It’s Movie Time in NYC

by Natasha Wolff | April 15, 2016 3:08 pm

For the fourth year in a row, the luxury watch brand IWC Schaffhausen[1] is keeping time at the Tribeca Film Festival and honoring the occasion with a special, limited-edition timepiece. Just 50 of the Portugieser Annual Calendar Edition Tribeca Film Festival 2016 timepieces will be available exclusively at IWC boutiques in the United States. Bearing a close resemblance to the original Portugieser of 1939 and featuring an oscillating weight with the Tribeca Film Festival logo, the $21,500 stunner is a collector’s item for both cinephiles and watch lovers. 

The Portugieser Annual Calendar “Tribeca Film Festival 2016”

The brand’s North American President Edouard d’Arbaumont fits this category. “I see a lot of similarities between the watch and the film industry but also between the luxury industry and the film industry,” he says. “And also it’s a bit natural for us because we have had long term, personal relationships with actors, with filmmakers. For many years they have been wearing IWC and naturally, we have connections with this industry. This was something very important for us.”

In past years IWC has auctioned off one-of-a-kind watches with the proceeds benefitting the Tribeca Film Institute, but this year the brand has shifted its focus and opted to do away with the auction, instead raising the amount of money awarded to the winner of the IWC Filmmaker Award from $25,000 to $50,000. “The IWC sponsorship is really helping them and when you’re able to talk with them and hear how much difference we were able to make, it’s really nice,” says d’Arbaumont.  “Really the whole point of the award is to help a filmmaker to finish his project. And one of the requests we are making is the film needs to be finalized within 12 months.” Last year’s winner Deb Shoval certainly rose to the challenge—her film AWOL, a feature-length version built from her acclaimed short film of the same name—will be premiering at Tribeca this year. Shoval also served as one of the jurors tasked with selecting this year’s award winner along with Paula Weinstein, Anna Ponder and IWC CEO Georges Kern. The prize was presented to Matt Ruskin at last night’s “For the Love of Cinema” Gala, attended by Hollywood heavyweights like IWC Brand Ambassadors Dev Patel and Scott Eastwood.

Source URL: https://dujour.com/culture/tribeca-film-festival-iwc-schaffhausen-watches-filmmaker-award/