Ever since its founding in 2002—as a way to rejuvenate Lower Manhattan in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks—the Tribeca Film Festival has not only provided New Yorkers with plenty of entertainment, but generates over $500 million for the Big Apple. Movies ranging from Let the Right One In to The Avengers have premiered at Tribeca, and this year’s edition boasts films from 32 countries, including 77 world premieres. There’s also a huge TV program, with several high-profile shows unspooling at the fest, as well as talks from A-listers like Tom Hanks, J.J. Abrams, and more. So without further ado, here’s what to check out at this year’s Tribeca Film Fest.
Tribeca Film Festival
One of the greatest ever New York movies—and films in general—will be feted at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival with a 40th anniversary screening at the Beacon Theatre followed by a post-screening discussion with director Martin Scorsese, screenwriter Paul Schrader, and stars Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, and Cybill Shepherd. It’s your opportunity to be transported back to gritty New York City, a time when crime was rampant, culture flourished, and nary a tacky Trump building could be seen.
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The documentary Contemporary Color will make its world premiere at Tribeca, serving as the opening film in the World Documentary competition. Directed by Bill Ross and Turner Ross, the sprawling concert flick is a celebration of the Color Guard and its troupe of synchronized dancers, chronicling renowned New York musician David Byrne’s curated Color Guard concert in Brooklyn last year. The show paired Color Guard performance teams with a bevy of A-list musicians, including St. Vincent, Ad-Rock (of the Beastie Boys), Nelly Furtado, and more in an eye-catching celebration of music and dance.
This surreal comedy-drama, directed by Liza Johnson and co-written by the actor Cary Elwes (of The Princess Bride fame) dramatizes an alleged meeting that happened on the morning of Dec. 21, 1970, at the White House between Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon. Rumor has it that Elvis arrived wanting to swear in Tricky Dick as an undercover agent in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. And in this flick, Elvis will be played by the inimitable Michael Shannon while Nixon will be embodied by none other than Kevin Spacey.
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One of the highlights of this year’s Tribeca are the talks. There is J.J. Abrams in conversation with recent Oscars host Chris Rock; Mark Ruffalo (aka The Hulk) with his Avengers director Joss Whedon; Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks shooting the breeze with John Oliver; legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola; newly-minted late-night host Samantha Bee; and much more.
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Yes, the one and only Oprah will grace us with her holy presence at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, where she’ll be premiering her upcoming TV series Greenleaf. Created by Craig Wright and executive-produced by Oprah for her OWN network, the drama follows a powerful African-American family in Memphis involved in a megachurch, and all the secrets and lies and unfold. It stars Keith David as the Bishop James Greenleaf, Lynn Whitfield as his wife, and will feature Oprah as a recurring guest star. After the show’s Tribeca premiere, Oprah (!!) will be on hand to speak about the show.
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As far as casts go at this year’s Tribeca, it doesn’t get much better than Detour, which boasts three of the hottest young actors in Hollywood. It centers on a law student (Tye Sheridan, Mud) grieving for his dead mother who struggles with whether or not he should dispose of his wild, unfaithful stepfather, played by True Blood’s Stephen Moyer. The film also features rising stars Emory Cohen (Brooklyn) and Bel Powley (Diary of a Teenage Girl).
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Directed by Ian Roderick Gray and Dylan Harvey, this renegade documentary focuses on the heist of a valuable Banksy sculpture displayed in public—known as “The Drinker”—by the ex-porn star and self-proclaimed “art terrorist” AK47. The caper pulls us into the messy mind of AK47, and blurs the line between fact and fiction. It remains to be seen how Banksy’s recent unmasking will have an effect on the flick.
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In the wake of The Jinx and Making a Murderer, true crime stories are all the rage these days, and it doesn’t get more frustrating than this, which many are calling the female version of Joe Berlinger’s Paradise Lost. The documentary explores the case of the San Antonio Four: four women who, back in 1994, were convicted of the sexual assault of two girls. The charges involved witchcraft to boot. But the women convicted of the crime have always maintained their innocence, calling the story a complete fabrication and the result of homophobia and ’90s fear of child abuse and the occult. Were the women innocent all along? You be the judge.
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In Bill Purple’s film, Jason Sudeikis makes another foray into drama as an architect who loses his wife (Jessica Biel) in a car accident. In the aftermath, struggling to cope, he helps a homeless young girl (Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams) build a raft in an attempt to sail across the Atlantic Ocean. The film is produced by Biel and features her husband, Justin Timberlake, as its composer and music supervisor.
Based on the 2012 novel by Dave Eggers, this surreal comedy is directed by Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) and stars Tom Hanks as Alan Clay, a down-on-his-luck American salesman who finds himself compelled to travel all the way to Saudi Arabia to negotiate an IT contract for a sprawling complex being built by the Saudi royal family in the middle of the desert. The film also stars Homeland’s Sarita Choudhury, Ben Whishaw, and Tom Skeritt.
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One of the most sure-to-be moving documentaries at this year’s Tribeca is Lloyd Kramer’s film about how, in the wake of the Sandy Hook mass shooting, a theater production travels to tragedy-stricken Newton, Connecticut, looking to cast local kids in a rock opera version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The project, aimed at healing the community, helps do just that, as we see the kids explore their creativity and find their voice from auditions all the way to the rising of the curtain. What’s more, after the premiere screening, there will be a performance by the Grammy-nominated Jimmy Greene Quartet.
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Directed by filmmaker Justin Kelly, who helmed I Am Michael—based on the true story of gay icon turned closeted Christian Michael Glatze—this flick tells the story of real-life gay porn star Brent Corrigan, aka Sean Paul Lockhart (Garrett Clayton), who, after he rises to superstardom, falls out with his sleazy producer (Christian Slater) and is forced to compete for the minds of gay porn consumers with a pair of rival stars, played by James Franco and Keegan Allen. The film also stars Alicia Silverstone (!) and Molly Ringwald (!!).
