The Tribeca Film Festival has announced its Spotlight and Cinemania slate, as well as Special Screenings and the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival lineup.
The Spotlight section screens 34 films, 22 narratives and 12 documentaries, 19 of which will be world premieres.
Artistic director Frédéric Boyer said: “The Spotlight program is a wonderful encapsulation of the originality and diversity of filmmaking that Tribeca seeks to highlight.
“We have films from emerging filmmakers as well as seasoned veterans, narratives that showcase stellar performances and insightful writing, and documentaries that challenge and inform their audiences.
“With Cinemania, our selections demonstrate the imagination and resourcefulness of filmmakers from around the world who push the boundaries of genre in order to entertain, thrill, and engage.”
The sixth annual Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival, founded to broaden the audience for independent film through stories about sports and competition, will open with the world premiere of Benji, directed by the duo Coodie and Chike. The documentary looks back at the story of a teenage basketball phenom in 1980s Chicago whose ascension to the upper echelon of the sport tragically ended when he was senselessly murdered.
“This year’s Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival films explore athletes' diverse challenges on and off the playing fields,” said director of programming Genna Terranova. “I’m excited we can share these inspiring stories—from runners training for the Olympics in rural Africa to Tim Wakefield's ever-elusive and now historic knuckleball—with both our sports and documentary fans alike.”
You can read our coverage of this year's festival here.
