BY THE EDITORS |
TFF '11: World Narrative Features
Explore the world with the dozen films that will compete in the World Narrative Features Competition at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival.
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.
“It’s our tenth Tribeca Film Festival, and in our relatively brief existence we have evolved dramatically,” says Nancy Schafer, Executive Director of the Tribeca Film Festival. “The Festival has become an integral part of the cultural landscape of New York City as well as a globally recognized platform for storytelling.”
Representing 11 countries, the filmmakers in this year’s World Narrative Feature Competition include 5 women and 5 first-time directors. With dominant themes of displacement and coming-of-age, the 12 films in this section represent a diverse range of styles and stories in contemporary global cinema; these narrative tales will entertain, amuse, and enlighten audiences.
Angels Crest
Directed by Gaby Dellal
Written by Catherine Trieschmann
(UK, Canada) — World Premiere
In the working-class Rocky Mountain town of Angels Crest, young father Ethan (Thomas Dekker) is doing his best to raise his three-year-old son Nate. He has no choice—Nate’s mother (Lynn Collins) is an alcoholic. But one snowy day Ethan’s momentary lapse in judgment results in tragedy, catapulting the town’s tight-knit community into strange new directions as they try to decide where the blame lies. With Jeremy Piven, Elizabeth McGovern, Mira Sorvino, and Kate Walsh.
Artificial Paradises (Paraisos Artificiales)
Directed by Yulene Olaizola
Written by Yulene Olaizola and Fernando del Razo
(Mexico) — North American Premiere
This beautifully rendered atmospheric story captures a young woman addicted to heroin trying to get clean at a rundown resort on the Mexican Gulf Coast. There she meets a local character and the two begin a unique rapport. First-time narrative filmmaker Yulene Olaizola subverts the conventional addict story and imbues her main characters with a complexity and honesty that inspires this delicate and resonant journey of two old souls. In Spanish with English subtitles.
Black Butterflies
Directed by Paula van der Oest
Written by Greg Latter
(Germany, Netherlands, South Africa) — International Premiere
Poetry, politics, madness, and desire collide in the true story of the woman hailed as South Africa’s Sylvia Plath. In 1960s Cape Town, as Apartheid steals the expressive rights of blacks and whites alike, young Ingrid Jonker (Carice van Houten, Black Book) finds her freedom scrawling verse while frittering through a series of stormy affairs. Amid escalating quarrels with her lovers and her government-censor father (Rutger Hauer), the poet witnesses an unconscionable event that will alter her life’s course. In English.
Blackthorn
Directed by Mateo Gil
Written by Miguel Barros
(Spain, France, Bolivia, USA) — World Premiere
Legend has it notorious American outlaw Butch Cassidy was killed in Bolivia in 1908. Mateo Gil’s classic Western, however, finds Cassidy (Sam Shepard) 20 years later living on in hiding under the identity of James Blackthorn—and yearning for one last sight of home. Joining forces with a Spanish mine robber named Eduardo, Blackthorn sets out on one final adventure across the sublime landscape of the Bolivian frontier. In English, Spanish with English subtitles.
Cairo Exit (El Korough)
Directed by Hesham Issawi
Written by Hesham Issawi and Amal Afify
(Egypt, United Arab Emirates) — International Premiere
When 18-year-old Amal becomes pregnant, she struggles with the choice between absconding to Greece with her beloved Muslim boyfriend and staying in Cairo with her Coptic Orthodox Christian family. But when her motorbike gets stolen and she’s fired from her job, Amal must reevaluate her future options as an unmarried young mother in Egypt. In Arabic with English subtitles.
Grey Matter (Matière Grise)
Directed and Written by Kivu Ruhorahoza
(Rwanda, Australia) — World Premiere
When his grant falls through a few days before production, a young filmmaker hides the bad news from his team and continues preparations on his film The Cycle of the Cockroach without financing or equipment. Reality blurs as scenes from the script suddenly begin to materialize—can this film exist only in his dreams? Assured direction is bolstered by strong and creative visual imagery in one of Rwanda’s first feature-length narrative films. In Kinyarwanda, French with English subtitles.
