Tribeca Film Festival, filtered for use
A guide to what you need (or should want) to know
The Girlfriend Experience
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When the director of the Sundance Film Festival left after nearly two decades to work on this year's Tribeca Film Festival, the little series started in 2002 by Robert De Niro stepped up as an officially major affair. The surprise move lent more credence to the Tribeca festival, which local cineastes had come to deem lightweight for its indiscriminate lineups. But then, the fest has bragging rights to some truly monumental films too. This year’s festival—from April 23 to May 3—is unwieldy as usual, with more than 100 films screening amid various panel discussions, workshops, and free events scattered throughout Manhattan. Keeping up with all of it is a task, so here are some of the best and most newsworthy bets—along with tips about who to go with.
Woody Allen does Whatever Works
After setting his last few films in Europe, one of the quintessentially New York filmmakers finally returns to his hometown. Larry David plays the Allen alter ego, a grouchy former Columbia University academic who abandons his posh uptown lifestyle for a bohemian existence downtown. He allows a homeless young woman, played by Evan Rachel Wood, to crash in his apartment for a few nights, but she soon makes herself at home and develops a crush on him. It sounds just improbable enough that it could be funny.
Ideal companion: Anyone from somewhere in the five boroughs—they can appreciate the Woodman’s New York sensibility to the fullest extent.
[April 22 at 7:30 p.m.—Clearview's Ziegfeld]
After setting his last few films in Europe, one of the quintessentially New York filmmakers finally returns to his hometown. Larry David plays the Allen alter ego, a grouchy former Columbia University academic who abandons his posh uptown lifestyle for a bohemian existence downtown. He allows a homeless young woman, played by Evan Rachel Wood, to crash in his apartment for a few nights, but she soon makes herself at home and develops a crush on him. It sounds just improbable enough that it could be funny.
Ideal companion: Anyone from somewhere in the five boroughs—they can appreciate the Woodman’s New York sensibility to the fullest extent.
[April 22 at 7:30 p.m.—Clearview's Ziegfeld]
Whatever WorksFor aspiring morticians
The little-known Japanese film Departures pulled a huge upset at the Academy Awards, beating such renowned competitors as Waltz With Bashir and The Class to claim the Best Foreign Language Film honor. To be surveyed again here, Departures tells the story of a concert cellist finding a new lease on life as a mortician after his orchestra disbands. For something seemingly so fantastical, the movie is clear-eyed and, nonetheless, hopeful.
Ideal companion: A recently unemployed friend who is dreading a career change—maybe the film could serve as an eye-opener.
[April 28 at 8 p.m.—SVA Theater; April 29 at 5 p.m. and April 30 at 7:30 p.m.—AMC Village 7]
The little-known Japanese film Departures pulled a huge upset at the Academy Awards, beating such renowned competitors as Waltz With Bashir and The Class to claim the Best Foreign Language Film honor. To be surveyed again here, Departures tells the story of a concert cellist finding a new lease on life as a mortician after his orchestra disbands. For something seemingly so fantastical, the movie is clear-eyed and, nonetheless, hopeful.
Ideal companion: A recently unemployed friend who is dreading a career change—maybe the film could serve as an eye-opener.
[April 28 at 8 p.m.—SVA Theater; April 29 at 5 p.m. and April 30 at 7:30 p.m.—AMC Village 7]
Big fat Greek honeymoon, redux
Nia Vardalos, who became a big sensation after My Big Fat Greek Wedding and then watched it all fizzle with a failed TV spinoff, is back now with My Life In Ruins. This time, she's a tour guide for American travelers visiting Greece.
Ideal companion: Someone with an affinity for Greece—even if the comedy falls short, there’s always the scenery.
[May 2 at 7 p.m.—Tribeca Performing Arts Center]
Nia Vardalos, who became a big sensation after My Big Fat Greek Wedding and then watched it all fizzle with a failed TV spinoff, is back now with My Life In Ruins. This time, she's a tour guide for American travelers visiting Greece.
Ideal companion: Someone with an affinity for Greece—even if the comedy falls short, there’s always the scenery.
[May 2 at 7 p.m.—Tribeca Performing Arts Center]
Two Spike Lee joints
Three years after his acclaimed documentary about the aftereffects of Hurricane Katrina, When The Levees Broke, Spike Lee returns with two more works of non-fiction: Passing Strange, about the eponymous Tony-winning Broadway musical play, and Kobe Doin’ Work, about basketball superstar Kobe Bryant. Each tells a story related to black experience in America—an experience Lee relates with a powerful mix of anger and compassion.
Ideal companion: Someone who couldn’t get tickets to either Passing Strange or a Knicks-Lakers game—they can hopefully quit the whining.
