Though the Tribeca Film Festival frequently features independent films that have never screened anywhere else before, they have a tendency to open and close the festival with a bang, namely by picking up soon-to-be-released major studio films and debuting them in front of excited New York City audiences. With the Jason Segel/Emily Blunt comedy The Five-Year Engagement already set to open the festival, they've found a way to top that one for closing night by bringing in pretty much the biggest gun of all: The Avengers. The festival announced today that the new epic superhero film will be closing the festival with a screening on April 28, a little less than a week before it opens in theaters on May 4.
Tribeca also has a reputation for reaching out to the community at large, hosting an annual street fair and free outdoor screenings of classic films, and for The Avengers they're reaching out in an even bigger way, inviting local police, firefighters and first responders to attend the screening and meet the cast. Marvel Studios producer Kevin Feige had this to say about it in the announcement:
"We are proud that Marvel's The Avengers is the closing film of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival and we are excited to welcome local heroes to the screening as special guests. We all know and love our iconic Super Heroes, but when it really counts, it's our real-life heroes who save the world every day by making it a better place for all of us."
I've found it virtually impossible over the years to get into either the opening or closing night Tribeca films as press, so I'm pretty sure I need to be very jealous of these local heroes for getting a glimpse before I do at one of the summer's biggest films. But if you're a New Yorker, try to get tickets and join them! The quality of Tribeca films can be hit or miss-- let's just not talk about the year they closed with Speed Racer-- but The Avengers is pretty much a must-see no matter what. Plus, late April is a great time to visit New York-- two birds with one stone!
