tribeca film festival edition of talking movies. i'm tom brook. in today's programme, with sections on gaming, television and virtual reality, is tribeca moving away from being just a film festival? we will always be about film. that's without question. that's in our dna. but this was a festival in which the wonders of virtual reality were fully on display. you sit in a movie theatre and a character turns and looks at the camera, they call that breaking the fourth wall. but in vr, there are no walls. plus, tribeca had movies from around the world. a father—son relationship drama set in china and a story of women's emancipation in switzerland in the 1970s. they actually had these arguments in the 1970s. they were, like, if women do politics, it's apocalypse. then there were tribeca's political films for politically charged, confusing times. we are living in a surreal time. i just don't know what to make of it. and a tribeca documentary on people for whom the environment makes them ill. all that and more in this special tribeca film festival edition of talking movies. new york's landmark radio city music hall is home to the world—famous synchronised danceers known as the rockettes. but this year it's also played host to the launch of a rather different kind of showbiz act, robert de niro‘s tribeca film festival. i've learned through the years that life really has a weakness for artists. a documentary profile of legendary american music executive clive davis opened the festival, a man whose influenced the careers of such artists as barry manilow, patti smith, bruce springstein, aretha franklin, whitney houston and many more. that he's still going strong at age 85 impressed festival co—founder robert de niro. i'm not close to his age, but i'm getting there. he's an inspiration. the longer he keeps going, the better it is for me. this two—hour documentary was put together by film—maker chris perkel. he's packed a lot into it. everything. 55 to 58 interviews, something like that. just an unbelievable amount of music, art, artists, executives, it's just a blizzard of stars and things that people have relationships with. you know, it's the history of popular music, 50 years. every song i was submitting turned out to be a big hit. there is much to admire in clive davis. his ability to spot and nurture talent, his tenacity. but the film hardly seemed to be a warts and all portrayal. it is a puff piece, in that it only tells his side of the story. there is nothing in it that makes him look at all negative. it was kind of typical for a tribeca opening night, where often they've got a big gala they have organised around a very important media figure. so they show a documentary that is fairly complementary to that person, in order to tie in the sort of celebrations, in this case a big concert with tonnes of people. tribeca's 12 day festival isn't designed with the highbrow cineaste in mind. it's a broad offering, with lots to choose from. everything from thrillers, with stars tom hanks and emma watson, to a political satire set in india, to issue—related documentaries, to a portait of the late actor heath ledger. no longerjust a film festival, tribeca also unveiled tv shows, virtual reality projects and gaming. as technology's changed, as distribution‘s changed, we are about good storytelling. and good storytelling, whether or not it's in gaming or amazing documentaries, short films and great narratives. this is the first tribeca film festival since donald trump became president. these are politically charged times, giving tribeca films which touch on politics a special resonance. one looking back is the reagan show, examining president ronald reagan, and how the administration of this one—time hollywood actor used television to its advantage. the film is made entirely of archival footage from the time. the business that i used to be in says save something for the third act. and we will. the reagan administration governed by relying on what social commentators have termed post—truth politics. post—truth politics is a world in which politics is more about the spectacle and the entertainment value of the event, rather than any kind of real world, verifiable facts, evidence, truth. so, if the reagan administration planted the seeds of post—truth politics, then the trump administration has really been harvesting that crop. tribeca is closing with screenings of the godfather and the godfather part 2. robert de niro thinks the original film connected with audiences because, at a time when the social fabric in america could be said to be fraying, it presented a strong portrait of family. people felt more connected to that than they did with the disillusionment and cynicism, the suspicion of the government and so on. i think that... i'm oversimplifying it, but that had a lot to do with it, in some way. to many new yorkers, tribeca is a welcome hodgepodge of movies and affiliated activities that often prove very engaging. but the festival is yet to launch a truly memorable picture that comes to define it. during festival time there was much talk about a sideshow that could become the main show in years to come, virtual reality. all told, some 30 different virtual reality projects were on display, each attracting a lot of interest. tristan daley went along to investigate. on the fifth floor of the tribeca film festival hub, participants with headsets covering their eyes walk around, waving their hands in the air, interacting with a world only they can see. tribeca is one of several film festivals across the world to be demonstrating virtual reality technology with a number of different installations, in a time when the market for this gadgetry is rapidly expanding. but tribeca specially designed their exhibition space to bring the most out of their virtual reality experiences. these installations are not in your living room, right? so when you go into some of these pieces, you are notjust putting a headset on, you are actually entering an installation