Frequent NYWIFT moderator and panelist Ingrid Kopp has outdone herself this year with her excellent programming of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival’s Tribeca Storyscapes. This unique “gallery space” experience is the first time the festival has presented a juried section for transmedia or interactive work of any genre. I had an opportunity to get a sneak peak earlier in the week and I highly recommend you stop by the space before it closes on Sunday.

Ingrid Kopp tests out A Journal of Insomnia’s sleepmask.
Storyscapes features five amazing projects, each unique in its own way. I thought it fitting to give a shout-out to the only project headed by female creators which also happens to be New York–based: Sandy Storyline. The largest crowd-sourced collections of images and video from the recent devastating storm, the project displays the imagery on “debris” and allows participants to share their own personal experiences of the storm, its destruction, and the recovery effort. The Apple-friendly mobile-charging station accompanying the installation (which I happily made use of) reminded me immediately of the generosity shown by New Yorkers as they ran power cords from their homes and businesses to the street, sharing their electricity with complete strangers. The project, designed to play a role in community empowerment, is also a testament to New Yorkers’ resilience.
Although Storyscapes is no longer accepting reservations, I have it on good word from Tribeca Film Festival folks that if you show up at the beginning of the exhibit hours, they are accepting walk-ins. Once inside you can interact with an entertaining mix of media, documentary and narrative film, animation, art, and yes, even robots.
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Vine of Tribeca Storyscapes created by Raffi Asdourian.
Tribeca Storyscapes is free and open to the public today, Saturday, April 20, noon to 10 pm, and Sunday, noon to 9 pm, at The Bombay Sapphire House of Imagination, at Dune Studios (121 Varick St., 7th Floor). A ground-floor event entrance is located on Dominick Street, between Hudson Street and Varick Street.
You must be 21 yrs of age to enter with ID, because even the bar is interactive with artisanal botanicals and tonics. — AMANDA LIN COSTA
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