutter Island, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Whatever Works, Elegy, Lars and the Real Girl, Goodnight and Good Luck, Station Agent, Pieces of April and the upcoming The East.
• Dakota Fanning: SAG Award-nominated actress. Films include: I am Sam, War of the Worlds, The Secret Life of Bees, The Twilight Saga, The Runaways and the upcoming films, Now Is Good and Effie.
• Mike Newell: BAFTA Award-winning director. Films include Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Mona Lisa Smile, Donnie Brasco, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Enchanted April, Dance with a Stranger and the upcoming BBC project Great Expectations.
• Lisa Schwarzbaum: film critic from Entertainment Weekly, her work has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Vogue and More, among other publications. She is a member of the National Society of Film Critics and former chair of the New York Film Critics Circle.
• Jim Sheridan: 6-time Oscar-nominated Irish director. Films include Brothers, Get Rich or Die Tryin', In America, In the Name of the Father, The Field and My Left Foot.
• Irwin Winker: Oscar & BAFTA award-winning producer/director. Films include Rocky, GoodFellas, The Right Stuff, Raging Bull, De-Lovely, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, Guilty by Suspicion and the upcomingThe Wolf of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, to be directed by Martin Scorsese. 

 

The jurors for the 2012 World Documentary Competition are:

• Julia Bacha: Noted documentary filmmaker and media strategist at the nonprofit Just Vision. Films include: Budrus (TFF 2009 Special Mention), Encounter Point (TFF 2006 Selection), Control Room (Writer/Editor) and the TFF 2012 short documentary selection My Neighbourhood.
• Kim Cattrall: Golden Globe Award-winning actress and author. TV roles include: Sex and the City and the miniseries Any Human Heart. Films include: Sex and the City, Meet Monica Velour (TFF 2010 selection) andThe Ghost Writer.
• K'naan: Award-winning Somali Canadian poet, rapper, singer, songwriter and musician.
• Michael Moore: Palme d'Or, Cesar & Oscar-winning director, producer, author and activist. Films includeCapitalism: A Love Story, Sicko, Fahrenheit 9/11, Bowling for Columbine and Roger & Me.
• Lucy Walker: Two-time Oscar-nominated director. Films include: Countdown to Zero, Waste Land,Blindsight, Devil's Playground and the short The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom.

 

Emerging Competition Categories:

 

The jurors for the 2012 Best New Narrative Director are:

• Camilla Belle: Noted young actress. Films include: 10,000 BC, Push, Father of Invention, The Chumscrubber, The Ballad of Jack & Rose and the upcoming Open Road.
• Whoopi Goldberg: Oscar, Tony, Grammy, Emmy award winner and humanitarian.
• Susannah Grant: Oscar and BAFTA nominee and WGA-winning screenwriter, director, and producer. Projects include: The Soloist, In Her Shoes, Erin Brockovich, 28 Days and the current TV Series A Gifted Man.
• Zach Helm: WGA-nominated screenwriter, producer, and director. Films include: Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, Stranger Than Fiction and the upcoming Freezing People is Easy.
• Courtney Hunt: Noted screenwriter and director. Her debut film Frozen River gained her an Academy Award nomination and two Independent Spirit nominations, and won the Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic Filmmaking at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
• Kellan Lutz: Up-and-coming actor. Films include: The Twilight Saga, Nightmare on Elm Street, Immortalsand the upcoming Java Heat.
• Leelee Sobieski: Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actress. Films include: Public Enemies, Eyes Wide Shut, A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries, 88 Minutes, Never Been Kissed, The Glass House and My First Mister. TV Roles include: Joan of Arc, Uprising and the new CBS drama NYC 22. 