that has been built specifically for this space. it's actually a bespoke experience. it's also very... it's like a collective experience. people talk about vr being very lonely. but what i love about this is actually we're figuring out ways to bring people into spaces and actually have them be part of something that feels collective. kopp is especially excited about the cutting—edge nature of these projects, claiming creators are pushing the capabilities of virtual reality to its limits. treehugger: wawona is a project in which participants float up the trunk of a giant sequoia tree. they are able to peek inside the large flora to see it produce oxygen. creators wanted to immerse the audience not only in the sight and sounds, but also the actual smell of the tree. we've got a scent release system. when you push your head through the bark, through the sap, to the internals of a tree, the sound changes and scent changes. the more you are pushed into that world, through twisting senses, the more immersive it becomes, the more real thatjourney feels. so, we are always pushing the limits of that. we've got these sculptural elements, so your touch aligns with the virtual tree. unlike traditional motion picture formats, virtual reality thrusts viewers into an illusory 3d space, in which, most times, you can see 360 degrees around you. some veteran film—makers, like steven spielberg, are daunted by the new technology, saying it takes control away from the storytellers, giving the audience more choice on where to look. the advent of virtual reality has given film makers a new storytelling vocabulary that is distinct from cinema. eric darnel, the director of the madagascar animation franchise, brought rainbow crow to tribeca this year. it's a retelling of a native american folktale. to him, virtual reality is a medium in its own right. coming from the film world, and i've directed a number of films, i sort of thought, easy, this is going to be no big deal. i've done this for 25 years. but i got humble really quick when i got into vr. i realised that it's just not the same. it just feels different. it looks different. audiences respond to it in different ways. you know, if you sit in a movie theatre and a character turns and looks at the camera, i don't really feel like they're looking at me. they call that breaking the fourth wall. in vr, there are no walls. that's a pretty amazing experience for audiences. this whole space is in such a period of flux. we are so interested about all this technology. every time we get your hands around one thing, and you figure out how it works, tribeca next year is going to look completely different. it just keeps changing. many challenges lie ahead for this medium, such as how best to harness virtual reality to develop original stories and how to develop mass distribution so hundreds can share the same virtual reality experience simultaneously. commercially, a big priority remains developing an effective business model so this new technology can be monetised. now on to some tribeca films in a bit more detail. it goes without saying that tribeca is an american festival. after all, it takes place on american soil. but this year, films from some 31 different countries were shown, among them king of peking, set and shot in china. basically, it's a father—son relationship drama, but it's also an ode to cinema, as nadja thomas reports. set in china in 1998, king of peking is a layered comedy about a projectionist, his love for movies and his even greater love for his son. the story is about a father who is a projectionist. he's got a son who works with him on in the business, they travel around china, or rural parts of china, and they screen movies for the villagers. his projector catches fire and they have to start finding new ways to work together. the ex—wife is putting an enormous amount of financial pressure on them, on the father. she has basically given him an ultimatum that unless he pays x amount of money, he's not going to have custody of his child any more. that's why he goes to the great extents of bootlegging movies in order to keep his son. he even rolls himself up with film to smuggle it to the basement, where he makes his dvds. according to voutas, the digital age phenomenally transformed the cinema in china. it was really only when dvds entered the market, in the 1990s, and vcds, different types of video discs, that these movies were able to enter the home and be consumed by people who, beforehand, didn't have access to these type of stories. and voutas says an easy way to get your hands on a dvd copy of your favourite movie was from a bootleggers on the streets. he got the idea for the story when one of his previous films, also set in china, was bootlegged in real life. it was sort of the spark that got me writing. our previous film, within a week, it was on the streets of beijing. rather than get angry, i was actually very impressed with the creativity that the bootleggers had. they had done their own artwork, they had done their own credits. a really interesting stuff. i realised that there was a creative element to the bootlegging. that is how it started. it is more of a sort of... i guess you could say a celebration of the creativity of that world. king of peking is sam voutas‘ first film to premiere the tribeca film festival. though this doesn't guarantee him widespread success, he hopes the exposure from this film festival will bring a larger audience beyond those who only saw his last film on bootlegged. while making a movie about the bootlegging industry in china is clever and a bit tongue in cheek, for the producer of the film, it all comes back to one thing. a tale of a father and his son. it's a love letter, father to son, son to father, as well as a father to cinema and to his passions in life. the real heart of the film is about love. people whose lives are destabilised by products like house paint, perfume, even mobile phones. these are the individuals scrutinised in