Editor

I must confess I cannot wait to see that film.!,

What a smart choice and programming from Tribeca.

Let me share with you one of my dearest professionnal experiences as a film distribution (with Columbia at the time). When I was handling the world premiere in Cannes of Boyz'n the Hood, The film revealed both John Singleton as a director, and Ice Cube as an actor and received  2 Academy Award nominations.

I was in charge of the distribution in France, and ran all the promotion and publicity which raised an incredible buzz, some french journalists, handpicked to trigger the buzz compared the direzctor to Orson Welles, John liked that; we did too and got so lucky.
Frank Price, head of the studio (at Sony), told me, with a warm handshake, that he believed the cannes work around the film had been so sucesfull that he had to raise the US Box Office estimate from 30M$ to 50M$ (final box office was 54 indeed!)

Some random fun memories around the launch: the Club Party for Hollywood suits including a rap performance from Ice Cube, some graffitti artists tagging our 4X3 m poster on the croisette live for Canal +, the sold out screening for the black artists community, Mick Jagger Quincy Jones...and some kids from the cannes suburbs, added screening by demand!, the face of John Singleton when he discovered what his "Burger" (from the Carlton Beach) looked like...

So much fun, probably one of the true film fairy tales.
I will make sure our correspondents in New York get a chance to review. 

Bruno Chatelin

ESPN Films "30 for 30" production, Ice Cube's Straight Outta L.A., will have its world premiere at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival.  The film will serve as the gala premiere of the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival, and will take place on Friday, April 23.  The 2010 Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival will run during TFF (April 21 - May 2) in lower Manhattan.

"Straight Outta L.A. gives us an entertaining, firsthand account of how a professional sports team captivated a city and ultimately changed the culture of L.A.," said Nancy Schafer, Executive Director of the Tribeca Film Festival.  "For the past three years, the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival program has been an audience favorite at our Festival, and this year's line-up will continue that tradition."

"We are thrilled to launch this year's Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival with a film that shows how sports are intertwined in so many other cultural arenas," stated Keith Clinkscales, senior vice president, ESPN content development and enterprises.  "All of the sports documentaries in this year's Festival truly illustrate that the reach of sports in society extends far past solely athletics and into such disciplines as music, language, art and of course, film."

In Straight Outta L.A., director Ice Cube explores the unlikely marriage between the NFL's rebel franchise, the Raiders, and America's glamour city, Los Angeles.  In 1982, Raiders owner Al Davis beat the NFL in court and moved his team from Oakland to Los Angeles. With a squad as colorful as its owner, the Raiders captivated a large number of black and Hispanic fans in L.A. at a time when gang warfare, immigration and the real estate boom were rapidly changing the city. The L.A. Raiders morphed into a worldwide brand as the team's colors, swagger and anti-establishment ethos became linked with the hip-hop scene that was permeating South Central Los Angeles. Rapper-turned-filmmaker Ice Cube was not only witness to this revolution, he was also a part of it. As a member of the notorious rap group N.W.A., Ice Cube helped make the silver and black culturally significant to a new generation and demographic.

Straight Outta L.A. will be televised Tuesday, May 11, at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Now in its fourth year, the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival has become the premier showcase for independent films about sports and competition.  The previously announced titles that will screen as part of the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival include documentary films that explore the rise of BMX superstar Mat Hoffman, an extreme adventurer's quest to reach the North Pole, a struggling rugby team's ambitions to win a single game and the cultural significance of a stadium to a city, team and popular musician.

All of this year's Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival films will screen at Tribeca Cinemas on Saturday, May 1. The films also screen prior to May 1 throughout the Festival. 

In addition to the film series, the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival will present Sports Day as part of the Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair.  Sports Day, which will take place on Saturday, May 1, offers fans a day of interactive, sports-related games and activities, as well as appearances by some of New York's most popular athletes.  Sports Day is free and open to the public and will take place on Duane Street, between Greenwich and Hudson Streets, in Manhattan. 

The following are the films featured in the 2010 Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival.  All titles have been previously announced in their respective sections as part of the 2010 TFF film program.