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Tribeca Film Festival ’15 Preview

I sure as heck do not know where the time goes nowadays. No sooner was I decompressing from my trip out to Los Angeles for the TCM Film Festival, were my sights set again to my hometown (-ish) festival, Tribeca!

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It’s the day before the official start, early screenings down and schedules sorted, so here is a quick list of what I am looking forward to ….

 

For Your Consideration

Slow West – Saw this Sundance award winner in January and am still recommending it her; check out my review on FlixChatter. Narrative

 

On My ‘Plan to See’ List

As I Am: The Life and Times of DJ AM – Often told in his own voice, the story of Adam Goldstein (known professionally as DJ AM), chronicles the musician’s meteoric rise onto the L.A. party scene to his equally precipitous and very tragic fall. Documentary

Indian Point – This one hits a little close to home (as I live in the Greater Hudson Valley); I am almost afraid to find out the status of this nuclear facility, the safety of which has been a constant presence in our local news in recent years. Documentary

A Ballerina’s Tale – A profile of Misty Copeland, the first African American soloist at the American Ballet Theatre® in decades. Note: this special screening scheduled for this Sunday (4/19) will be followed by a Q&A with Copeland and a dance performance. Documentary

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Mary J Blige: The London Sessions – A behind the scenes look at the recording of the R&B stalwart’s 13th studio album which takes place in … you guessed it – London. Note #2: this screening on Thursday (4/16) will be followed by a performance by the woman herself. Documentary

Monty Python’s The Meaning of Live – Part of TFF’s celebration of the legendary British comedy troupe, The Meaning of Live inter-cuts archival footage with a behind the scenes look at the team as they prepare for their final live show in 2014. Documentary

Far From Men (Loin Des Hommes) – A French language film set in mountainous Algeria starring Viggo Mortensen and scored by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. C’mon, now. Narrative

The Emperor’s New Clothes  – A documentary from award-winning director Michael Winterbottom (Jude, 24 Hour Party People) features comedian/social justice warrior Russell Brand in a no-holds-barred look at the worldwide financial crisis and its consequences. Documentary

Prescription Thugs –I am guessing this film will deliver what is exactly on the tin – a look inside the commerce and personal conflicts that have arisen from the alarming epidemic of prescription drug addiction. Also of note – filmmaker Chris Bell’s (Bigger Stronger Faster) own family suffered a personal loss directly related to this problem. Documentary

 

Of Interest

Franny – I am curious about this one because a couple of years ago, I attended to a Sundance Institute’s writing workshop/table read for this ‘work in progress.’ Now, it is finished and stars Richard Gere, Dakota Fanning and Theo James (Insurgent film series). Gere portrays an eccentric man who inserts himself into the lives of a newlywed couple (Fanning and James). It would be cool to see the final product. Narrative

The Armor of Light – Abigail Disney’s directorial debut looks at Reverend Rob Schneck, an evangelical minister who, likely going against many with whom he shares a common religious affiliation, is spreading a message criticizing the blight gun violence is having on our society. Documentary

Down in the Valley – A sports documentary by way of Emmy award winning Jason Hehir (The Fab Five) about the city of Sacramento’s efforts to prevent their NBA franchise (The Sacramento Kings) from leaving for greener (kaching!) pastures. Documentary

Tumbledown – With a cast headlined by Rebecca Hall and Jason Sudekis and a synopsis that put a smile on my face, I am more than a little curious. Narrative

Hannah (Rebecca Hall) and Andrew (Jason Sudeikis).Photography by Seacia Pavao

 

And Time Permitting …

There are a bunch of Tribeca Talks® and Short Programs (support the shorts!) that I am interested in attending as well, but I will take these in stride and attend as I am able to fit them into my schedule.

I am probably missing something but as you can see, there is a lot going on in Lower Manhattan over the next eleven days.

 

Anyone attending this year’s festival? What are you most looking forward to?

 

* Film synopses’ source: the official Tribeca Film Festival‘s Film Guide; photo credits: Tribeca Film Institute.

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Festivals, Festivals Everywhere!

Hi All!

First things first — massive apologies for the absence as of late (save some intermittent tweeting). Truth be told, I have been in the final stages of moving house (still kinda sorta am) and it took a lot more time and energy out of me than I had anticipated. Alas, I am a little more settled now and can get back to the business at hand.

And what I time I chose to return. As you may be well aware, we are entering the “serious season” for cinema-goers (i.e. Awards Contenders Season) and the film festivals of this month and next have a lot on offer.

