BY THE EDITORS |
TFF 2011: Viewpoints
The Viewpoints program—new for 2011—offers 20 features (11 narratives and 9 docs) that present a snapshot of international independent cinema.
Today the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), presented by American Express®, announced the first 44 feature films of the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival slate, comprising the World Narrative and Documentary Competition film selections, and one new section: Viewpoints.
The rest of the features slate will be announced on Monday, March 14, with the list of short films to follow one week later. The complete list of features will be posted online on Monday, March 14, in the 2011 Film Guide. The 10th Tribeca Film Festival will take place from April 20 to May 1 in lower Manhattan.
In a record year for submissions, the 2011 film slate was chosen from a field of 5,624 entries. TFF 2011 will include feature films from 32 countries, including 43 World Premieres, 10 International Premieres, 19 North American Premieres, 7 U.S. Premieres and 9 New York Premieres. 99 directors will present feature works at the Festival, 54 of whom are making their feature directorial debuts. 12 feature film directors are making a return to Tribeca.
In the Viewpoints program—new for 2011—Tribeca offers 11 narrative features and nine documentaries as a snapshot of international independent cinema. These 20 films will immerse audiences in distinctive perspectives, from documentaries grounded in the intimate stories of real-life characters to narratives that stretch the stylistic potential of the medium.
David Kwok, Director of Programming, explained, “In our new Viewpoints section, we celebrate films that have unique, personal perspectives in their approach to their subjects, and which connect a wide range of global stories. We can’t wait to share them with our audiences.”
The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye
Directed by Marie Losier
(USA, France) — New York Premiere, Documentary
Filmmaker and TFF alum Marie Losier, who has created engaging short films on avant-garde artists like George Kuchar and Guy Maddin, makes her feature documentary debut with a mesmerizing and deeply romantic love story between pioneering musician and performance artist Genesis P-Orridge and soul mate Lady Jaye. Breaking new ground in its depiction of gender identity, Ballad chronicles the physical and spiritual merging of two beings into one.
Note: Marie Losier is a returning Tribeca Film Festival filmmaker.
Donor Unknown
Directed by Jerry Rothwell
(UK) — North American Premiere, Documentary
JoEllen Marsh grew up knowing her father only as Donor 150. As one of the first generation of “test-tube babies,” she yearns for connection with potential siblings, and turns to the Internet to track them down. As JoEllen slowly broadens her family tree, in the process she forges a fascinatingly modern model of family. After connecting with dozens of siblings across the country, JoEllen decides it’s finally time to seek out Donor 150.
Note: This film received support from the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund.
Flowers of Evil (Fleurs du Mal)
Directed by David Dusa
Written by David Dusa, Raphaëlle Maes, and Louise Molière
(France) — North American Premiere, Narrative
Paris-Tehran. A rootless story of young love between Gecko, an Algerian-French hotel bellman and parkourer, and Anahita, an Iranian student forced to leave her country for her own safety after the controversial elections in 2009. Obsessed with tracking the political movement, Anahita’s friends broadcast through YouTube and coordinate via Twitter. Romance and the Internet become the ground to explore histories lost and identity yet to be found. In French, Farsi with English subtitles.
Gnarr
Directed by Gaukur Úlfarsson
(Iceland) — International Premiere, Documentary
You’ll never see politics the same after this raucous documentary. Following his country’s economic meltdown, acerbic Icelandic comedian Jon Gnarr launches his own political party, The Best Party. His platform? Free trips to Disneyland, more polar bears in the zoo, and refusing to work with anyone who doesn’t watch The Wire. But when support for Gnarr’s wacky mayoral bid surprisingly snowballs, what started out as a joke quickly captures the imagination of a nation desperate for a change. In Icelandic with English subtitles.
Gone
Directed by Gretchen Morning and John Morning
(USA) — World Premiere, Documentary
What would you do if you got a call that your grown son had mysteriously vanished while living abroad? In this riveting, confessional documentary, retired New York cop Kathy Gilleran describes her heartrending journey. In her search for her missing gay son in Vienna, Austria, Gilleran encounters a homophobic police force, unexpected discrepancies in the investigation, and suspicious circumstances. This is her story—a mother’s determination to find truth or simply an answer.