[Passing Strange: May 2 at 7 p.m.—DGA Theater; May 3 at 10 p.m.—AMC Loews Village 7. Kobe Doin' Work: April 25 at 9 p.m.—Tribeca Performing Arts Center; April 30 at 3:30 p.m.—AMC Loews Village 7; May 2 at 9:30 p.m.—Tribeca Cinemas]
Three years after his acclaimed documentary about the aftereffects of Hurricane Katrina, When The Levees Broke, Spike Lee returns with two more works of non-fiction: Passing Strange, about the eponymous Tony-winning Broadway musical play, and Kobe Doin’ Work, about basketball superstar Kobe Bryant. Each tells a story related to black experience in America—an experience Lee relates with a powerful mix of anger and compassion.
Ideal companion: Someone who couldn’t get tickets to either Passing Strange or a Knicks-Lakers game—they can hopefully quit the whining.
[Passing Strange: May 2 at 7 p.m.—DGA Theater; May 3 at 10 p.m.—AMC Loews Village 7. Kobe Doin' Work: April 25 at 9 p.m.—Tribeca Performing Arts Center; April 30 at 3:30 p.m.—AMC Loews Village 7; May 2 at 9:30 p.m.—Tribeca Cinemas]
British comic invasion
Armando Iannucci is virtually unknown here, but he has created some of the most successful political satires on British television. For his feature debut, In the Loop, he adapts his hit BBC series, The Thick Of It—a sitcom about the inner workings of British government best known for its rapid-fire quick wit—and adds James Gandolfini and Steve Coogan to his regular cast.
Ideal companion: A tsk-tsking fan of The Office who prefers the British version to the American—aside from casting a few marquee names, Iannucci has not compromised his unmistakable Brit humor.
[April 27 at 8:30 p.m.—SVA Theater; May 1 at 2:45 p.m. and May 2 at 8 p.m.—AMC Loews Village 7]
Armando Iannucci is virtually unknown here, but he has created some of the most successful political satires on British television. For his feature debut, In the Loop, he adapts his hit BBC series, The Thick Of It—a sitcom about the inner workings of British government best known for its rapid-fire quick wit—and adds James Gandolfini and Steve Coogan to his regular cast.
Ideal companion: A tsk-tsking fan of The Office who prefers the British version to the American—aside from casting a few marquee names, Iannucci has not compromised his unmistakable Brit humor.
[April 27 at 8:30 p.m.—SVA Theater; May 1 at 2:45 p.m. and May 2 at 8 p.m.—AMC Loews Village 7]
In the LoopComedy of 1920s manners
Alfred Hitchcock first adapted Easy Virtue, a Noel Coward play about British snobbery toward Americans at the end of the 1920s, as a silent film in 1928. Following the formidable Hitch is no small feat, but in the corner for director Stephan Elliott (The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert) are the always dependable Colin Firth and Kristin Scott Thomas, who have improved just about every film they’ve respectively been in with their mesmerizing nuance.
Ideal companion: A denizen of Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and Walter Reade Theater—they’ll be pleasantly surprised to find such high culture down from the Upper West Side.
[April 28 at 6 p.m.—Tribeca Performing Arts Center; April 29 at 4:15 p.m. and May 1 at 9:30 p.m.—AMC Loews Village 7]
Alfred Hitchcock first adapted Easy Virtue, a Noel Coward play about British snobbery toward Americans at the end of the 1920s, as a silent film in 1928. Following the formidable Hitch is no small feat, but in the corner for director Stephan Elliott (The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert) are the always dependable Colin Firth and Kristin Scott Thomas, who have improved just about every film they’ve respectively been in with their mesmerizing nuance.
Ideal companion: A denizen of Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and Walter Reade Theater—they’ll be pleasantly surprised to find such high culture down from the Upper West Side.
[April 28 at 6 p.m.—Tribeca Performing Arts Center; April 29 at 4:15 p.m. and May 1 at 9:30 p.m.—AMC Loews Village 7]
Steven Soderbergh on The Girlfriend Experience
If you still find the whole Elliot Spitzer imbroglio fascinating, you won't want to miss this timely exposé on the life of a $2,000-per-hour call girl. Fresh off his $58 million four-hour epic Che, Soderbergh returns with a low budget 77-minute digital-video quickie, filmed in three weeks and starring porn actress Sasha Grey and celebrity chef Chris Santos.
Ideal companion: Anyone who appreciates sex, lies, and video—Soderbergh is obviously an authority on all three.
[April 28 at 9 p.m.—Tribeca Performing Arts Center; April 29 at 8 p.m.—SVA Theater; May 2 at 5:30 p.m.—AMC Loews Village 7]
If you still find the whole Elliot Spitzer imbroglio fascinating, you won't want to miss this timely exposé on the life of a $2,000-per-hour call girl. Fresh off his $58 million four-hour epic Che, Soderbergh returns with a low budget 77-minute digital-video quickie, filmed in three weeks and starring porn actress Sasha Grey and celebrity chef Chris Santos.
