Tribeca's new TV festival highlights streaming and VR shows

The Tribeca Film Festival is no stranger to embracing technology as a creative tool, and that's true now that it's branching out into episodic video. Tribeca is hosting its first TV Festival in (where else?) New York City from September 22nd through the 24th, and it's clear that tech will play an important role. You'll see previews from conventional broadcasters like ABC, Fox and NBC, but you'll also see the premiere of the third season of Amazon's Red Oaks comedy, a panel for YouTube's Creators for Change and the debut of Look But With Love, a Within VR documentary about Pakistan's social challenges.

The organization isn't new to episodic content, including online material -- it already had an April TV program, and it has showcased internet-only productions like Grace and Frankie and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. However, a dedicated TV festival puts more of a spotlight on these productions and gives them higher critical regard than they've sometimes had in the past. Internet and VR video aren't outliers in the TV world -- they're as much a part of the discussion as what you'd find on cable or satellite.