It would take time that we don’t currently have to parse the Tribeca Film Festival line-up just announced, but suffice to say it’s smaller (26% less films than last year) and so far there are no big drawing names other than Woody Allen’s “Whatever Works.” That’s not to say you should see a film festival for name directors and actors, there’ll be plenty of good stuff for sure (and more films will be announced presumably a few with a bit more mainstream cache).
Spoutblog is always good about getting excited for these smaller films when our enthusiasm trails (and in this case cause we haven’t even had a second to read about the films). So here’s some of their picks, by the always-trustworthy Karina Longworth.
About Elly — This Iranian drama won the Silver Bear at last month’s Berlinale, and amongst its more controversial competition, Elly was a critical favorite. Likening it to an Iranian L’Avventura, Kevin Lee noted at The Auteurs Notebook that “the film suggests a post-Kiarostami Iranian cinema capable of achieving much within a mainstream idiom.”
The Exploding Girl — Another Berlin premiere, this narrative directed by Bradley Rust Gray (husband of Treeless Mountain creator So Yong Kim) stars Zoe Kazan as a “Cherubic college student” whose “relationship with her boyfriend slowly disintegrates via cell phone.”
Outrage — the latest doc from Oscar nominee Kirby Dick is said to offer “a searing indictment of the hypocrisy of closeted politicians who actively campaign against the LGBT community they covertly belong to.”
Con Artist — I’d ordinarily be wary of anything described as a “punk-fueled docu-comedy,” but Tribeca has an excellent track record when it comes to art docs, so I’ll give this nonfiction portrait of Mark Kostabi a shot.
Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench — I’ve heard a few good words on the street about Damien Chazelle’s debut feature, described as a “black-and-white, verite-style relationship drama with all that jazzy romance of an old-Hollywood musical. P-Star Rising – Director Gabriel Noble spent four years following hip hop producer/ex-con Jesse Diaz and his young daughter Priscilla, an aspiring rapper who also goes by the name P-Star.
The documentary about CBGB, “Burning Down the House: The Story of CBGB,” sounds interesting to us. Maybe we’ll get a chance for a deeper look later this week. Still no word of Sodbergh’s “The Girlfriend Experience,” which we’re hoping (assuming too much?) plays there as well.
