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Tribeca Festival · 2015

Tribeca Festival 2015

Viewpoints

Programme

27 films · 9 reviews

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All Eyes And Ears

When former Utah governor Jon Huntsman was appointed United States Ambassador to China, hw arrived at his new post with his entire family — including his adopted Chinese daughter, Gracie. Huntsman's diplomatic struggles and triumphs are explored in the broader context of China’s relationship with the rest of the world, and intersected with Gracie's personal experience living in China as a Chinese-American.

(Country: China, US; Year: 2015; Director: Vanessa Hope; Writer: Vanessa Hope; Stars: Gracie Mei Huntsman, Jon Huntsman, Jerome A. Cohen, Chen Guangcheng, Evan Osnos, Jeffrey Bader, Ian Buruma, Rebeca MacKinnon, Orville Schell, James McGregor, Andrew J. Nathan, James Mann, Elizabeth Economy, Richard McGregor, John Pomfret)

New York premiere. Documentary.

Almost Holy (Crocodile Gennadiy)

Review preview for Almost Holy

There are many ways of interpreting the events depicted here. The background of desperation is palpable.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
On the streets of Ukraine, a pastor kidnaps children to try and save them from a life of drug abuse and destitution.

(Country: US, Ukraine; Year: 2015; Director: Steve Hoover; Writer: Steve Hoover; Stars: Gennadiy Mokhnenko)

Full review

World premiere. Documentary.

Applesauce

Onur Tukel plays a husband who innocently reveals on talk radio the worst thing he's ever done. Though his gaffe never makes it on air, it sets off a chain of uncontrollable events that draw his wife and another couple into an uneasy mixture of infidelities, confessions and severed body parts.

(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Onur Tukel; Writer: Onur Tukel; Stars: Trieste Kelly Dunn, Max Casella, Dylan Baker, Jennifer Prediger, Onur Tukel, Melodie Sisk, Theodore Bouloukos, Ying Ying Li, Karl Jacob, Emmy Harrington, Priyanka Krishnan, Bill Weeden, Matt Grady, Alston Brown, Kevin Scanlon)

World premiere. Narrative.

Bad Hurt

Review preview for Bad Hurt

The film hinges on a powerful central performance by Karen Allen.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A family struggles with two grown up children who have complex mental health needs.

(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Mark Kemble; Writer: Mark Kemble, Jamieson Stern; Stars: Theo Rossi, Ashley Williams, Karen Allen, Johnny Whitworth, Michael Harney, Dorothy Lyman, Barry Primus, Joanna Sanchez, Calvin Dutton, Charles Techman, Sebastian Tillinger, Gary VanManen, Fred Tolliver Jr., John Farrer, Charles Socarides)

Full review

World premiere. Narrative.

Bare

Sarah’s mundane life in a Nevada desert town is turned upside down with the arrival of Pepper, a mysterious female drifter, who leads her into a life of seedy strip clubs and illicit drugs. Their passion inspires Sarah to break free of her past and seek out a new life of her own.

(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Natalia Leite; Writer: Natalia Leite; Stars: Dianna Agron, Paz de la Huerta, Chris Zylka, Louisa Krause, Mary Price Moore, Lora Martinez-Cunningham, Alexandra Roxo, Travis Hammer, Kelley Lewallen, Kelly Pittman, Anthony Michael Jarvis, Luis Bordonada, J.D. Garfield, James Burnett, Hank Rogerson)

World premiere. Narrative.

Being 14 (À 14 ans)

The secrets, trials, and anguish of adolescence, as experienced by best friends Sarah, Louise, and Jade in their final year of middle school.

(Country: France; Year: 2015; Director: Hélène Zimmer; Writer: Hélène Zimmer; Stars: Athalia Routier, Galatéa Bellugi, Najaa Bensaid, Kevin Château, Louis Jacq, Yassine Douighi, Azzedine Bouabba, Sam Greep, Antoine Coissac, Camille Garcette, Oliver Cywie, Eva Gonsalves, Eva Ranaivo, Sofiane El Ouali, Alfred Shimimana Shema)

International premiere. Narrative.