the tribeca documentary the sensitives, people who have what is termed multiple chemical sensitivity. the subjects of drew xanthopoulos‘ new documentary, the sensitives, live day—to—day in a uniquely distressing predicament. they suffer from a new chronic disorder that the mainstream medical community largely recognises as real, but has not yet developed any treatment or medication for. it has a name, multiple chemical sensitivity. but because the symptoms vary so dramatically, many sufferers struggle to even define their illness. he started having trouble at work with his colleagues, their personal hygiene, their shampoos, things like that. what they have in common is they have developed these debilitating reactions to commonplace things in the environment, things that we take for granted, like garden pesticides, or house paint, perfumes and colognes, and even cellphones, wireless routers, things like that. the degree to which each of those things affects them varies and the kinds of reactions, the way it manifests, also has a fair amount of variation. but what they share in common is the things that most of us are unaffected by in small amounts, it affects them immensely. this radio is an at home way to figure out if any electrical appliance is spewing out electrical magnetic fields. in order to function with any normalcy, the subjects of the sensitives must dramatically rearrange their lives. some move to remote areas, where there are fewer man—made chemicals and electronics. 0thers create safe spaces in their homes and wear a mask any time they leave. even documenting their lives was a unique challenge for the film—makers, since the cameras and microphones needed to capture these stories often made the subjects physically sick. they were unsure of the effects the camera would have on them, because obviously they normally avoid things like that at all costs. but they signed up to be part of this project because they felt like their story being told would help other people like them feel less lonely, less marginalised. they're not the only ones. so there are a lot of moments where i had to stop shooting because the subjects were feeling uncomfortable with what was going on. most of the film, i keep a healthy distance between the subject and myself. this is a story that could have been told in a variety of ways. the film—makers could have done a conventional talking heads style documentary, with members of the medical community. they could have focused on the companies who create these chemicals and electronics. instead, the sensitives looks at its subjects to a personal lens, examining how this unique illness impacts their relationships. we really protected him against these chemical sensitivities. the story of the caregivers was just as important as those who are affected. it's the other half of their story, it's what grounds their identity, their loved ones sticking by and keeping them in contact with the world. a 96—year—old grandmother delivers mail and supplies, and tries to bring some kind of levity to their life every day. or a wife that tries to keep her husband sane, by interacting with his grandchildren. so, their stories, to me, are just as compelling as those that were sick and also served as a really important bridge to anyone who would watch this film. when you're that impaired, it can really you feel like dirt. for instance, going to the store, people usually notice you are not acting like everyone else. but they don't really know what's going on. whenever we are confronted with an illness we don't understand, we almost always put the blame on the person who's sick. multiple sclerosis, before we understood how it worked, you were an hysterical woman. that is why you are feeling this way. you know, ptsd was, oh, you are a man with a weak constitution. man up. aids was, oh, you're gay, that is why this is coming upon you. all they have in common is that before we understood what was going on, we phrased it in such a way that it put blame on the person being sick. it's your fault, you're your own worst enemy. i think these people suffered the exact same kind of treatment, being that people are saying it is all in your head. it's all your fault. i would like this film to encourage discussion that gets us past that and breaks that pattern. when you are already not feeling well, you begin to feel like the scum of the earth. when i was scrutinising the tribeca line—up this year for films that talking movies could possibly cover, i was startled by the write up for one of them, which mentioned that women in switzerland didn't get the right to vote until very late, until 1971. the tribeca film the divine 0rder looks at the story of one woman's emancipation at that time. in the divine 0rder, the film's protagonist is nora, a dutiful swiss wife who, without complaint, tends to the needs of her husband, father—in—law and two children. but she wants more. she wants to work. at the time in switzerland, women couldn't work without permission from their husbands. she'sjust a regular person in the village. she's very busy with her kids. then she finds out when her husband forbids her to work that she is actually really affected by these discriminatory laws in switzerland and also that she can't work, she started to be angry about it, and she starts to become a rebel and fight for it. as the divine 0rder makes clear, women's's rights in early 1970s switzerland were minimal. 