The jurors for the 2012 Best New Documentary Director are:

• Stuart Blumberg: Oscar-nominated screenwriter, producer, and director. Films include: The Kids Are All Right, Leaves of Grass, By the People: The Election of Barack Obama, The Girl Next Door, Keeping the Faith and the upcoming Thanks For Sharing.
• Jared Cohen: Director of Google Ideas, Senior Fellow at the Council for Foreign Relations and author ofOne Hundred Days of Silence: America and the Rwanda Genocide and Children of Jihad: A Young American's Travels Among the Youth of the Middle East.
• Rachel Grady: Oscar-nominated director and producer. Films include: Detropia, Freakonomics, 12^th & Delaware, Jesus Camp and The Boys of Barak.
• Bethann Hardison: Noted former model and Manager, Documentarian and Editor at Large for Vogue Italia.
• Sal Masekela: Television host and producer. Projects include: The ESPN X Games, Red Bull Signature Series and E!'s Daily 10. Has also produced the documentaries Bra Boys, Disposable Hero: The Brian Deegan Story and the feature Street Dreams. He is a subject of TFF 2012 short film selection Alekesam. 
• Ricki Stern: Independent Spirit and Emmy-nominated director and producer. Films include: Burma Soldier, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (TFF 2010), The Devil Came on Horseback, The Trials of Darryl Hunt and the TFF 2012 selection Knuckleball!
• Olivia Wilde: Noted actress, activist, and up-and-coming producer. Films include TRON: Legacy, Cowboys & Aliens, the upcoming Rush from Ron Howard, Warner Bros.' The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, and TFF 2012 selections Deadfall and the short documentary, Baseball in the Time of Cholera, which she executive produced.

 

Short Film Competition Categories:

 

The jurors for the 2012 Narrative Short Film Competition are:

• Maureen Chiquet: Global CEO of Chanel. Glamour's 2008 Woman of the Year and listed 4 times on Fortune Magazine's International Power 50 List. She sits on the Yale University President's Council on International Activities, the Supervisory Board & Human Resources Committee of Vivendi, the Board of Directors – Peek, Aren't You Curious? and the Board of Trustees of the New York Academy of Art.
• Hugh Dancy: Emmy-nominated actor. Films include: Martha Marcy May Marlene, Our Idiot Brother, the upcoming Dorothy of Oz and the TFF 2012 selection Hysteria. Currently on Broadway in Venus in Fur.
• Aline Brosh McKenna: BAFTA and WGA-nominated screenwriter. Films include: We Bought a Zoo, I Don't Know How She Does It, Morning Glory, 27 Dresses and The Devil Wears Prada.
• Bridget Moynahan: Actress and star of CBS's Blue Bloods. Films include:  Battle Los Angeles, Ramona and Beezus, Lord of War, I, Robot and Coyote Ugly.
• Drew Nieporent: Famed restaurateur, whose two-Michelin star restaurant Corton was featured in the acclaimed HBO documentary A Matter of Taste.
• Mohammed Saeed Harib: Creator and director of Freej, the Middle East's pioneering 3D animated series from the UAE. Current projects include the recently directed Freej Folklore, the largest Arabic theatrical production, and the upcoming animated feature The Prophet.
• Shari Springer Berman: Oscar and Emmy nominated Director, screenwriter, and producer. Films include:American Splendor, Cinema Verite, The Nanny Diaries, The Extra Man and the upcoming Imogene. 

The jurors for the 2012 Documentary and Student Short Film Competitions are:

• Scooter Braun: Music entrepreneur who discovered Justin Bieber and orchestrated his rise to global super stardom. He currently manages a growing roster of young stars and heads up two record labels through the Universal Music Group.
• Robert Hammond: Co-founder and Executive Director of Friends of the High Line. In addition to being a self-taught artist, Robert has served as a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was awarded the Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome in 2010.
• Brett Ratner: Noted director and producer. He directed the Rush Hour trilogy, Red Dragon, X-Men: Last Stand and Tower Heist. He also produced Horrible Bosses, Catfish, PBS' American Masters: Woody Allen - A Documentary and Mirror, Mirror.
• Susan Sarandon: Oscar-winning actress, activist, mother and New Yorker. Films include: Jeff, Who Lives at Home, Bernard and Doris, Enchanted, Dead Man Walking, Thelma & Louise, Bull Durham and the upcoming films Cloud Atlas and The Wedding.
• James Spione: Oscar-nominated director, producer, editor and writer. Films include: Incident in New Baghdad, Our Island Home and American Farm.
• Shailene Woodley: Independent Spirit and National Board of Review Award-winning actress for her role inThe Descendants. Currently starring in The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
• Susan Zirinsky: Primetime Emmy and Peabody-winning executive producer. Projects include: 48 Hours,Documentaries, 9/11: Ten Years Later, Three Days in September and Flashpoint.