The Good Life (Det gode liv)
Directed by Eva Mulvad
(Denmark) — North American Premiere, Documentary
How do you cope with being broke after having lived a life of luxury and privilege? This is the fundamental question facing spoiled Anne Mette and her mother, a once-rich family now living off a small pension and struggling to adapt to their new situation in a coastal Portuguese hamlet. A Grey Gardens for the current financial era, The Good Life is a character study at turns touching and frustrating, but ultimately poignant. In English, Danish, Portuguese with English subtitles.
Journals of Musan (Musal Il-gi)
Directed by Park Jungbum
(South Korea) — North American Premiere, Narrative
Park Jungbum’s stunning and much-lauded debut is the story of a North Korean defector forging a life in capitalist South Korea. As both director and actor, Park (assistant director of Lee Chang-dong’s stirring Poetry) fully realizes a disarmingly beautiful vision of loneliness, disconnect, and ethical ambiguity in this story of a lost soul’s struggle to connect. In Korean with English subtitles.
Lotus Eaters
Directed by Alexandra McGuinness
Written by Alexandra McGuinness and Brendan Grant
(Ireland, UK) — World Premiere, Narrative
The bright young things of London’s social elite lead an existence as languorous and lavish as it is self-destructive. At the center is Alice, a stunning ex-model unable to keep up with the high standards of living her peers feverishly chase. Alexandra McGuinness’ directorial debut presents a contemporary black-and-white portrait of overlapping cliques of friends struggling to get their lives under control before they fall numb to it all.
Love Always, Carolyn
Directed by Maria Ramström and Malin Korkeasalo
(Sweden) — World Premiere, Documentary
They say behind every great man is a great woman. Carolyn Cassady was behind two. Wife of beatnik icon Neal Cassady and lover-muse of Jack Kerouac, Carolyn saw her life story and the memory of the men she loved hijacked by mythmakers. Love Always, Carolyn is the intimate, graceful portrait of a patient matriarch who could never escape the constant wake of her husband’s epic misadventures.
Magic Valley
Directed and Written by Jaffe Zinn
(USA) — World Premiere, Narrative
As one warm October day unfolds, the sleepy town of Buhl, Idaho will never be the same. A fish farmer finds his crop destroyed, a couple of kids are playing an unusual game in the sun-dappled fields, and after a wild party a sleepless teenager is harboring an awful secret…. First-time director Jaffe Zinn presents an atmospheric picture of small-town life with a keen eye and assured hand.
Maria My Love
Directed and Written by Jasmine McGlade Chazelle
(USA) — World Premiere, Narrative
Disoriented by her mother’s death and resentful of her father’s mistakes, a twentysomething woman in Los Angeles is searching for solid ground. Inspired by a new romance, she tries to help a reclusive hoarder get her life back on track, but soon gets entangled in an emotionally complex situation revealing more about herself than she might be ready for. Judy Marte (Raising Victor Vargas) and Karen Black star.
The Miners' Hymns
Directed by Bill Morrison
Written by Bill Morrison, Jóhann Jóhannsson, and David Metcalfe
(UK, USA) — World Premiere, Documentary
Experimental filmmaker and frequent TFF alum Bill Morrison combines newly shot aerial scenes that he filmed himself with historic found-footage images of the mining communities of Northeast England that he culled from the British archives. Morrison creates a moving and formally elegant tribute to this vanished era of working-class life, enriched by an original score by avant-garde Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson.
Note: Bill Morrison is a returning Tribeca Film Festival filmmaker.
My Last Round (Mi Último Round)
Directed and Written by Julio Jorquera
(Chile, Argentina) — North American Premiere, Narrative
When successful boxer Octavio falls in love with kitchen hand Hugo, they move from their small-town homes in the south of Chile to capital city Santiago to protect their taboo relationship. But when Hugo feels unexpected desire for co-worker Jennifer, Octavio is left heartbroken and throws himself into a high-stakes boxing match against all odds. A handsome cast and evocative cinematography offer a sexy, subtle film that evokes hits like The Wrestler and Brokeback Mountain. In Spanish with English subtitles.
