As the Tribeca Film Festival reaches its 14th year, the New York-based celebration of cinema is well into puberty as it continues to get high-profile world premieres starring some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, smaller independent films, the best of world cinema as well as highly-regarded documentaries about all sorts of subjects.
Kicking off on Wednesday, April 15 with Live from New York!, a documentary by Bao Nguyen that celebrates the 40th Anniversary of “Saturday Night Live” by showcasing its history and the influence it’s had on how the country views comedy. One expects that many of the stars of the show, both past and present, will be on hand at the Gala Premiere at the Beacon Theatre, which will be followed by a performance from rapper Ludacris.
The festival will conclude with a special presentation of Martin Scorsese’s remastered version of Goodfellas, starring Tribeca co-founder Robert De Niro, with Scorsese and much of the cast appearing afterwards, moderated by John Stewart.
In between, there will be twelve days filled with hundreds of movies at venues both in Tribeca and in Chelsea with filmmakers and actors on-hand to answer questions after many of the premieres. Many movie lovers will also want to check out this year’s line-up of Tribeca Talks, which includes top filmmakers like George Lucas, Christopher Nolan, Cary Fukunaga and Brad Bird talking about their craft with equally interesting moderators.
Among the classic films being screened include Gus Van Sant’s Good Will Hunting, which will have its own Tribeca Talk on April 22, while the comedy Clue and Lady and the Tramp will be screened for free as part of the popular Tribeca Drive-In on April 16 and 17.
The second weekend of Tribeca will showcase a special “Monty Python Celebration” with all five members of Monty Python in attendance for the festival’s 40th Anniversary screening of Monty Python and the Holy Grail on Friday, April 24, and screenings of Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life. Tribeca will also debut the brand-new documentary Monty Python: The Meaning of Live, which looks at the group’s preparations for the ten sold-out comedy shows at the 02 Arena in London.
Of course, there will be a lot of movies playing Tribeca that previously played at other festivals such as Patrick Brice’s comedy The Overnight, Leslye Headland’s Sleeping with Other People, Paul Weitz’s Grandma, and the documentary the doc The Wolfpack, all of which were received very well earlier in the year.
You can check out pictures and descriptions of roughly thirty movies that look interesting to us in this year’s festival and hopefully we’ll be able to catch some of them.
The Tribeca Film Festival runs from April 15 through April 26. You can find the full schedule and buy tickets–some might still be available–at the official site.
Tribeca Film Festival 2015 Preview
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The Adderall Diaries
It wouldn't be a film festival without a movie starring James Franco, and it's based on Stephen Elliot's memoir about how writer's block and drug dependency got him involved in a high profile murder case. Pamela Romanowsky's debut co-stars Ed Harris (pictured), Amber Heard, Cynthia Nixon and Christian Slater.
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Anesthesia
The latest film from actor/director Tim Blake Nelson about the mugging of a Columbia University President (Sam Waterston) and how it affects those around him. Co-starring Kristen Stewart, Corey Stoll, Jessica Hecht, Glenn Close and Gretchen Moll.
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Ashby
From Australian filmmaker Tony McNamara comes this unconventional love story starring Nat Wolff as a teen who turns to his unconventional neighbor Ashby (played by Mickey Rourke) for love advice on winning over his quirky girl crush (Emma Roberts).
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Autism in Love
The Tribeca Film Festival is known for its stirring, memorable docs and this one by Matt Fuller is about adults with autism trying to navigate the tough world of romance.
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All Work All Play
Patrick (Wordplay) Creadon's documentary about eSports, the growing trend of large-scale tournaments for video gamers, will have a work-in-progress screening on April 20.
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Bare
Natalia Leite's directorial debut is one of two movies starring Dianna Agron from "Glee." In this one, she plays a small-town girl whose boring life is invigorated by the arrival of a stranger, played by Paz de la Huerta ("Boardwalk Empire").
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Bodyslam: Revenge of the Banana!
This comedic documentary, part of the Midnight section, looks at the Seattle Semi-Pro Wrestlers, a group of outcasts that put on mock wrestling shows and what happens when they're joined by Paul aka "The Banana."
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Bridgend
Award-winning Danish filmmaker Jeppe Ronde tackles the tragic suicides that racked the Welsh countryside town of Bridgend as seen by a teenager named Sara, daughter of a police detective brought to help with the case, who falls for a troubled boy caught up in a teen cult of sorts. It's a gorgeous but eerie coming-of-age tale.
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Dirty Weekend
Matthew Broderick and Alice Eve star in Neil LaBute's latest Tribeca premiere, about work colleagues trapped in an Albuquerque airport who learn more about each other. As one might expect from the title and from Labute's usual M.O. it shouldn't take long for their talks to turn to sex.
