00:00It's an incredible event. As you said, started 25 years ago in the wake of 9-11.
00:06Its founders really wanted to bring people back to lower Manhattan using storytelling and cultural
00:11events to bring people back. And it's been 25 years of continued growth. So not only do we
00:16feature independent film, but television, podcasting, online innovation, immersive programming.
00:24It's an incredible storytelling platform. And then, of course, we've got two days in the middle
00:29of it where we bring brands together for Tribeca X.
00:32Well, let's talk a little bit about that because we talk about the evolution of this film festival
00:37into something much broader, really a cultural event. We talk about Tribeca X. Cedric, you're
00:41a big part of that. The luminaries, the celebrities there that will be helping to sort of shepherd
00:47that along.
00:47No, it's really great to be a part of it. You know, I first came probably four movies back
00:53in maybe 2014. But now to be able to talk about our growing barbecue brand, I have AC Barbecue
01:00with Anthony Anderson. And it's something that we started and started to build with sauces
01:06and rubs. And we have a restaurant. And so the opportunity to be in front of, you know,
01:12this kind of this larger audience, talk about that, talk about, you know, how our celebrity
01:17lends to our brand. And then having the opportunity to be able to tell the story of that brand.
01:22That's what, you know, this is all about, that storytelling. And so where we come from,
01:27how we build it. And so that and my small wine company that I named after my mother set
01:33us. So both of these things will be things I look forward to kind of being in front of
01:37a big audience and chit-chatting about these things and using this platform, a great platform
01:42to talk about it.
01:43Yeah. Why Tribeca X? Why was that?
01:45Well, I mean, one is just, you know, it's New York. I mean, you're in the city, you're in
01:49the hub of where it all goes down. And, you know, if you could make it there,
01:52you can make it anywhere. Of course, I don't know if you know those words.
01:56I've heard them before.
01:58I thought I wrote them, but no. But no, it is that. And of course, like I say, the festival
02:05itself has just grown to where, again, you just emerge with technology, with gamers,
02:11with so many other aspects of what the entertainment business offers. It just puts us in a great
02:18opportunity to be expressed what it is that we're doing with our businesses.
02:21And that's what I am curious, Rebecca, as to kind of where you want to take Tribeca as
02:25a company and as it sort of expands. And obviously, these brand partnerships and obviously just
02:30the platforming of these brands is a big step forward. But where much further do you want
02:36to go?
02:36Absolutely. Well, I mean, Tribeca X, as Cedric has said so well, you know, it's the opportunity
02:41to bring brands together with storytellers, as well as CMOs right in the middle of the
02:47festival, right? So it's not a separate event. We're really saying brands play a central role
02:51in the evolution of our storytelling, both obviously in funding it, but also how they
02:56connect with audiences. You know, they want brands like your own brands to resonate with
03:00audience. And there's an expectation of authenticity. And nothing does that better than brand storytelling.
03:06I think the festival itself is so critical because it brings people together in person, right,
03:12to collaborate and experience things in the same room together was such a critical part of this
03:17experience, but also really using storytelling to break down cultural barriers, have difficult
03:26conversations, inspire to make to laugh. We think the festival plays such a critical role in, you know,
03:34our city and our cultural experience. Well, I do want to talk about just film and just art making
03:40overall at a time where a lot of people are looking at the independent world and seeing it maybe a
03:45little bit under pressure. The idea is that if you're going to make a film, it's got to be a
03:49blockbuster if you're going to get the eyeballs. And we saw in the Oscars this year, you actually did
03:53see some more independent minded films come into place. Are we seeing maybe a little bit more of a
03:58break in that, that everything just doesn't necessarily, Cedric, have to be a Marvel movie or a
04:02franchise movie. You can have something that is from an independent artist. I do. I think that
04:06that really comes probably from the fatigue of that. Like, you know, a few years where it was
04:11just insisted upon that everything be these big blockbuster movies. And you start to see the, you
04:15know, the kind of technology be how the story was being told with, you know, these big graphics when
04:21people really do identify with great storytelling. So when one can write a film or shoot a movie with
04:28intimacy and, and this ability to relate to an audience, I think we want more of that. And so
04:33you started to see that, uh, uh, I thought you saw that a lot more in this year's group of
04:38films
04:39and you'll probably see it a lot more coming up as well. And with, with regards to just that then
04:43of streaming services and we've seen, uh, guys, quote unquote, prestige television, this idea that
04:48a lot of the more independent type of art house movies to a certain degree have gravitated to
04:53the streaming services, either as movies or as, uh, just, you know, serial shows.
04:57Yeah. I mean, for independent storytelling, which Tribeca really does platform, it is about
05:02finding their audiences and why the New York city festival means so much is we've got such a
05:08diverse population here that we can really connect audiences with films. They wouldn't otherwise find.
05:13I think why the streamers are successful at that as well as they have their algorithm,
05:17they're able to really find that audiences for smaller stories. Not everything has to be a
05:22blockbuster hit. You know, people are looking to connect with stories. They want to be reflected
05:27in. And obviously the festival plays an incredible role of servicing content that one wouldn't
05:31otherwise reach audiences. Um, and we also try to find distribution platforms at the festival for our
05:38independent films, um, because it's not even just the length of the film. It could be our shorts
05:43festival and there's so many, it could be podcasting. Um, and part of the platform of the
05:49festival allows people to see in real life, how they connect with this different content.
05:52That they otherwise might be buried on their platform and not easily accessible marketing
05:56is how do you, where you spend, one of the things that are really is a deterrent for smaller movies
06:01is, is how do you get those eyeballs? And so you end up, you know, just having to spend so
06:06much
06:06money on marketing that, you know, you see that the bigger film companies just don't see where
06:10that balance is out for them. So, um, but you know, but it doesn't mean that the great storytelling
06:15that doesn't need to happen and that people don't want to see it. So now Cedric,
06:19you're not the only one part of Tribeca X, right? No, you've got, you've got, you've got
06:23some other folks. Yeah. I was looking through a couple of the names here. Some of them are
06:29as big as Cedric. Well, Cedric's incredible. So we're so excited he's joining us, but it's
06:33really a cross section of entertainers. So we've got, you know, the writers of K-pop
06:37Demon Hunter, we've got Dhar Mann coming to join us, who's a massive creator. So we're
06:43super excited about that. But we've got the CMO of Amex. We've got Ted Danson in a serious
06:48podcast. Um, we've also got the CEO of Planned Parenthood. So it really is a cross section
06:52of brands, uh, talent. Um, we're really excited about the full schedule is getting released
06:59today. So we're really excited about it. All right. Is this your first formal, uh, uh,
07:03involvement with us? Yes. Yes. Yeah. No. So yeah, I got the call. And so I was like,
07:07yeah, just bring me off the bench, baby. I was ready to go. I hit the LeBron James.
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