NEDS
Directed and Written by Peter Mullan
(UK) — US Premiere, Narrative
Directed by actor/director Peter Mullan (My Name Is Joe, The Magdalene Sisters), NEDS takes place in the gritty and savage world of 1970s Glasgow. On the brink of adolescence, John McGill is a bright and sensitive boy. He’s eager to learn and full of promise, but with no one willing to give him a chance, young John descends into a violent life of crime. NEDS is an intense and tragic portrayal of the loss of hope.
Rid of Me
Directed and Written by James Westby
(USA) — World Premiere, Narrative
When she moves to Portland, Oregon, Meris does her best to fit in with her husband’s clique of old high school buddies—until she gets dumped. Her life trashed, she takes a job as a candy store clerk, opening unexpected worlds into the Northwest underground punk scene and Cambodian rock. A low budget is no barrier to creativity and cinematic innovation in this black comedy of embarrassments about sticking up for yourself no matter how messy.
Note: James Westby is a returning Tribeca Film Festival filmmaker.
Splinters
Directed by Adam Pesce
(USA) — World Premiere, Documentary
In the remote seaside village of Vanimo in Papua New Guinea, there are hardly any jobs—but there are infinite prime waves. Twenty years after the first board was introduced on the island, surfing has become a way of life. This spirited documentary, tinged by joyful music and fascinating glimpses into a rare culture, follows four local surfers competing in the country’s first-ever national surfing championships in the hopes their surfboards will carry them to a better life. In English, Tok Pisen with English subtitles.
Stuck Between Stations
Directed by Brady Kiernan
Written by Nat Bennett and Sam Rosen
(USA) — World Premiere, Narrative
Casper, a young soldier home on leave, has a chance run-in with his childhood crush, now a grad student coping with conflicts of her own. In one night, the two traverse a striking Minneapolis cityscape, growing closer but knowing they will inevitably have to part ways at dawn. Featuring standout performances by rising indie stars Zoe Lister-Jones and Sam Rosen, and supported by cameos from Josh Hartnett and Michael Imperioli, Stuck Between Stations is a touching and authentic snapshot of a generational zeitgeist.
The Swell Season
Directed by Nick August-Perna, Chris Dapkins, and Carlo Mirabella-Davis
(USA) — World Premiere, Documentary
The world fell in love with Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova when their songwriting collaboration in the film Once culminated in a jubilant Oscar® win. But behind the scenes, where Glen and Mar’s on-screen romance became reality, a grueling two-year world tour threatens to fracture their fated bond. Gorgeously filmed in black and white, this music-filled documentary is an intimate look at the exhilaration and turmoil created by both love and fame.
Treatment
Directed by Steven Schardt and Sean Nelson
Written by Sean Nelson
(USA) — World Premiere, Narrative
When Leonard convinces his best friend Nelson to bankroll his stint at a glitzy L.A. rehab clinic so he can pitch a movie idea to mega-star Gregg D, his blind ambition begins to consume him. The producing team behind Humpday returns with this witty, ridiculous, and sincere tale of co-dependent friendship on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Indie darlings Joshua Leonard, Sean Nelson, and Ross Partridge star.
White White World (Beli beli svet)
Direted by Oleg Novkovic
written by Milena Markovic
(Serbia, Germany, Sweden) — North American Premiere, Narrative
In this beautiful and brutal drama, King, a handsome boxer-turned-barman falls for Rosa, a fiery and untamable beauty in the decaying Serbian town of Bor. Their love triggers a series of events that drive the many residents of Bor inexorably toward a fateful and moving finale. Reminiscent of classical Greek theater, White White World is an epic musical tragedy staged against the stark landscape of a small, crumbling mining town. In Serbian with English subtitles.
Awards
Films in the World Narrative Competition, World Documentary Competition, Viewpoints, Spotlight and Cinemania are eligible for the Heineken Audience Award, the audience choice for best feature film.
Check out more of the slate:
TFF 2011: World Documentary Feature Competition
TFF 2011: World Narrative Feature Competition
TFF 2011: Cinemania
TFF 2011: Special Screenings
TFF 2011: Spotlight
TFF 2011: Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival
Learn more: TFF 2011 Ticket Packages
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