Ideal companion: Anyone who appreciates sex, lies, and video—Soderbergh is obviously an authority on all three.
[April 28 at 9 p.m.—Tribeca Performing Arts Center; April 29 at 8 p.m.—SVA Theater; May 2 at 5:30 p.m.—AMC Loews Village 7]
Beyond recession and depression
José Padilha follows up his Berlin Film Festival winner The Elite Squad with Garapa, a stark and devastating documentary about poverty and deprivation in the Brazilian countryside. The film’s title refers to the syrup made of sugar and water that mothers feed their children when food becomes scarce. With torrents of economic crisis hitting America hard, a film like this truly helps put things in perspective.
Ideal companion: Anyone who thinks he or she has it bad.
[April 25 at 8 p.m., April 28 at 6:15 p.m., April 29 at 3 p.m., and May 2 at 6:30 p.m.—AMC Loews Village 7]
José Padilha follows up his Berlin Film Festival winner The Elite Squad with Garapa, a stark and devastating documentary about poverty and deprivation in the Brazilian countryside. The film’s title refers to the syrup made of sugar and water that mothers feed their children when food becomes scarce. With torrents of economic crisis hitting America hard, a film like this truly helps put things in perspective.
Ideal companion: Anyone who thinks he or she has it bad.
[April 25 at 8 p.m., April 28 at 6:15 p.m., April 29 at 3 p.m., and May 2 at 6:30 p.m.—AMC Loews Village 7]
GarapaThe congressional closet
Documentarian Kirby Dick has bedded down with some genuinely fascinating subjects in films like Sick: The Life & Death Of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist and This Film Is Not Yet Rated. With Outrage, he points the camera at closeted gay elected officials who lobbied against LGBT rights. Disgraced former New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey and columnist Michelangelo Signorile will join the director for a panel discussion on May 1.
Ideal companion: Surprise someone—there's nothing better than charged political discussion with an unprepared friend.
[April 24 at 9 p.m.—SVA Theater; April 26 at 3:30 p.m. and April 28 at 5 p.m.—AMC Loews Village 7; May 1 at 8 p.m.—DGA Theater]
Documentarian Kirby Dick has bedded down with some genuinely fascinating subjects in films like Sick: The Life & Death Of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist and This Film Is Not Yet Rated. With Outrage, he points the camera at closeted gay elected officials who lobbied against LGBT rights. Disgraced former New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey and columnist Michelangelo Signorile will join the director for a panel discussion on May 1.
Ideal companion: Surprise someone—there's nothing better than charged political discussion with an unprepared friend.
[April 24 at 9 p.m.—SVA Theater; April 26 at 3:30 p.m. and April 28 at 5 p.m.—AMC Loews Village 7; May 1 at 8 p.m.—DGA Theater]
Revisiting Danish cinema
The hoopla surrounding Dogme 95, which required filmmakers to adhere to a strict “Vow of Chastity,” has successfully helped catapult many Danish filmmakers onto the international art house scene. Fear Me Not, a thriller about the terrifying side effects of a trial antidepressant, gives us an opportunity to check in with Kristian Levring, one of the four founding Dogme 95 directors.
Ideal companion: A pedantic film-school geek—he or she will appreciate the rare occasion to see something obscure from a major talent.
[April 25 at 8:45 p.m., April 26 at 9:45 p.m., and April 28 at 1:15 p.m.—AMC Loews Village 7]
The hoopla surrounding Dogme 95, which required filmmakers to adhere to a strict “Vow of Chastity,” has successfully helped catapult many Danish filmmakers onto the international art house scene. Fear Me Not, a thriller about the terrifying side effects of a trial antidepressant, gives us an opportunity to check in with Kristian Levring, one of the four founding Dogme 95 directors.
Ideal companion: A pedantic film-school geek—he or she will appreciate the rare occasion to see something obscure from a major talent.
[April 25 at 8:45 p.m., April 26 at 9:45 p.m., and April 28 at 1:15 p.m.—AMC Loews Village 7]
Tribute to golden William Goldman
Some of the best screenwriters of our time will be in attendance to honor the great Williams Goldman at the festival’s free outdoor screening of Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, including Scott Frank (Out Of Sight), Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton), David Koepp (Spider-Man), and Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing).
Ideal companion: A friend who won't shut up about his screenplay—exposure to Goldman's work should quiet him.
[April 24 at 6:30 p.m.—World Financial Center Plaza]
Some of the best screenwriters of our time will be in attendance to honor the great Williams Goldman at the festival’s free outdoor screening of Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, including Scott Frank (Out Of Sight), Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton), David Koepp (Spider-Man), and Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing).
Ideal companion: A friend who won't shut up about his screenplay—exposure to Goldman's work should quiet him.
[April 24 at 6:30 p.m.—World Financial Center Plaza]
For tickets and the full schedule, which includes lots more, see the festival's website at www.tribecafilm.com/festival.