Come Down Molly

In this expressionist odyssey exploring the lonely side of entering adulthood, struggling new mother Molly joins her old high school group of guy friends at a secluded mountain home.

(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Gregory Kohn; Writer: Gregory Kohn; Stars: Eleonore Hendricks, Lindsay Burdge, Kentucker Audley, John Anderson, Jason Selvig, Jason Shelton, Terrence Montgomery, David Jette, Ben Roberts, Sam Sundos)

World premiere. Narrative.

A Courtship

A peek into the practice of Christian courtship, whereby a woman hands over the responsibility of finding a husband to her parents and the will of God. Such is Kelly’s path, enlisting her adopted spiritual family to find her Mr Right.

(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Amy Kohn)

World premiere. Documentary.

Cronies

Review preview for Cronies

There is an unvarnished authenticity to these men and their situation.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
Old friendship is tested by a day out with a new buddy.

(Year: 2015; Director: Michael Larnell; Writer: Michael Larnell; Stars: George Sample III, Zurich Buckner, Brian Kowalski, Landra Taylor, Samiyah Womack, Elinor Nelson, Homer Simmons, Michael Larnell, Darrick Clark, Brooke Wade, Bradley Allen, Ryan Jordan, Michael Harvey, Chastity Jones, Sieglinda Fox)

Full review

New York premiere. Narrative.

Dream/Killer

In 2005, 20-year-old Ryan Ferguson received a 40-year prison sentence for a murder that he did not commit. Over the next ten years, his father Bill engages in a tireless crusade to prove Ryan’s innocence. Interspersed with footage from the Ferguson family archive, Andrew Jenks’ film looks at the personal consequences of a wrongful conviction.

(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Andrew Jenks)

World premiere. Documentary.

El Cinco (El 5 de Talleres)

As a football player prepares to retire from the sport, he contemplates what life holds beyond the pitch.

(Country: Uruguay, Argentina, Germany, France, Netherlands; Year: 2014; Director: Adrián Biniez; Writer: Adrián Biniez; Stars: Diego Mattioli, Néstor Guzzini, Esteban Lamothe, Patrick Mölleken, Julieta Zylberberg)

North American premiere. Narrative.

Gored

Review preview for Gored

This documentary captures what may be the last of Antonio Barrera's bullfighting days at a time when the sport itself seems about to fade into history.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Following Spanish bullfighter Antonio Barrera, holder of the dubious title of “Most Gored Bullfighter in History,” as he grapples with the end of his career.

(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Ido Mizrahy; Writer: Geoffrey Gray, Ido Mizrahy; Stars: Antonio Barrera)

Full review

World premiere. Documentary.

Jackrabbit

When a friend's suicide leaves behind a mysterious computer drive, a fringe hacker and accomplished computer technician come together to decipher the message left in his wake.

(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Carleton Ranney; Writer: Destin Douglas, Carleton Ranney; Stars: Reed Birney, Josh Caras, Ian Christopher Noel, Joslyn Jensen, Logan Cunningham, Alexandria Payne, Kevin Kinkade, Heath Allyn, Rusty Kelley, Alex Hodgins, Rebecca Rose Perkins, Cameron Covert, Hal Schneider, Regina Chen, Susan Hargis)

World premiere. Narrative.

King Jack

Growing up in a rural town filled with violent delinquents, Jack has learned to do what it takes to survive, despite having an oblivious mother and no father. After his aunt falls ill and a younger cousin comes to stay with him, the hardened 15-year-old discovers the importance of friendship, family and looking for happiness even in the most desolate of circumstances.

