At the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, IWC Schaffhausen celebrated the art of filmmaking and showcased its support for emerging artists at the fourth annual “For the Love of Cinema” gala dinner.
IWC CMO Franziska Gsell co-hosted the evening with Tribeca Film Festival founders Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff. The luxury watch manufacturer delighted the 200 notable guests with the presentation of the IWC Filmmaker Award, which went to this year’s honouree, Matt Ruskin. IWC brand ambassadors Scott Eastwood and Dev Patel, and host, comedian Joel McHale, entertained the star-studded crowd before an exclusive performance by JOHNNYSWIM closed the evening’s event.
As a highlight, Franziska Gsell presented this year’s award winner Matt Ruskin with the USD 50,000 film grant, as well as the official IWC Filmmaker Award trophy and an IWC timepiece.
Matt Ruskin started his career as a production assistant on Darren Aronofsky’s “Requiem for a Dream”. Now, he shows his amazing skills as the writer and director of his own film project “Untitled Colin Warner Project”.
The film tells the story of Colin Warner, who was wrongfully convicted of murder, and his best friend Carl King, who devotes his life to proving Colin’s innocence. “For me, this film was a standout from this year’s selection. Matt Ruskin clearly is emerging as a force to be reckoned with; his moving story showcases friendship and love, all while dealing with a criminal injustice,” said Georges Kern, explaining the motivation behind the jury’s choice.
The Swiss luxury watch manufacturer founded its IWC Filmmaker Award several years ago to support up-andcoming filmmakers on their path of innovation and creation. IWC presents the award as part of its commitment to the film festivals of Beijing, Zurich, London and Dubai, and now for the fourth time in its role as Official “Festival-Time” Partner of the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.
Earlier that day, IWC had launched the Portugieser Annual Calendar Edition “Tribeca Film Festival 2016” (Ref. 503506), which is powered by the IWC-manufactured 52850 calibre. Located at “12 o’clock” on the dial, IWC’s annual calendar shows the month, date and day in three separate, semicircular windows. The “American” order in which the date is shown was not only necessary from a technical and design point of view, but also pays tribute to F.A. Jones, IWC’s American founder.
With its 44.2-millimetre case, grooved bezel, classic railway-track-style chapter ring, slim feuille hands and Arabic numerals, the Portugieser Annual Calendar very closely resembles the original Portugieser of 1939, a veritable design icon. The dial is a subtle slate colour which embodies the New York City streets to honour the Tribeca Film Festival, while the small seconds subdial and the power reserve display are Bordeaux-coloured, symbolizing the red carpets. The oscillating weight bears the logo of the Tribeca Film Festival, and the milled lettering 01/50 is a reminder that only very few watch lovers will be able to secure this extra-special edition.
