Today, the Tribeca Film Festival announced that its founding artistic director, Peter Scarlet, is leaving the festival after six years — and less than two months before this year's events begin. In a statement, Scarlet says it has nothing to do with the fact that just ten days ago, Geoffrey Gilmore was hired to become creative director of Tribeca Enterprises, after a historic nineteen-year reign at Sundance. “I realized simply that it’s time for me to seek new challenges,” he said. We have no reason to believe that this is untrue — except for common sense.

In New York, Scarlet never emerged as the beloved face of the festival in the same way that Gilmore did in Park City — but he had a refined (if peculiar) taste for foreign cinema that might not have been seen otherwise. When Gilmore was hired, we honestly thought it was bizarre that Scarlet was staying on, since it would seem to be impossible for Gilmore to remake Tribeca without shaking up its main project. Now, whatever the reasons for Scarlet’s departure, Gilmore will have much more leeway to reinvent the Tribeca brand in his own image. Next question: Who will Gilmore poach to replace Scarlet?

Peter Scarlet exits Tribeca Film Fest [Variety]