BY KAREN KEMMERLE |
Taking A Closer Look At the TFF Alumni on the Oscar Shortlist
Here’s our refresher on the potential 2015 Academy Award nominations that a few outstanding TFF alumni (5 docs and 1 short film!) could garner tomorrow morning.
Can you feel the excitement in the air? Tomorrow morning at 5:30AM PT/8:30AM ET, J.J Abrams, Alfonso Cuaron and Chris Pine will join Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs to announce the 2015 nominations in the 24 Oscar categories. While we always eagerly anticipate the nominees, this year is special because up to 6 standout TFF alumni—5 in the documentary category alone—may among the chosen.
Here’s a quick rundown to keep you abreast of 6 potential Oscar nominees with ties to the Tribeca Film Festival. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed!
Art and Craft
When is art forgery not a crime? Directed by Sam Cullman and Jennifer Grausman, this TFF 2014 doc examines the relationship between Midwestern curator/registrar Matthew Leininger and Mark Landis, one of the most infamous art forgers in the U.S.
Keep On Keepin’ On
The TFF 2014 Heineken Audience Award Winner for Best Documentary Feature explores the relationship between legendary trumpeter Clark Terry and blind Jazz prodigy Justin Kaulfin. Executive produced by Quincy Jones (!), Alan Hicks’ debut doc won the 2014 Cinema Eye Honors Audience Choice Prize just last week.
The Kill Team
Dan Krauss’s compelling investigation of an unimaginable war crime from the perspective of the soldiers who committed it as they await trial won the TFF 2013 prize for Best Documentary Feature. The doc was released earlier this year by Oscilloscope Laboratories.
Read our interview with filmmaker Dan Krauss.
The Overnighters
Jesse Moss’ fascinating TFF 2014 documentary follows Jay Reinke, the pastor of a small congregation in a North Dakota town experiencing an oil boom, as he provides a place to sleep for thousands of transient unemployed men and women seeking work. The repercussions of his unselfish act are unimaginable.
Read our interview with filmmaker Jesse Moss.
The Phone Call
Sally Hawkins stars a shy helpline operator whose life is forever changed when she answers the call of a mysterious man (voiced by Jim Broadbent) who is contemplating suicide after the recent passing of his wife. The film, directed by Mat Kirkby, won the TFF 2014 prize for Best Narrative Short.
Watch The Phone Call Right Now on Indiewire
Virunga
Directed by Orlando von Einsiedel, this gripping TFF 2014 documentary explores the current political and ecological crisis in the Congo by focusing on the turmoil surrounding Africa’s oldest national park which is also a UNESCO heritage site.
