As I mentioned a while back, I covered Hot Docs and Tribeca for the International Documentary Association’s International Documentary magazine. I also wrote articles for their ezine. Both the bi-monthly ezine and the monthly print magazine are member benefits but the great folks at IDA are making the content available online in archives, which I’m very happy to report. So, you can read my ezine coverage from Hot Docs, “Pitching and Wooing at the Toronto Documentary Forum” and Tribeca, “Beyond Spider Man Documentary Gems Glisten at Tribeca.”

My “Festival Focus” articles for the magazine will be in the September issue on newsstands in mid-August. Special thanks to Tom White, Sandra Ruch and diane estelle Vicari for their unending support and kindness. At a time when folks are questioning the value of professional service organizations, my experience has been that they are people who will bend over backwards to help when they are able, and that is no small thing when all roads seem uphill in indie film.

Despite the mixed murmurings I’ve heard over the past couple of years, I was excited about attending the Tribeca Film Festival for the first time this year. I secured a writing assignment from International Documentary magazine and set about jumping through the hoops required for media accreditation. I went to pick up my badge on Friday and am sadly disappointed by what the festival holds for me.

The festival, I’m sure trying to keep space for those $18 ticket buyers, has made it nearly impossible for me to participate. I can only request a ticket within 24 hours of a screening, and if I’m given the ticket, I have to go to the press office to pick it up (and the rumors are true, the venues are all over the place and not near the press office). The press and industry screenings are all during the day, and like most doc folks, I have a day job that makes it impossible to go to them.

At IDFA, I greatly appreciate the press/industry screenings to get some serious movie watching done during the day but, when I’m there, my time is at the disposal of the fest. Not so at a hometown fest. I don’t mean to sound bitter; what I am is bitterly disappointed. I was really looking forward to seeing films and seeing what Tribeca has to offer; willing to give up my nights and weekends, only to find out I’m not really welcome.

Oh, and I got (no joke) a 25-page document of red carpet appearances, like I give a crap. Maybe I should just go snap some pics of Tobey Maguire in his Spidy tights and call it a day.

[Update: The festival updated their ticket policy to allow us to get tickets in one go rather than day by day. Big relief! Thank you!]