TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL AND PROFESSOR CLAYTON CHRISTENSEN
ANNOUNCE HONOREES FOR 2011 TRIBECA DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION AWARDS
***
Event at 10th Tribeca Film Festival to Recognize Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales,
Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration (DARPA), Author David Brooks and Many More
***
Event to Introduce Disruptive Innovation 2.0
New York, NY – April 25, 2010 – The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), in collaboration with noted Harvard Business School professor Clay Christensen, will hold the second edition of the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Awards on April 26. Honorees will include Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales, Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration (DARPA) and author David Brooks among others.
After publishing his best-selling book The Innovators Dilemma in 1997, Christensen moved to center stage as one of the world’s leading experts on innovation. His groundbreaking book presented his theory of disruptive innovation. It since has become one of the business world’s most important theories, and explains why great companies fail: They are frequently decimated by “two guys in a garage” who develop a simpler, cheaper more accessible product or service that is “good enough to get the job done.” Forbes magazine recently hailed Christensen as “one of the world’s most important business theorists of the past 50 years.”
Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, will receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award; DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), will receive the Special Recognition Award for its seminal role in the invention of the Internet. The Award will be received by Dr. Ken Gabriel, Deputy Director of DARPA, and attendees will be treated to a rare glimpse of “BigDog,” the futuristic quadruped robot being developed by DARPA and Boston Dynamics. Author and New York Times columnist David Brooks will receive the Book of the Year prize for The Social Animal.
“The energy of the Tribeca Film Festival and all of its storytellers brings new insight and urgency to the theory of disruptive innovation,” Christensen said. “Theorists and practitioners alike must vigilantly hunt for anomalies, explanations, and narratives that help keep the theory fresh. I am thrilled to join Tribeca in celebrating this year’s honorees, who are propelling us toward Disruptive Innovation 2.0.”
“Tribeca, since its inception, has been a living laboratory for disruptive innovation, where culture and storytelling of all shapes and flavors have learned to dance with and embrace new realities, including rapidly changing technologies and business models,” said festival founder Craig Hatkoff. “We are thrilled to introduce our artists and audiences to this powerful theory of change through its originator, Professor Christensen and what the future might hold. The goal is help people quickly identify and unleash disruptive potential across a broad spectrum of human endeavor. Clay is inviting everyone to help improve the theory and look for anomalies that otherwise can’t be explained. This is the essence of a paradigm shift.”
Open-source guru and hacker Eric Stephen Raymond will revisit his 1997 open-source manifesto on Linux, entitled The Cathedral and the Bazaar, which influenced the creation of many open-source communities including Wikipedia. This year’s award statuettes are being christened the Maslow’s Silver Hammer Award, named in honor of psychologist Abe Maslow, who created the famous hierarchy of human needs. One of Maslow’s most famous quotes -- “when your only tool is a hammer, every problem starts looking like a nail” -- embodies the spirit of the awards and symbolizes the need for new approaches to old problems. The statuettes, designed by 3D Systems, will be printed using the latest 3D printing. 3D Systems will bring several of its 3D printers that will demonstrate this radical new approach to manufacturing and design.
The Awards Ceremony, moderated by journalist and public health advocate Perri Peltz and Tribeca co-founder Craig Hatkoff, aims to showcase applications of and advancements in disruptive innovation theory that have spread far beyond the original technology and industrial realms. It is now being applied to vexing societal problems such as healthcare, education, philanthropy, politics, religion and spirituality. But its impact is nowhere more pronounced than in the fields of media, arts and entertainment. The original theory is undergoing its own evolution, impacted by the Internet and connection technologies, open-source business models, and platforms that democratize content creation and attract new audiences. Christensen will address the new insights and lenses in his opening remarks on Disruptive Innovation 2.0.
The morning event features a discussion moderated by Tribeca Film Festival’s Geoff Gilmore, Nancy Spector, Chief Curator of the Guggenheim, Peter Gelb, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Opera and Simon Ramsey of Rockstar Games that explores the interplay between established institutions and evolving networks. The Council on Foreign Relations’ Gideon Rose will moderate a conversation between Clay Christensen and honoree David Brooks exploring the themes of Brook’s new book The Social Animal. The Awards will be followed by a light lunch.
The 2011 Disruptive Innovation Award honorees are as follows:
Lifetime Achievement Award: Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia. With only 50 employees, and 450 million users, Wikipedia has changed the face of the world of collaborative information sharing.
Special Recognition Award: the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), for its role in creating, founding and funding of the Internet.
Book of the Year: The Social Animal, by David Brooks, author and noted New York Times columnist.
Other award recipients include:
The BP Spillcam and U.S. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Markey’s relentless efforts provided the public with a live feed “spillcam,” revealing the devastation occurring on the ocean floor.
The Jefferson Bible, created by President Thomas Jefferson. A polymath and deist, Jefferson used a razor blade to cut and paste his own version of the Bible entitled The Moral Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth, in four languages: English, French, Greek and Latin.
The Digital Disruption: Connectivity and the Diffusion of Power, by Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen, was published in Foreign Affairs magazine in October 2010 and eerily presages the events in the Middle East that started to unfold in December 2010. Cohen is adjunct fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and director of Google Ideas and Schmidt is Executive Chairman of Google.
