NEW YORK - New York's Tribeca Film Festival, created a decade ago after the 9/11 attacks, opens on Thursday with a touch of sparkle from Cannes thanks to new artistic director Frederic Boyer. Boyer joined festival founders Robert De Niro and producer Jane Rosenthal for an opening presentation on Wednesday in lower Manhattan where movies will be shown until April 29. The 89 films, including 50 world premiers, and 60 short films were selected from 46 countries for Tribeca. Boyer, who was recently in charge of the Directors' Fortnight at the much bigger Cannes festival, said he sees room for Tribeca to expand. "In Cannes there's a lot of pressure, because it's the biggest festival in the world and it's also a market. Most people don't want to miss Cannes for strategic and financial reasons," he said. "Now, people ask themselves, 'Why not do Tribeca?' You can do a premiere here, there's huge media and the US public." Choosing films for Tribeca required an open mind, he said. … [Read more...] about Tribeca Film Festival opens in New York
New york
2012 Pulitzer Prizes announced in New York
The 96th annual Pulitzer Prizes were announced Monday in New York's Columbia University with the Philadelphia Inquirer receiving the coveted public service Pulitzer. The Philadelphia Inquirer was awarded for its exploration of pervasive violence in the city's schools, using powerful print narratives and videos to illuminate crimes committed by children against children and to stir reforms to improve safety for teachers and students. The Tuscaloosa News Staff in Alabama won breaking news reporting Pulitzer for its enterprising coverage of a deadly tornado. The Associated Press and the Seattle Times took the investigative reporting Pulitzer prizes. New York Times won the explanatory reporting and international reporting prizes and the Patriot-News Staff in Pennsylvania took the prize for local reporting. The Huffington Post, an online publication, won national reporting prize for the riveting exploration of the physical and emotional challenges facing American soldiers severely … [Read more...] about 2012 Pulitzer Prizes announced in New York
Police probe death of French academic in New York
NEW YORK - New York police Tuesday were investigating the death of a prominent French academic and the director of one of France's most elite colleges after his naked body was found in his hotel room. "The hotel had checked earlier in the morning at nine, and he was asleep, at one he was found dead," deputy commissioner Paul Browne told AFP, adding that Richard Descoings was found slumped "on his bed" by hotel staff. Browne said the police were investigating, saying there was "no obvious sign of trauma" although "the room was in a state of disarray" due to efforts by medical staff to revive Descoings. Browne later ruled out that the academic's death was due to an act of violent crime, saying "we haven't found evidence of criminality." Descoings, 53, director of the prestigious Institute of Political Studies in Paris, was alone when he was found, Browne said. His death comes 11 months after New York police were embroiled in the scandal surrounding prominent French … [Read more...] about Police probe death of French academic in New York
New frog species discovered in New York City
Amazed biologists have uncovered a new species of frog in the jungle -- New York's concrete jungle. The mottled green creature was for years mistaken as belonging to a widespread variety of the leopard frog. But now scientists realize this is new. "For a new species to go unrecognized in this area is amazing," UCLA biologist Brad Shaffer said Wednesday. New York is surrounded by wetlands and other nature-filled areas. But this latest urban creature appears to have chosen one of the grittiest corners as the center of its habitat: Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. In the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Shaffer and other scientists compared the frog's DNA to that of other leopard frog species in the region. That's when they understood they were looking at a leopard frog, but a different kind. "Many amphibians are secretive and very hard to find, but these frogs are pretty obvious animals," said Shaffer. "This shows that even in the largest city in the US, there are still … [Read more...] about New frog species discovered in New York City
Strauss-Kahn back in Paris after New York sex scandal
Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn returned to Paris Sunday for the first time since a New York hotel cleaner accused him of attempted rape in a torrid sex scandal that scuppered his hopes for the French presidency. Strauss-Kahn and his wife Anne Sinclair arrived at dawn at Charles de Gaulle airport on an Air France flight from New York and were whisked off in a black Peugeot to their apartment in the chic Place des Vosges. Surrounded by a large number of police, they were smiling but made no statement to journalists waiting for their arrival at the airport and again declined to comment when they arrived at their home in the heart of Paris. Strauss-Kahn, dressed in a dark suit and white shirt, boarded the flight at New York's JFK International airport late Saturday, less than two weeks after sexual assault charges against him were dropped. The 62-year-old resigned as the International Monetary Fund's managing director in May after he was arrested at JFK airport and charged … [Read more...] about Strauss-Kahn back in Paris after New York sex scandal