The Tribeca Film Festival begins in less than a week, running April 18-29 in New York City. After a decade with David Kwok at its programming helm, his departure after last year’s event has led to some staff changes, notably the elevation of longtime senior programmer Genna Terranova to the position of Director of Programming, the arrival of former Cannes Directors’ Fortnight head Frédéric Boyer as Artistic Director, and the greater involvement of Tribeca Enterprises’ Chief Creative Officer, Geoff Gilmore, in programming. It will be interesting to see how audiences and critics respond to this year’s slate, which is not noticeably different in any radical way. In terms of documentary programming, the festival continues to show a commitment to spotlighting US and world non-fiction, including 39 feature-length docs throughout the various sections of the event. While I’ve had a chance to see quite a few of these titles in advance, I’m looking forward to watching the remainder during the next couple of weeks, especially the following highlights:
The World Documentary Competition features a dozen titles from around the globe vying for the festival’s top non-fiction prize. I wrote about two of these at IDFA last fall, both standouts: PLANET OF SNAIL and BALLROOM DANCER. I’ve seen earlier versions of DOWNEAST (pictured), GIRL MODEL‘s David Redmon and Ashley Sabin’s compelling look at unexpectedly contentious efforts to revitalize local seafood processing in Maine; and Scott Thurman’s REVISIONARIES, a provocative, in-depth exploration of the inordinate power wielded by the Texas Board of Education in setting textbook standards, motivated by naked political and religious ideology.
Competition titles I haven’t had the chance to see yet but for which I’m excited include Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher’s OFF LABEL, tracking the various non-endorsed uses of drugs in the US, from self- or mis-diagnosed individuals to recreational pleasure-seekers; Stephen Maing’s HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE (pictured), focusing on Chinese citizen journalists risking persecution by trying to bypass state censorship to report the whole truth, not just the official version; Nisha Pahuja’s THE WORLD BEFORE HER, offering a nuanced perspective of women’s status in India through contrasting looks at the Miss India beauty pageant and a fundamentalist Hindu camp for girls; and THE FLAT, an intriguing excavation of director Arnon Goldfinger’s grandparents’ long-hidden secrets.
Five docs appear in Tribeca’s Galas and Special Screenings sections. Music video directing stars Coodie and Chike’s BENJI, about 1980s Chicago high school basketball prodigy Ben Wilson, is the ESPN sports fest Gala, one of only three Gala spots. I’ve seen promising early cuts of two of the Special Screenings, both focusing on important New York theatre fixtures: Tracie Holder and Karen Thorsen’s JOE PAPP IN FIVE ACTS, a history and appreciation of the Public Theatre’s legendary director, featuring a fantastic wealth of archival footage; and Azad Jafarian’s LOVE AND POLITICS (pictured), a portrait of The Living Theater’s founder, Judith Malina, as the octogenarian attempts to stage a new play despite failing health and economic difficulties.
Tribeca’s Spotlight section includes a dozen documentaries intended to challenge and inform audiences. Among these are Sundance standout winner SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN and Raymond De Felitta’s BOOKER’S PLACE: A MISSISSIPPI STORY, about the legacy of De Felitta’s filmmaker father’s 1965 television documentary exploring racism in the South which featured the jaw-droppingly raw testimony of African-American waiter Booker Wright. I’m looking forward to catching Morgan Spurlock’s newest film, MANSOME, a playful meditation on the meaning of manhood; Ramona Diaz’s DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’: EVERYMAN’S JOURNEY (pictured), the unlikely but true story of Filipino singer Arnel Pineda rise from obscurity to becoming Journey’s new frontman; Daniel Miller, Seth Kramer, and Jeremy Newberger’s ÉVOCATEUR: THE MORTON DOWNEY JR MOVIE, a revisitation of the career and legacy of the controversial, in-your-face talk show host; and Michael Sládek’s BAM150, a behind-the-scenes look at the celebrated cultural institution.
The second year of the Viewpoints section includes seven non-fiction projects. Already seen here are EL GUSTO, about a form of Algerian music that brought Arabs and Jews together in the past; and an earlier cut of JOURNEY TO PLANET X (pictured), Josh Koury and Myles Kane’s winning and fun portrait of two friends who spend two years collaborating on an ultra-low-budget sci-fi short film. Also in this category are Jill Bauer and Ronna Gradus’ revealing exposé on the commodification and omnipresence of sex in American culture, SEXY BABY; Tom Putnam and Brenna Sanchez’s year inside the underfunded yet overworked Detroit Fire Department, BURN; and DONOR UNKNOWN‘s Jerry Rothwell’s portrait of a small Ethiopian village that has produced multiple Olympians, TOWN OF RUNNERS.
Finally, the festival’s Tribeca Talks series includes indepth conversations following screenings of three documentary projects. Highly recommended is Andrew Shea’s PORTRAIT OF WALLY (pictured), which relates the fascinating and complex story behind the 13 year battle over the legal ownership of the titular Egon Schiele painting, stolen from its 1939 owner by the Nazis. I’m hoping to see WAGNER’S DREAM, Susan Froemke’s five-years-in-the-making doc on Robert Lepage’s epic restaging of THE RING CYCLE for the Metropolitan Opera.
During the festival, I’m helping to coordinate a series of daily panels co-presented by Indiewire and the Apple Store, and will also moderate Biography on Film, a Tribeca Talks: Pen to Paper panel hosted by Barnes & Noble Union Square exploring biographical documentaries in the festival’s line-up. If you’re in NYC for the festival, come check these out.
what (not) to doc 