(Year: 2015; Director: Felix Thompson; Writer: Felix Thompson; Stars: Charlie Plummer, Cory Nichols, Christian Madsen, Danny Flaherty, Erin Davie, Chloe Levine, Melvin Mogoli, Yainis Ynoa, Richardson Elijah, Elijah Richardson, Keith Leonard, Meeko, Scott LeRoy, William Rubel)

World premiere. Narrative

Lucifer

An angel falling from heaven to hell unexpectedly lands in a Mexican village where his presence affects the villagers in surprising ways.

(Country: Belgium; Year: 2014; Director: Gust Van Den Berghe; Writer: Gust Van Den Berghe; Stars: María Acosta, Jeronimo Soto Bravo, Norma Pablo, Gabino Rodríguez)

US premiere. Narrative.

Orion: The Man Who Would Be King

Review preview for Orion: The Man Who Would Be King

With such a fascinating subject, it's hard for director Jeanie Finlay to go wrong.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
The mystery and surprising history of the man with Elvis Presley's voice.

(Country: US, UK; Year: 2015; Director: Jeanie Finlay; Writer: Jeanie Finlay)

Full review

World premiere. Documentary.

Shut Up And Drive

Uptight and insecure Jane breaks down when her live-in boyfriend must move from Los Angeles to New Orleans for an acting gig. Jane's anxiety worsens upon the arrival of Laura, Austin's wild childhood friend. Unable to deal with each other without Austin, the two women embark on a road trip to see him, forming an unexpected friendship along the way.

(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Melanie Shaw; Writer: Kelsey McNamee, Melanie Shaw, Zoë Worth; Stars: Zoë Worth, Sarah Sutherland, Morgan Krantz, James Duval, Zachary Webber, Andrea Stradling, Chloe Searcy, James Duvall IV, Kelsey McNamee, Ted Beck, Jim Mitchell, Zach Zucker, Peter Pietrangeli)

World premiere. Narrative.

Slow Learners

High school teachers Jeff and Anneare work BFFs all too familiar with the woes of romance. Desperate to turn their luck around they take on new personas and embark, with gusto, on an adventurous summer of uncharacteristic encounters.

(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Don Argott, Sheena M. Joyce; Writer: Heather Maidat, Peter C Swords; Stars: Adam Pally, Sarah Burns, Reid Scott, Catherine Reitman, Mary Grill, Kate Flannery, Kevin Dunn, Marceline Hugot, Ursula Parker, Frances Callier, Angela Shelton, Gil Ozeri, Cecily Strong, Bobby Moynihan, Peter Grosz)

World premiere. Narrative.

Stranded In Canton

Lebrun is an entrepreneur from The Democratic Republic of Congo who goes to China intent on making a fortune selling political T-shirts. When things don’t go as planned Lebrun spends more time in karaoke bars and falling in love than he does on business. Somewhere between documentary and fiction, this fascinating story explores new trade routes and their impact in two separate continents.

(Country: Denmark, Sweden, China; Year: 2014; Director: Måns Månsson, Hongqi Li; Writer: George Cragg, Hongqi Li, Måns Månsson; Stars: Wassim Hasbini, Isibango Iko Lebrun, Sylvie N'Dya)

North American premiere. Narrative.

Sunrise (Arunoday)

Social Service officer Lakshman Joshi is led on a chase through the dark gutters and rain-soaked back alleys of Mumbai by a shadowy figure. His pursuit leads him to Paradise, a seedy nightclub seemingly at the center of the kidnapping ring he is investigating. Joshi's hunt brings back memories of his own kidnapped daughter, as his past and current reality converge.

(Country: India, France; Year: 2014; Director: Partho Sen-Gupta; Writer: Yogesh Vinayak Joshi, Partho Sen-Gupta; Stars: Adil Hussain, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Gulnaaz Ansari, Komal Gupta, Esha Amlani, Ashalata Wabgaonkar, Hridaynath Jadhav, Chinmay Kambli, Nandini Bora, Komal Gawade, Ramdas Jadhav, Swapnaneel Jaykar, Tauqeer Alam Khan, Sumant Mastkar, Rakesh Mehra)

North American premiere. Narrative.

