At the Tribeca Film Festival a narrative film is shown with the title “Vegas: Based on a True Story.” Insiders say that this movie is actually the favorite among the jury. An Iranian, Amir Naderi, directed the movie. As the title implies it is based on a true story and shows the backstage world of shiny Las Vegas. Naderi tries to show every aspect of the American epicenter of gambling. A stranger comes to Las Vegas trying to become rich and support his family but soon he loses it all. But the movie also shows other people who are luckier and it also covers the stories of casino employees.
The Tribeca Film Festival starts on Wednesday with Woody Allen newest piece of art “Whatever Works”. This is the 8th year of the event and from year to year it attracts more attention and publicity although the number of featured films has decreased. But the decline has its advantages. First, Tribeca is able to offer quality instead of quantity. “Now we are able to choose what movies we want to present the audience”, Jane Rosenthal, organizer and promoter of Tribeca says. “Our focus is on serious films and also family-friendly entertainment.”
The selection of the current year is a little lighter than in the previous years. The choice of films they made for Tribeca this year is a response to the economic downturn all over the world. The festival addresses the negative sides of the crises, like the Wall Street meltdown but shows also the positive upward movement. The movie “Vegas: Based on a True Story” is one of Tribeca’s highlights. Naderi also thought about including the topic of online gambling but that would have been too much for one movie. Maybe next year, he suggested. It demonstrates that the international film industry is more than just Hollywood.