 

TAA Creative Promise Awards

The jurors for the 2012 TAA Creative Promise Award-Narrative are:

• Rosario Dawson: Actress known for roles in Kids, Rent, Seven Pounds, Sin City, Alexander, Grindhouse, Men in Black II, Chelsea Walls, Sidewalks of New York, He Got Game, Eagle Eye and Unstoppable.Upcoming films include Fire With Fire, alongside Bruce Willis and Josh Duhamel, and Danny Boyle's Trance.
• Cuba Gooding, Jr.: Oscar-winning actor who has appeared in Jerry Maguire, Men of Honor, As Good As It Gets, Radio, American Gangster, and most recently the George Lucas-helmed Red Tails.
• Mekhi Phifer: Actor known for films including Clockers, Flypaper, 8 Mile, Othello, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, The Imposter and the Fox series Lie to Me, as well as the Emmy Award-winning series ER. He recently made his Broadway debut starring in Stickfly.
• Gabourey Sidibe: Oscar-nominated actress for her leading role in Lee Daniels' Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire. Currently appearing in the Showtime series The Big C, and recently appeared in the films Tower Heist and Yelling to the Sky. 

 

The jurors for the 2012 TAA Creative Promise Award-Documentary are:

• Claire Aguilar: Vice President of Programming at the Independent Television Service (ITVS), which funds, promotes and distributes independently produced programming to public media.
• Julie Goldman: Founder of Motto Pictures and producer and executive producer of feature documentaries. Projects include the Oscar award-winning The Cove, Valentino The Last Emperor and Buck.
• Eugene Hernandez: Director of Digital Strategy at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and a founder of Indiewire.
• Jean Tsien: Acclaimed documentary film editor. Projects including Something Within Me and Dixie Chicks: Shut Up & Sing have been screened throughout the world, in theaters and on television, and have been honored with numerous awards and accolades.
• Debra Zimmerman: Executive Director of Women Make Movies, the NY-based non-profit, which is celebrating its 40th Anniversary of supporting independent women filmmakers.

 

TFI Latin America Media Arts Fund 

 

The jurors for the TFI Latin America Media Arts Fund, including the Heineken VOCES awards are:

• ·         Fernando Rovzar: Co-founder of Mexico-based Lemon Films. Producer of the Broadway hit Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark and executive producer of La Casa de Mi Padre, starring Will Ferrell, Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal.
• ·         Cynthia Lopez: Vice President for American Documentary/POV, overseeing the development of the organization, programming/content development and delivery and strategic planning. Founding board member of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP).
• ·         Ricardo Darin: Internationally-renowned actor with over 40 films to his credit. Projects include Nine Queens(Nueve Reinas), The Son of the Bride (El Hijo de la Novia), The Aura and The Secret in their Eyes (winner of the 2010 Oscar for Best Foreign Film).

 

Tickets for 2012 Festival:

Tickets for the Festival will be $16.00 for evening and weekend screenings, and $8.00 for all late night and weekday matinee screenings. Tickets are now on sale to the general public and can be purchased online atwww.tribecafilm.com/festival, by telephone at (646) 502-5296 or toll free at (866) 941-FEST (3378), or at one of the Ticket Outlets, with locations at Tribeca Cinemas at 54 Varick Street, Clearview Cinemas Chelsea at 260 W. 23rd Street, and AMC Loews Village VII at 66 3rd Avenue. The 2012 Festival will continue offering ticket discounts for evening and weekend screenings for students, seniors and select downtown Manhattan residents. Discounted tickets are available at Ticket Outlet locations only. Discounted ticket packages can only be purchased online and by phone. Additional information and further details on the Festival can be found at www.tribecafilm.com.