While I did not have the pleasure of attending the likes of Telluride or Toronto (I’ll throw Venice in there for good measure), I did follow some of the titles that were featured and here are some that I thought may be well worth a look-see. Click on the hyperlink to find out a little more about the titles:

  1. The Imitation Game dir. Morten Tyldum. Benedict Cumberbatch stars as brilliant Cambridge mathematician, cryptanalyst and pioneering computer scientist Alan Turing, who spearheaded the Enigma code-breaking operation during World War II and was later persecuted by the British government for his homosexuality.
  2. Mr. Turner – dir. Mike Leigh. Timothy Spall won the Best Actor prize at Cannes for his magnificent performance as J.M.W. Turner, in Mike Leigh’s gorgeously rendered biopic of the famed British landscape painter.
  3. Two Days, One Night – dir. Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne. A working-class mother (Marion Cotillard) fights to hold onto her job, in the new film from master filmmakers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne.
  4. Beyond the Lights – dir Gina Prince-Bythewood. A rising young musician (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Belle) falls into a passionate love affair with the cop assigned to protect her (Nate Parker), in this moving and inspirational romance from writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball).
  5. Before We Go – dir. Chris Evans. Chris Evans makes his directorial debut with this winning romance about two strangers (Evans and Alice Eve, Star Trek: Into Darkness) who spend a long, magical night in NYC after missing the last train at Grand Central Terminal.
  6. The Connection – dir Cédric Jimenez. Academy Award winner Jean Dujardin (The Artist) stars as French police magistrate Pierre Michel, who waged an obsessive six-year battle to bring down Marseilles’ infamous “French Connection” drug ring.
  7. Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet – dir Joann Sfar, Tomm Moore, Bill Plympton. Director Roger Allers (The Lion King) assembled an array of internationally acclaimed animators to realize episodes from the classic text by the renowned Lebanese poet, which are woven into the tale of a mischievous young girl (voiced by Beasts of the Southern Wild’s Quvenzhané Wallis) who attempts to free an imprisoned poet (Liam Neeson).
  8. Kill Me Three Times – dir Kriv Stenders. A small Australian town becomes a hotbed of scheming, scamming, blackmail and murder in this blackly comic, sun-scorched neo-noir, featuring a sterling cast that includes Simon Pegg, Alice Braga and Luke Hemsworth.
  9. Miss Julie – dir Liv Ullmann. Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell and Samantha Morton star in this stunning adaptation of the classic August Strindberg play directed by legendary actress and filmmaker Liv Ullmann.
  10. Madame Bovary – dir Sophie Barthes. Mia Wasikowska stars as the disgruntled provincial wife yearning to breathe free in this gorgeously shot adaptation of Gustave Flaubert’s classic novel, co-starring Paul Giammati, Olivier Gourmet, Ezra Miller and Rhys Ifans. Again, I love period pieces even if they are on a slow path of destruction.
  11. National Gallery – dir. Frederick Wiseman. Master documentarian Frederick Wiseman (La Danse, Crazy Horse, At Berkeley) takes us inside the inner workings of London’s National Gallery. Folks, I love museums and seeing the BTS inner workings. This should be a treat.
  12. A Little Chaos – dir Alan Rickman. Commissioned to construct King Louis XIV’s garden at Versailles, a landscape designer (Academy Award winner Kate Winslet) battles professionally and romantically with the king’s chief architect (Matthias Schoenaerts, Rust and Bone), in this sumptuous historical drama from actor-director Alan Rickman.
  13. The Riot Club – dir. Lone Scherfig. Two young men are inducted into the exclusive, debaucherous company of Oxford’s elite “Riot Club,” in this scathing dissection of the British class system from Danish director Lone Scherfig (An Education).
  14. Girlhood – dir. Céline Sciamma, Céline Sciamma. Céline Sciamma Céline Sciamma (Water Lilies, Tomboy) returns to the Festival with this raw, raucous but tender look at a group of black high school students living in the tough banlieues of Paris.

I mean there are dozens more, put that would make this post a programming guide and I am sure no one has time for that, so …

——

Also on my radar (and also in the Greater New York Area) is the first annual Mount Vernon (NY) Film Festival (starts 9.25). Quite near and dear (it’s my hometown, y’all), I hope to have something up concerning this, although my current schedule will mean that I cannot actually attend any of the events.

Lastly, I am looking forward to Lincoln Center’s 52nd annual New York Film Festival (starts 9.26). A preview post will be up sometime this week.

 

In the meantime, what films are you looking forward to seeing from the festival circuit?

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Photo credit: Gabriel Flores Romero (Creative Commons)

 

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Tuesday’s Overlooked Film: Baby Face (1933)

Many films were lost in the mire of the Hays Code (read more about it here); recent years have warranted a re-visitation and examination of these “lost” films. The “Pre-Code” films often used the titillating themes of sexuality and moral ambiguity to pull in and keep the movie going public deeply flocking to the cinemas.

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This week’s overlooked selection, Baby Face starring Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent, is one such example. The tagline reads, She had it and made it pay. Specifically Stanwyck’s Lily Powers uses her feminine guile to work her way up the corporate ladder, ‘bumping’ into the likes of John Wayne along the way.

Thanks to its frank discussion of sex and sexuality, Baby Face‘s release has been said to be (in part) responsible for the institution of the morality–dictating edicts of the Hays Code:

… the original version of the film was rejected by the New York State Censorship Board in April 1933 … The uncensored version remained lost until 2004, when it resurfaced at a Library of Congress film vault in Dayton, Ohio … The restored version premiered at the London Film Festival in November 2004. In 2005 it was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and selected for preservation in the United States Library of Congress National Film Registry and also was named by Time.com as one of the 100 best movies of the last 80 years. (Source: Wikipedia)

I suggest if you have not heard of this film, seek it out. It is a fine example of a Hollywood that existed for a very short period of time but had a lasting impact on the industry for several decades.

Be sure to check out some other overlooked titles at Todd Mason’s blog, Sweet Freedom.

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