Tenured

Broody and foul-mouthed primary school teacher Ethan Collins finds his life turned upside down when his wife leaves him. Stuck with a group of precocious fifth graders, and fraught with fizzling writing aspirations, Ethan uses the school play as a last-ditch effort to fix his marriage. Will this be his greatest accomplishment or his most misguided lesson to date?

(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Chris Modoono; Writer: Chris Modoono, Gil Zabarsky; Stars: Kate Flannery, Marc Evan Jackson, Emily Wilson, Chris O'Brien, Kathleen Littlefield, Mim Drew, Lisa K. Wyatt, Gil Zabarsky, Anna Brisbin, Eden McCoy, Hannah McCloud, Jeff Austin, Aliza Halm, Dee Shiver, Maddux Berry)

World premiere. Narrative.

(T)error

Review preview for (T)error

What unfolds is a comedy of (t)errors with a central character who shifts very quickly between dubious but likeable guy, buffoon and sociopath.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
The first film to document on camera a covert counterterrorism sting as it unfolds.

(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Lyric R. Cabral, David Felix Sutcliffe)

Full review

New York premiere. Documentary.

Toto And His Sisters (Toto si surorile lui)

Review preview for Toto And His Sisters

Nanau tells it like it is and the film's emotional moments - of which there are many - are small but powerful and unforced.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
Totonel, 10, and his sisters are growing up in a poor city suburb, waiting for their mother to come home from prison...

(Country: Romania; Year: 2014; Director: Alexander Nanau; Writer: Alexander Nanau)

Full review

North American premiere. Documentary.

TransFatty Lives

Review preview for TransFatty Lives

O'Brien is bold in his approach and unafraid of risk-taking, choices that offer a clear-sighted window into his world for those of us lucky enough to have full health and a rallying call to others experiencing this condition from within.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Study of motor neuron disease, from within.

(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Patrick O'Brien; Writer: Lasse Jarvi, Patrick O'Brien, Doug Pray; Stars: Darin Hallinan)

Full review

World premiere. Documentary.

Uncertain

An aquatic weed threatens the lake of the small American border town of Uncertain, Texas, and consequently the livelihoods of those who live there. As some of the men in town attempt to figure out their future, they confront a past that haunts them.

(Country: US; Year: 2014; Director: Ewan McNicol, Anna Sandilands; Writer: Ewan McNicol, Anna Sandilands)

World premiere. Documentary.

We Are Young. We Are Strong. (Wir sind jung. Wir sind stark.)

A group of disillusioned teenagers wander about in the restless hours leading up to an anti-immigrant riot that took place in Rostock, Germany, in August 1992. The impending incident is seen through the experiences of three individuals: a Vietnamese factory worker, a local politician, and the politician's teenage son Stefan.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2014; Director: Burhan Qurbani; Writer: Martin Behnke, Burhan Qurbani; Stars: Devid Striesow, Jonas Nay, Trang Le Hong, Joel Basman, Saskia Rosendahl, Thorsten Merten, Paul Gäbler, David Schütter, Jakob Bieber, Swantje Kohlhof, Mai Duong Kieu, Aaron Le, Larissa Fuchs, Axel Pape, Katrin Kaspar)

North American premiere. Narrative.

The Wolfpack

Review preview for The Wolfpack

There is a sense of the freshness of freedom but this a film that mainly deals in big emotions as though worried about getting down to specifics.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Story of a band of brothers who grew up in social isolation.

(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Crystal Moselle; Stars: Bhagavan Angulo, Govinda Angulo, Jagadisa Angulo, Narayana Angulo, Krsna Angulo, Mukunda Angulo)

Full review See: Keeping score: Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurrians talk about Last Days In The Desert, Enemy and Wolfpack , Article about films and copycat violence.

New York premiere. Documentary.