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Dixieland
Tennessee-born filmmaker Hank Bedford makes his debut with this tale of love and crime set in Mississippi and starring Chris Zylka, Riley Keough, RJ Mitte and musicians Steve Earle and Faith Hill.
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The Driftless Area
This adaptation of Tom Drury's novel stars Anton Yeltsin as bartender Pierre Hunter, who falls for the strange Stella (Zooey Deschanel) only to end up in conflict with a criminal, played by John Hawkes. It also stars Aubrey Plaza, Frank Langella, Alia Shawkat and Ciaran Hinds.
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Emelie
This entry in the Midnight section is a thriller from music video director Michael Thelin starring Sarah Bolger from "Once Upon a Time" as a babysitter who might not have the best intentions.
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Hyena
Gerard Johnson's violent crime-thriller about a corrupt cop played by Peter Ferdinando will have its US Premiere at the festival before its release by Tribeca Film on May 1.
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In My Father's House
Documentary filmmakers Ricki Stern and Annie Sandberg (The Devil Came on Horseback, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work) return to Tribeca with their latest film in competition about hip-hop artist Che Smith, who buys his childhood home in South Chicago who tries to reconnect with his father, a homeless alcoholic, who abandoned him 20 years earlier.
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In Transit
This documentary directed by a collective that includes the late great Albert Maysles looks at the interactions between the passengers of the Empire Builder, America's busiest train route.
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Jackrabbit
Carleton Ranney's future shock sci-fi drama, playing as part of the "Viewpoints" section, pairs a computer prodigy and a hacker, as they try to decipher the contents of a hard drive left behind after their friend commits suicide.
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Maggie
Originally meant to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival last fall, this drama set during the zombie apocalypse stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a father who insists in keeping his stricken daughter (Abigail Breslin) home to care for her.
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Man Up
Simon Pegg and Lake Bell ("Children's Hospital") star in this awkward romantic comedy, the directorial debut from Ben Palmer ("The In-Betweeners")
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Man Up
Aren't they a cute couple?
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Meadowland
Tribeca regular Olivia Wilde co-produces and stars in cinematographer Chris Rossi's debut about a couple whose son goes missing. Luke Wilson plays the other half of that couple.
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Men Go to Battle
Zachary Treitz's feature debut, co-written by indie up 'n' comer Kate Lyn Sheil (The Heart Machine) is the tale of two Kentucky brothers in 1861, whose dysfunctional relationship is exacerbated by the Civil War.
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Mojave
Academy Award-winning screenwriter William Monahan's second feature as director stars Oscar Isaac and Garrett Hedlund as two men who face-off in the desert.
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Monty Python: The Meaning of Live
Part of Tribeca Film Festival's tribute to Britain's greatest comedy ensemble, this new documentary by James Rogan and Roger Graef looks at the 2014 return of the Pythons to live comedy with 10 sell-out shows at the 02 Arena in London.
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A Nazi Legacy: What Our Father Did
David Evans' striking documentary looks at the conflicted relationship between two sons with their fathers, two convicted consultants of Hitler, thought to have sent thousands to their deaths.
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Scherzo Diabolico
It's quite a coup for Tribeca's Midnight section to get the world premiere of the new movie from South American genre favorite Adrian Garcia Bogliano (Here Comes the Devil), this one a black comedy about a mild-mannered loser who tries to prove himself by kidnapping a teen girl. Of course, it all goes wrong.
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Shut Up and Drive
Part of the festival's esoteric "Viewpoints" section is this second feature from Melanie Shaw about two women, strangers, who go on a road trip together to New Orleans.
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Song of Lahore
Another example of Tribeca's dedication to documentaries about music, this one about a group of Pakistan musicians, repressed by extremist Muslim beliefs who continue to play despite the obstacles they face.
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The Survivalist
Irish filmmaker Stephen Fingleton explores how people survive after the devastation of Earth when a lone man living on a farm encounters two women looking for shelter who proceed to disrupt his lifestyle. Think of it as a dramatic version of the Fox show "The Last Man on Earth."
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Tom Swift and HIs Electric Rifle
Bound to be controversial due to the current climate in the country and New York City, Nick Berardini's doc takes a look at the history and usage of the taser by the country's police force.
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Tumbledown
Rebecca Hall plays the widow of a popular folk songwriter stuck living in Maine, who is approached by Jason Sudeikis as a New Yorker who wants to write a book about her husband. Robert Edwards' film co-stars Joe Manganiello, Dianna Agron, Blythe Danner and Griffin Dunne.
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The Wannabe
Vincent Piazza (HBO's "Boardwalk Empire") and Patricia Arquette star in Nick Sandow's crime drama about a couple that go on a drug-fueled crime spree. Michael Imperioli and Vincenzo Amato co-star.