Keith Richards, for his “open G tuning.” Instead of six strings in standard guitar tuning, in the late 60’s Keith Richards created a disruptive innovation by playing chords and riffs on five-string open G banjo tuning on his electric guitar. “It changed my life,” said Richards. This innovative use of Open G tuning embodied the hallmark sound of the Rolling Stones, leaving an indelible mark on rock and roll.
3D Systems, for additive manufacturing (3D printing). Advances in alloys and printing technologies represent one of the most promising advances that have the potential to change the entire economic landscape.
Xtranormal, for pioneering text-to-video animation technology.
Charter Cities: Paul Romer, an entrepreneur and senior fellow in the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, will accept the award. The theory behind charter cities: Sometimes it is easier to start over than to fix legacy issues and get bogged down by politics, legal hurdles and special interests.
TEDx: Chris Anderson will accept the award. This radical innovation expanded the TED audience making it more accessible and affordable, while tapping into a treasure trove of new sources of content through a licensing model of the traditional TED Conference. This risky decision has paid off and has enabled the TED brand to bring scale to its mission of ideas worth spreading.
The Met: Live in HD: Metropolitan Opera Director Peter Gelb will accept the award. The challenge of finding new audiences while keeping traditional opera lovers satisfied was solved by the Met through high definition simulcasts, which now reach up to 1,500 movie theatres in 46 countries and an estimated audience to date of 7 million.
Guggenheim’s YouTube Play: In this collaboration by the Guggenheim Museum and YouTube, the Guggenheim used an open Internet call for entries and selected 20 videos from 23,000 submissions, exhibiting them at its museums in October 2010 and making the videos available worldwide via YouTube. Accepting the award: Nancy Spector, Chief Curator, Guggenheim Museum.
Warden Byron Garcia and “Thriller in Manila”: In order to improve conditions at a prison where violence and despair was commonplace, Garcia instituted a mandatory program of dance and music for his 1500 inmates. In addition to creating a positive environment, and ending gang activity in the prison, the resulting dances (such as one set to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”) became enormous YouTube sensations, gathering nearly 50 million hits.
Espresso Book Machine: Legendary publisher Jason Epstein and CEO Dane Neller have created a print-on-demand machine that eventually will allow users to choose from an enormous digital library of books, and print them on site.
Innovators to Watch: ROADS Scholars: Combining two spaces in desperate need of innovation -- education and the rehabilitation of youth prison population -- the new initiative creates charter schools for young, incarcerated populations.
Tickets for 2011 Festival:
Tickets for the Festival will be $16.00 for evening and weekend screenings, and $8.00 for daytime weekday and late night screenings.
Single tickets can be purchased online, by telephone, or at one of the Ticket Outlets, with locations at Tribeca Cinemas at 54 Varick Street, Chelsea Clearview Cinemas at 260 West 23rd Street, and AMC Village VII at 66 3rd Avenue. The 2011 Festival will continue ticket discounts for evening and weekend screenings for students, seniors and select downtown Manhattan residents. Discounted tickets are available at Ticket Outlet locations only. Discounted ticket packages can only be purchased online and by phone. Additional information and further details on the Festival can be found at www.tribecafilm.com.
About Tribeca Film Festival:
The Tribeca Film Festival helps filmmakers reach the broadest possible audience, enabling the international film community and general public to experience the power of cinema and promote New York City as a major filmmaking center. It is well known for being a diverse international film festival that supports emerging and established directors.
Founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff in 2001 following the attacks on the World Trade Center, to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of the lower Manhattan district through an annual celebration of film, music and culture, the Festival brings the industry and community together around storytelling.
The Tribeca Film Festival has screened more than 1,100 films from more than 80 countries since its first edition in 2002. Since inception, it has attracted an international audience of more than 3 million attendees and has generated an estimated $600 million in economic activity for New York City.
About the 2011 Festival Sponsors:
As Founding Sponsor of the Tribeca Film Festival, American Express is committed to supporting the Festival and the art of filmmaking, bringing business and energy to New York City and offering Cardmembers and festivalgoers the opportunity to enjoy the best of storytelling through film.
The Festival is pleased to announce the return of its Signature Sponsors: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Apple, Bloomberg, Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), Brookfield, Caesars Atlantic City, Heineken USA, LG Electronics USA, NBC 4 New York, NCM Media Networks, New York Nonstop, RR Donnelley, Stolichnaya Vodka, The New York Times, Time Warner Cable, and Vanity Fair. The Tribeca Film Festival is also honored to welcome the following new Signature Sponsors: Accenture, Bing, Doha Film Institute, JetBlue Airways, and Magnum Ice Cream.
Press Contacts:
TFF/Rubenstein Communications:
Dade Hayes, (212) 843-8022, dhayes@rubenstein.com
Jodi Sevin Patkin, (212) 843-8393, jsevin@rubenstein.com
TFF/Tribeca Enterprises:
Tammie Rosen, VP of Communications, (212) 941-2003, trosen@tribecaenterprises.com
###