Jesus Henry Christ
Directed and Written by Dennis Lee
(USA) — World Premiere
Precocious doesn’t even begin to describe Henry James Hermin, a petri dish child who writes rabble-rousing manifestos on the nature of truth… at age 10. This boy-genius misfit’s world turns upside down when—to the dismay of the doting single mother who raised him—he embarks on a search for his biological father. Toni Collette and Michael Sheen star alongside bright newcomers Jason Spevack and Samantha Weinstein in this charming comedy that beams with off-the-wall humor and visual flair.
Note: This fimmakers participated in the Tribeca All Access program in 2005, and the script won a TAA Creative Promise Award, narrative project.
The Kite (Patang)
Directed and Written by Prashant Bhargava
(India, USA) — North American Premiere
A family saga set against the colorful spectacle of the Uttarayan, India’s largest kite festival, The Kite is a kaleidoscopic whirlwind of energy, romance, and turmoil. A businessman arrives in Ahmedabad for a surprise visit to his once grand family home, bringing with him his daughter and some unexpected news for the family’s future. Amongst the flurry of preparations and the energy of the festival itself, the transformative and intersecting tales of six characters unfold. In English, Hindi with English subtitles.
The Last Rites of Joe May
Directed and Written by Joe Maggio
(USA) — World Premiere
Small-time Chicago hustler Joe May (the incomparable Dennis Farina) always felt like a great destiny awaited him, but with his health ailing and his age advancing, he’s never looked more like a bum. Broke and evicted, he’s taken in by a troubled young mother and daughter, in whom he finds one last shot to be a hero. Pulsing with the spirit of classic urban dramas, The Last Rites of Joe May is a subtle, sophisticated tale of redemption.
Note: Joe Maggio is a returning Tribeca Film Festival filmmaker.
Romantics Anonymous (Les Émotifs Anonymes)
Directed by Jean-Pierre Améris
Written by Jean-Pierre Améris and Philippe Blasband
(France, Belgium) — International Premiere
Two pathologically shy neurotics connect through a love of chocolate in this delectably witty romantic comedy. For Angelique and Jean-René, the social world is one big emotional minefield best avoided. She’s a reclusive candymaker looking for a job, and he runs a chocolate factory in dire need of her savant-like skill. Fate may bring them together, but they’ll need to overcome their common fears to find fairy-tale love. In French with English subtitles.
She Monkeys (Apflickorna)
Directed by Lisa Aschan
Written by Josefine Adolfsson and Lisa Aschan
(Sweden) — North American Premiere
When 15-year-old Emma lands a competitive spot on the equestrian acrobatics team, she is taken under the wing of a pretty, slightly older teammate, Cassandra. The two begin an intense relationship where the rules of the game blur as psychological stakes get higher and higher. Lisa Aschan’s award-winning directorial debut explores the all-consuming world of teen female friendships through naturalistic direction, evocative imagery, and engrossing performances. In Swedish with English subtitles.
Turn me on, goddammit (Få meg på, for faen)
Directed and Written by Jannicke Systad Jacobsen
(Norway) — World Premiere
Alma is a small-town teenager with an active imagination and an even more active libido. After a titillating but awkward encounter with school heartthrob Artur turns her into a social outcast, Alma is desperate to move out of town and on with her life. Turn me on, goddammit is an offbeat coming-of-age comedy with a deadpan sense of humor, enlivened by its rich sense of fantasy and frank but sweet approach to teen sexuality. In Norwegian with English subtitles.
Awards
This year, 12 narrative and 12 documentary features all making their North American, International, or World Premieres will compete for combined unrestricted cash prizes amounting to $150,000 and donated artwork from Chanel’s artists program, featuring renowned artists including Robert De Niro Sr., Inka Essenhigh and Stephen Hannock.
Awards in the World Narrative and World Documentary Competitions will be presented in the following juried categories:
»» Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature, sponsored by AKA Hotel Residences;
»» Best New Narrative Director (for first-time feature directors in any section), sponsored by American Express;
»» Best Actress in a Narrative Feature;
»» Best Screenplay in a Narrative Feature [new for 2011];
»» Best Cinematography in a Narrative Feature [new for 2011];
»» Best Documentary Feature;
»» Best Editing in a Documentary Feature [new for 2011]; and
»» Best New Documentary Director (for first-time feature directors in any section), sponsored by American Express.
In addition, 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: Cinemania
TFF 2011: Special Screenings
TFF 2011: Spotlight
TFF 2011: Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival
TFF 2011: Viewpoints
Learn more: TFF 2011 Ticket Packages
Get ahead of the crowd and buy your advance ticket package today!
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