The Tribeca Film Festival is returning to Manhattan starting Wednesday, June 3rd through the 14th. This year the festival celebrates 25 years of championing diverse voices, unique storytelling, and quality film, discussions, reunions, games, and more.
The Fest kicks off on June 3rd with a gala opening and the premiere of EARTH, WIND, & FIRE: TO BE CELESTIAL VS THAT’S THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD, a documentary about founder Maurice White and the influential band directed by Questlove. Earth, Wind, & Fire will be on-hand for the viewing of the film and will perform afterwards.
On the 4th, things really start moving as premieres occur throughout the day at several venues throughout lower Manhattan. More music documentaries make their debut, such as FRAMPTON at 8pm at the OKX Theater at the Borough of Manhattan Community College Tribeca Performing Arts Theater, featuring an appearance by the legendary guitarist after the screening. Other music documentaries include subjects such as Alejandro Sanz, Magdalena Bay, and Sara Bareilles. Documentaries about Mario Cuomo, 9/11, Shea Stadium, Tik Tok, sperm retrieval, and more. Narratives and shorts begin their theatrical showings, as well, including THE ACCOMPANIST starring Aubrey Plaza and Susan Sarandon. Actors Paul Rudd and Seth Meyers will be in conversation at Spring Studios at 6pm.
Friday the 5th finds premieres from films starring David Cross, Kyle Gallner, Tim Blake Nelson, Vera Farmiga, Emilia Clarke, Allison Brie, and Dustin Hoffman. Conversations include Madonna, Sean Penn, and a special screening of Scorsese’s TAXI DRIVER preceded by a conversation with Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro, and Jodie Foster moderated by W. Kamau Bell.
Saturday June 6th offers more premieres for films starring Paul Rudd, Jeremy Sisto, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, David Cross, Bob Odenkirk, Dana Carvey, Will Ferrell, Maya Rudolph, Simon Pegg, Quentin Tarantino, Sofia Boutella, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lizzy McAlpine, and more. Documentaries explore the films CRUISING and AMERICAN HISTORY X, the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, the history of Jail Time Records in Africa, and the ever-present subjects of AI and THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. Saturday also features a collection of animation shorts curated and hosted by Whoopi Goldberg.
Sunday June 7th features more premieres from films starring Margot Martindale, Marc Maron, Edward Burns, James D’Arcy, Zach Braff, and more. A 30th Anniversary viewing of the Wachowski siblings’ directorial breakout BOUND at 8:15pm at Spring Studios will be followed by a discussion between the Wachowskis, Gina Gershon, Jennifer Tilly, Joe Pantoliano, and Christopher Meloni moderated by Julie Klausner.
Monday, June 8th, brings the premiere of the music documentary KATY PERRY: THE LIFETIMES TOUR - LIVE FROM PARIS concert film, followed by a conversation with the artist, herself. Also showing is a 4K remaster of the 20th anniversary print of Daft Punk’s ELECTROMA, a rarely-seen avant-garde science fiction film shot by the legendary duo. Discussion featured will find Keje Palmer and Whoopi Goldberg chatting at the SVA theater at 6:00pm and Kara Swisher hosting Marc Maron on her podcast for a live recording at Spring Studios at 8:00pm.
Tuesday, June 9th sees the premiere of what is likely my most anticipated documentary of the Fest: DEATH BOOM, directed by Jessica Chandler, produced by Eli Roth and Leonardo DiCaprio. The film deals with death and physical remains, and what is expected to be a crisis of sorts when the Baby Boomers start dying off in numbers we’ve never seen before. It’s a concept briefly explored in Jose Saramgo’s 2008 novel DEATH WITH INTERRUPTIONS. Also on hand is the comedy film NEVER CHANGE, with the brilliant premise of the class of 2008 having to return to high school due to a legal loophole, and THE MAN WILL BURN, the definitive documentary on the unwieldy festival, Burning Man.
Wednesday, June 10th, sees the premiere of the documentary 4000 DAYS, which follows three grieving families as they take to the courts to change the conversation around fraternity hazing and its occasionally deadly consequences. Another documentary of note is HOW TO FEED A DICTATOR, which offers intimate confessions from five private chefs who’ve cooked for despots, as well as SPIN WARS, an examination of the boom of stationary-cycle spin classes and the struggles between its largest progenitors. For a lighter diversion, check out the newest film from director David Wain and writer Ken Marino, the team that brought you WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER, GAIL DAUGHTRY & THE CELEBRITY SEX PASS. Early reactions are teasing a return to comedy with abandon, which I think we could all use after all the death and dictators and exercise.
Thursday, June 11th features the festival’s award ceremony at 3:30 at Spring Studios, followed by a double-header that makes me want to split into two people: founders Robert DeNiro and Jane Rosenthal will discuss the festival’s origin, history, and impact at 8:00pm at the OKX Theater while at the same time Spring Studios will premiere the documentary TRINITY: THE STORY OF THE LOX followed by a performance by the legendary hip-hop trio.
Friday, June 12th is another big day for documentaries, finding subjects in Carmelo Anthony, critic George Whipple, and folk-stomp pioneers Mumford & Sons. Classic screenings bring Ben Stiller and Matthew Broderick together to discuss THE CABLE GUY and Renee Zellweger and director Sharon Maguire to celebrate BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY.
Saturday night sees the festival come to a close with another gala event: the documentary ALICIA KEYS: GIRL FROM HELL’S KITCHEN, followed by a Q&A with the subject and the film’s director, One9. Also premiering on the final day is a documentary about Travis Barker, noted drummer of Blink 182, and a documentary on noted Irish abstract painter Guggi.
Sunday, June 14th, the official final day of the festival, offers celebratory screenings of the films honored with awards within the festival, itself.
This is obviously a very bare-bones overview of the festival, which boasts 103 world premiere films from 118 features, 45 world premieres from its 86 short films, and multiple TV pilots, episodes, and more. To give you a taste of the excitement of attending the festival, I was able to speak with director Drew van Steenbergen, whose short film BUCKETS has been selected as a film in the “Love Fictionally” block, debuting Friday, June 5th. BUCKETS is a firecracker of a ten-minute film which we somehow managed to discuss for thirteen minutes. The synopsis reads: “After a late night dating app match, Drew's excitement curdles into obsession as he spends 48 hours unraveling in a haze of paranoia, overanalysis, and self-sabotage.”
Check out our interview here:
And check back after the festival run for some thoughts on some of the films, red carpet takes, and conversations I checked out.
Until next time, stay safe!
-McEric, aka Eric McClanahan-