1971, it's 46 years ago, it's nothing. and they had no rights, they had no right to go to work, they had no right to open up a bank account. they couldn't sign a contract without the will of a man. having women involved in the political process was seen as being against god's law, against a divine order. the film doesn't directly address why switzerland, commonly thought of as quite a modern country, was so late in granting women the right to vote. there are several possible explanations. i think the big reason is that switzerland is a deeply conservative country and very opposed to change. switzerland has always been kind of well. after the second world war, the world was in shreds, but switzerland was still 0k. so they didn't see the necessity. they were, like, but we're fine. everything's fine, we shouldn't change it. in the film, one of the most visible local opponents in granting women the right to vote is a woman, the head of the anti—politicisation of women's action committee. many swiss women were opposed to universal suffrage. i thought that was a very intriguing antagonist, because it's so surprising that it's a woman. i read a whole dissertation on them. i thought, that's more interesting. i think patriarchy, in the end, affects everybody, men and women. and i wanted to break up that strict war line between men and women. it is not between men and women. i deeply believe that equality is good for men and women. the film has already opened in switzerland. it's a story of female empowerment that really resonated with the picture arriving in cinemas at the time of the worldwide women's march in the wake of president trump's inauguration. i think, with the current political atmosphere, i think the film has become more timely than we anticipated a year ago. because the film is also about civil courage, about standing up and voicing your opinion, about fighting for justice and equality. this story of swiss women's emancipation is quite good cinema. marie leuenberger is solemnly convincing in the central role of nora and the divine 0rder very effectively paints a picture of an inward looking, rigid community, almost hermetically sealed off from the rest of the world, that threatens to suffocate its inhabitants. well, that brings a special tribeca film festival edition of talking movies to a close. we hope you've enjoyed the programme. please remember, you can always reach us online at bbc.com/talkingmovies, and you can find us on facebook, too. so, from me, tom brook, and the rest of the talking movies production crew here in new york, it's goodbye as we leave you with a clip from a tribeca virtual reality project called life of us, which is a story of evolution on earth. it's not often we get a completely dry bank holiday weekend. it looks for this one the first half, a good two quarters of it, will be dry before it turns a little bit wetter late on sunday and into monday. what you will notice is it will be warmer thanit you will notice is it will be warmer than it has been for the last week 01’ so. than it has been for the last week or so. it will be quite windy as well. that is because this area of low pressure, the actor weather friend, will be slowly encroaching us friend, will be slowly encroaching us that weekend wears on. for the meantime, saturday is under the influence of high pressure. for many this afternoon it is going to be fine. the cloud should break up across the midlands, into northern england. we should see sunshine becoming more widespread. 0ne england. we should see sunshine becoming more widespread. one two showers across parts of scotland and northern ireland. in the sunshine, with light wind, 12 or 1a degrees foremost. most of the sunshine will be across the south, where we could see 16 or 17 celsius. this evening and overnight, dry foremost, we should lose the showers from the north—west corner. it will become breezy, even windy, across southern and western areas by the end of the night. some rain across cornwall and devon as the weather front arrives. quite mild, despite clear skies. before sunday, a good—looking date in many central, northern and eastern parts. the south—west, the weather front will be moving northwards and eastwards, turning wetter for wales, northwards and eastwards, turning wetterfor wales, much of northwards and eastwards, turning wetter for wales, much of the south—west, the midlands and southern parts of england. there will be some heavy bursts of rain mixed in. blustery wind. it will be pushing into most of wales by the middle part of the afternoon, reaching the midlands and the south—east. head of it, there will be pretty high temperatures, 17 or 18 degrees across the south—east. cooler across the east coast. away from there, it will feel pleasantly warm. sunshine for northern england and northern ireland, where we could see 18 degrees in the highlands of scotland. bank holiday monday, more u nsettled scotland. bank holiday monday, more unsettled because of this area of low pressure. it moves north eastwards, bringing fairly strong winds to eastern scotland. you can see weather fronts tangled in across a good portion of england and wales. a messy picture, a lot of cloud around. 0utbrea ks of a messy picture, a lot of cloud around. outbreaks of rain, the heavier burst. in the centre, wind could be light, we will see some sunshine where it could feel pleasant. cooler, like i mentioned, across the north—east coast of england and into eastern scotland. for the week ahead, the low pressure moves away and things settle down. we continue to get wind from the near continent. cool on the east coast, warm across western areas. where you get the sunshine, it will feel very pleasant, temperatures into the other teams, one two places seeing about 20 degrees. this is bbc news. the headlines at 2pm... eu leaders unanimously adopt what they say are ‘firm and fair‘ guidelines for negotiating brexit. i'm ben brown live in brussels. i'll bring you the latest developments here. it took those leaders only one minute to agree their brexit strategy. labour leaderjeremy corbyn urges young people to "claim theirfuture" by voting labour in the general election. theresa may is campaigning in scotland for the first time since calling the election. ukip leader paul nuttall is to stand in boston and skegness in lincolnshire. it's emerged that one of the six people arrested in a counter terrorism operation in london on thursday had been suspected of attempting to travel to syria tojoin is. also in the next hour... the heavyweights head for wembley.