Tribeca Film Festival is branching out
BY RANIA RICHARDSON
Springtime in New York marks
the season for the annual Tribeca
Film Festival. This year’s 18th
edition, which runs from April 24 to
May 5, will include a wide variety of
programs and events beyond the usual
slate of narrative and documentary
fi lm. Celebrity interviews, music performances,
virtual-reality experiences
and television fare will join the movie
lineup that includes world premieres
of fi lms by Christoph Waltz, Jared
Leto and Margot Robbie.
The festival was founded in 2002
with the mission to reinvigorate
Lower Manhattan after the Sept. 11
attacks on the World Trade Center.
This year’s event is more expansive
beyond Tribeca than ever. There
will be screenings in the East Village,
Chelsea, the Upper West Side
and, this year, in Harlem, for the gala
opening night fi lm, “The Apollo,”
which chronicles the 85-year history
of the legendary venue.
“Every festival is shaped by and
refl ective of its community, and we
are fortunate that our hometown
just happens to be the most diverse
city on Earth,” said festival director
Cara Cusumano. “So our curatorial
mandate is to bring to the screens a
cinematic celebration — in only 100
features — whose breadth of stories
and storytellers is as prismatic and
adventurous, local and global, diverse
and inclusive as our incredible city.”
Highlights from the red-carpet
crowd include Christoph Waltz’s directorial
debut, “Georgetown,” a
crime drama starring him alongside
Annette Bening and Vanessa
Redgrave. “Mad Men”
producer Semi Chellas will
also present her fi rst outing
as director in “American
Woman,” a fi ctionalized
story about the kidnapping
of Patty Hearst. Jared
Leto’s “A Day in the
Life of America” features
crowd-sourced footage
shot on July 4, 2017, from
across the U.S., in an homage
to all 50 states. “Dreamland,”
a thriller set in the Oklahoma
dustbowl, introduces star Margot
Robbie as a producer. “Framing John
DeLorean” features Alec Baldwin in
a documentary-narrative hybrid, on
the life and career of the controversial
1980s auto executive.
Closing night fi lm will see the world
premiere of Danny Boyle’s rock-n-roll
comedy, “Yesterday,” which follows
an English singer-songwriter
who wakes up to discover
that the Beatles never
existed.
Perhaps in response
to criticism
that the fi lms in
the TFF pale in
quality next to
the Film Society
of Lincoln
Center’s
New
York Film
Fe s t i v a l ,
the festival
is introducing
a new
sidebar this
year: It will
showcase fi ve
to seven fi lms
selected by
esteemed New
York-based movie
reviewers, such as
IndieWire’s Eric Kohn
and New York magazine’s
Emily Yoshida, in a
“Critics’ Week.”
Film fans do credit the TFF with
reliably good documentary programming.
This year’s lineup takes on issues
such integrative veterinary medicine
(“The Dog Doc”), the aftermath
of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman
Douglas High School last year (“After
Parkland”), and the strength and
PHOTO GRAPH BY ROB HATCH-MILLER
“Other Music” follows the story
of the Village store of the same
name, with Josh Madell, left,
and Chris Vanderloo, two of its
founders.
perseverance of the fi rst all-female
crew in a 1989 sailing competition
(“Maiden”).
A number of other nonfi ction
titles focus on music and musicians:
Rolling Stones bassist
Bill Wyman (“The Quiet
One”), the lead singer of
the band INXS (“Mystify:
Michael Hutchence”), and
musician Linda Ronstadt
(“Linda Ronstadt: The
Sound of My Voice”).
Ronstadt, now 72, is retired
from singing. Sheryl
Crow will perform after
the fi lm’s premiere.
“Other Music” follows the
trajectory of the cherished
indie record store of the same
name housed for 20 years on E.
Fourth St. in Greenwich Village,
in a new TFF special section called,
“This Used to Be New York.” It joins
documentaries on 1970s graffi ti photographer
Martha Cooper (“Martha:
A Picture Story”), and Abel Ferrara’s
chronicle of a Cyprus-born cinema
owner experiencing the city’s fading
movie industry (“The Projectionist”).
Filmmakers and casts
will reunite for conversations
following
celebratory
a n n i ve r s a r y
screenings of
cult classics,
i n cludi ng
Ben Stiller’s
1994 Gen
X drama
“ R e a l -
ity Bites,”
Cameron
C r owe ’s
1 9 8 9
rom-com
“Say Anything,”
and
Rob Reiner’s
heavy metal
mockumentry
“Spinal Tap”
from 1984.
Director Francis
Ford Coppola will
present his Vietnam War
drama “Apocalypse Now”
— considered one of the greatest
fi lms ever made — in a 4K high-definition
resolution “fi nal cut” restoration
of the 1979 fi lm.
Also celebrating anniversaries,
episodes of two infl uential TV series
will come to the big screen with cast
members in tow: two episodes of
“The Simpsons” and the fi rst episode
of “In Living Color,” the variety show
that launched the careers of Keenen
Ivory Wayans, Jim Carrey, Jennifer
Lopez and many others.
Tribeca Film Festival co-founder
Robert De Niro will sit down with
Martin Scorsese to discuss their longtime
creative partnership, from “Taxi
Driver” through the upcoming “The
Irishman.” Other conversations will
feature comic Sarah Silverman, musician
Questlove and actress Jennifer
Lawrence with her frequent collaborator,
director David O. Russell.
Those looking for immersive adventures
in storytelling can participate in
virtual-reality, augmented-reality and
mixed-reality experiences: “Drop in
the Ocean” highlights pollution in the
deep sea through a ride on the back
of a jellyfi sh, while “Dr. Who: The
Runaway” is an extension of the beloved
television series, voiced by the
current female “Dr.”
For the free family screening of the
original 1977 “Star Wars: Episode IV
– A New Hope” on May 4, costumes
are encouraged for all attendees.
“Mystify: Michael Hutchence,”
on the late INXS singer, is one
of the music-focused films on
this year’s Tribeca Film Festival
bill.
26 April 11, 2019 TVG Schneps Media