Editor

The 2008 Tribeca Film Festival today announced the line-up for its discussion series, open to the public, that will explore issues and trends in society and the entertainment industry with some of the biggest names in film, literature and media. The series includes a new program, “Behind the Screens: films and conversations about truth, clarity and responsibility,” and the popular Tribeca Talks Panel Series. Sponsored by iShares, “Behind the Screens” will feature three half-hour, in-depth discussions and audience Q&A with film participants following select screenings at the Directors Guild Theater. The Tribeca Talks Panel Series will return this year with one-on-one conversations and panel discussions, as well as Tribeca Talks Industry, a brand new series that explores the business of entertainment. The 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by American Express, runs April 23rd – May 4th.

“Behind the Screens” will debut with Lake City, a screening of the dramatic feature film followed by a conversation with Sissy Spacek, about her performance in the film. The series of three events will continue with a discussion with venerable New York filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles on his semi-autobiographical boisterous adventure Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha. And, rounding out the trio, will be Under Our Skin, which examines Lyme disease, an often-overlooked ailment on the verge of epidemic, followed by a discussion with director, Andy Abrahams Wilson, author Amy Tan who has suffered from Lyme disease, and Dr. Richard Horowitz, known for his pioneering work with the disease.

Highlights from this year’s Tribeca Talks Panel Series include a discussion with world-class director, writer and composer Mike Figgis, who will talk about his constant evolution in digital filmmaking in an event hosted by Skillset. The Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival will present Injecting the American Dream, a provocative discussion on the ethics of enhancement in sports with filmmaker Christopher Bell, Victor Conte and Steroid Nation author Shaun Assael. In addition, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour and TED Prize-winning filmmaker Jehane Noujaim will talk about the launch of Pangea Day (May 10, 2008) - a moment when the world stops, watches and listens to each other’s stories around the world’s first global campfire- in a conversation moderated by TED curator, Chris Anderson.

New to the Festival this year is Tribeca Talks Industry, a series of discussions designed for industry professionals that explore the business and technology sides of filmmaking. The series includes BAFTA-winning director, writer and sometime actor Shane Meadows in a conversation with writer Paul Fraser about their latest film, Somers Town. Wired Contributing Editor Eric Steuer, Paul “DJ Spooky” Miller and filmmaker and Webby Award founder Tiffany Shlain will discuss technology, intellectual property and the future of participatory media at Reuse, Remix and Renew: Film Tools for the 21st Century. The third Industry panel, Click to View: The Future of New Media, sponsored by The Hollywood Reporter will look at the fast-growing world of new media and what it means for artists and audiences. The panel will feature returning filmmaker Isabella Rossellini whose series of short films were created for mobile devices, and will be moderated by The Hollywood Reporter’s Georg Szalai.

Finally, “Conversations in Cinema” will showcase fascinating films and additional conversations on a variety of subjects, including current events, music and science. The series will debut with a conversation with Academy Award-winning director Errol Morris, who will talk about his film Standard Operating Procedure, following a screening of the film in its North American debut, with Jarhead author Anthony Swofford. Pilot and astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who was the Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 11, the first lunar landing will join scientists and Contact screenwriter Ann Druyan to discuss the realities of Kubrick’s futuristic masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey and the realities of artificial intelligence in 2001: A Space Odyssey Ahead of Its Time, sponsored by the Alfred P Sloan Foundation. In addition, Emilio Estefan will screen and discuss his film, 90 Miles The Documentary, with his Grammy Award®-winning wife Gloria Estefan whose new album “90 Millas,” is the focus of the intimate documentary on the music-making process. Joining them will be musicians from the film, including Johnny Pacheco, one of the most influential figures in salsa music. Concluding the series is Celebrating Berlin, hosted by the School of Visual Arts, a screening of the concert film Lou Reed’s Berlin, which will feature music legend Lou Reed in a conversation moderated by Vanity Fair’s Lisa Robinson.