Tribeca Film Festival
Apple SoHo's decade-long golden hour.
In 2005, Apple charged into video products with an intensity that rivaled the introduction of Apple TV+ 14 years later. First there were new tools for filmmakers: Final Cut Studio, Soundtrack Pro, and Shake 4. Then came music videos, short films, and TV shows in iTunes, and the iPod with video. There was Front Row. And on top of it all, Apple began a partnership with the Tribeca Film Festival that brought exclusive events to Apple Stores in New York City.
Despite a decade-long legacy of annual appearances by notable filmmakers and stars, much of Apple’s participation in the Tribeca Festival, as it’s known today, is at risk of being forgotten. That’s a shame, because those events brought a special vitality and creative energy to some of Apple’s top stores that’s worth replicating across the world.
Apple SoHo, though not technically in the Tribeca neighborhood, was Apple’s home for festival events from 2005–2015. Apple West 14th Street, and to a lesser extent, Apple Fifth Avenue, also participated. The festival was founded in 2002 as a response to the destruction of 9/11, and it wasn’t until 2016 that Apple opened its first store in Tribeca proper at Westfield World Trade Center.
The first year, Apple hosted afternoon presentations, pro-focused workshops on topics like Final Cut and DVD Studio, and the opportunity for festival filmmakers to sit down for a recorded interview in exchange for a copy of Apple Production Suite. There was even a private party with “filmmakers, actors and cinephiles,” — an event that would become a staple of the festival every year.
In 2006, J.J. Abrams and Questlove stopped by, and the Final Cut Studio team presented their own workflows. Apple also partnered with entertainment publication IndieWire on a series of ongoing Filmmaker Talks.
Filmmaking Workshops expanded to Apple Fifth Avenue and Apple West 14th Street in 2008, and Apple later decided to start hosting exclusive events at West 14th as well. But since that store, spread across three floors in a former industrial facility, wasn’t designed with a Theater, Apple had to build one. A temporary stage and stainless steel-framed screen were constructed along the north wall during the festival:
Comprehensive marketing materials prepared by Apple were visually distinct from the festival’s own branding. Windows on skyscrapers became film sprocket holes, and a series of silhouette illustrations was inspired by the ubiquitous water tanks of the Lower Manhattan skyline — just like the one you can see through the skylight at Apple SoHo. The designs appeared on easels, posters, t-shirts, theater screens, Genius Bar displays, Mac screensavers, and Apple.com.
The campaign won awards at the 2007 One Show and Graphis Competitions in 2008/9 and 2012.
Over the years, Tribeca Film Festival events at Apple Stores welcomed stars like the Coen brothers, Amy Poehler, Spike Lee, Natalie Portman, Will Ferrell, Jason Sudeikis, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Matthew McConaughey, Emma Roberts, and countless others, including a score of industry professionals. Apple also hosted a number of Student Filmmaking Panels where up-and-coming filmmakers could discuss their latest projects.
Starting in 2007, Apple began publishing some of its retail events on iTunes. Many of the podcasts are still online, at least for now.
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