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Tribeca Festival · 2017

Tribeca Festival 2017

Spotlight Documentary

Programme

15 films · 4 reviews

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LA 92

Review preview for LA 92

We are quickly immersed in the action.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Portrait of the LA riots which took place after the police officers who beat Rodney King were acquitted.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Daniel Lindsay, TJ Martin)

Full review

World premiere

ACORN and the Firestorm

For 40 years, the community-organising group ACORN advocated for America’s poorest communities, while its detractors accused it of promoting government waste and the worst of liberal policies. Riding high on the momentum of Barack Obama’s presidential victory in 2008, ACORN was at its social zenith when a hidden-camera video sparked a national scandal and brought it all crashing down.

(Country: US, India; Year: 2017; Director: Reuben Atlas, Sam Pollard; Writer: Reuben Atlas, Sam Pollard)

World premiere

AlphaGo

Review preview for AlphaGo

This isn't a film for those interested in the nitty gritty of how work like this is assembled. Rather, its focus is on the philosophical and experiential issues associated with the rise of the machines.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Google's DeepMind team takes on one of the world's top Go players in a weeklong tournament.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Greg Kohs; Stars: Demis Hassabis, Ioannis Antonoglou, Martin Rees, Thore Graepel, Lee Sedol, Michael Redmond, John Holmes, Yoo Changhyuk, Aja Huang, Vedavyas Panneershelvam, Andrew Jackson, Jeong Yoojeong, Kim Seongryong, Janice Kim, Hyeyeon Cho)

Full review

World premiere

Blurred Lines: Inside The Art World

Reputable artists, critics, auctioneers and collectors demystify the often illusive and complex relationship between art and commerce.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2017; Director: Barry Avrich; Writer: Barry Avrich; Stars: Julian Schnabel, Marina Abramovic, Michael Ovitz, Vito Schnabel, Rashid Johnson, Michael Govan, Valeria Napoleone, Taryn Simon, Iain Robertson, Glenn Lowry, Laurence Graff, Vicky Ward, Amy Cappellazzo, Stephane Graff, Ralph Rugoff)

World premiere

ELIÁN

Thanksgiving, 1999: Two fishermen on the Florida Straits find a young Cuban boy, Elián González, floating alone in an inner tube. Their discovery evolves into a custody battle. Eighteen years on, Elián tells his story.

(Country: Ireland, US; Year: 2017; Director: Tim Golden, Ross McDonnell; Writer: Tim Golden)

World premiere

Frank Serpico

Portrait of Frank Serpico, the former NYPD officer who in the 1970s blew the whistle on the corruption and pay-offs running rampant in the department.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Antonino D'Ambrosio; Writer: Antonino D'Ambrosio)

World premiere

Get Me Roger Stone

Profile of political firebrand and noted eccentric Roger Stone, who has been a fixture of Republican politics since the 1970s.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Dylan Bank, Daniel DiMauro, Morgan Pehme; Writer: Dylan Bank, Daniel DiMauro, Morgan Pehme)

World premiere

Gilbert

Profile of comedian Gilbert Gottfried.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Neil Berkeley; Writer: Neil Berkeley, James Leche)

World premiere

A Gray State

Review preview for A Gray State

Simply observed, the story tells itself; the viewer is left to consider how reasonable each argument sounds, and to consider the way that the different arguments developed.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Documentary investigating what happens when an ideology becomes an obsession.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Erik Nelson)

Full review

World premiere

Hell On Earth: The Fall Of Syria And The Rise Of ISIS

Chronicling Syria’s descent into unbridled chaos, this film captures the Syrian war’s harrowing carnage, political and social consequences, and, most importantly, its human toll.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Sebastian Junger, Nick Quested; Writer: Mark Monroe)

World premiere

Hondros

Portrait of the award-winning war photographer, who was killed in Libya in 2011.

(Country: US, Iraq, Liberia, Libya; Year: 2017; Director: Greg Campbell; Writer: Jenny Golden, Greg Campbell)

World premiere

I Am Evidence

Review preview for I Am Evidence

Takes a pragmatic approach to deconstructing a subject that could easily be overwhelming.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Every year in cities around the United States, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of rape kits are left untested in police storage facilities. The film sheds light on these disturbing statistics.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Trish Adlesic, Geeta Gandbhir)

Full review

World premiere

Wasted! The Story Of Food Waste

Each year, $218 billion — or 1.3 billion tons — of food is thrown out. With nearly a billion people worldwide facing starvation, food conservation is a more urgent issue than ever before. This film takes viewers on a tour of inventive new ideas for recycling waste.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Anna Chai, Nari Kye)

World premiere. Earth Day screening

Whitney: Can I Be Me

Profile of the singing star, who died tragically at 48.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Nick Broomfield, Rudi Dolezal; Stars: Whitney Houston, Bobbi Kristina Brown, Bobby Brown, Robyn Crawford, John Russell Houston Jr., Cissy Houston, David Roberts, Johnny Carson, Serge Gainsbourg, Mike Tyson, Oprah Winfrey)

World premiere

Year Of The Scab

During the 1987 NFL strike, teams scrambled to assemble temporary replacements to fill in for their boycotting players. This documentary tells their story.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: John Dorsey)

World premiere