The 2012 Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), presented by American Express^®, has announced 46 films selected to play in three sections of TFF 2012: 12 films in World Narrative Competition, 12 films in World Documentary Competition, and 22 films in the out-of-competition Viewpoints section. Viewpoints, established last year, highlights personal stories in international and independent cinema. In addition to these categories, TFF 2012 will present feature-length films in the Spotlight, Cinemania and Special screenings sections; look for announcements on March 8.

For the first time, the documentary and narrative competition sections will have designated opening night films on April 19: The World Before Her will open the World Documentary competition, and Yossi will open the World Narrative competition.

This year’s Festival was curated by a new programming team. The new Artistic Director Frédéric Boyer joined TFF after stints as Artistic Director and Head of Programming for the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. Geoffrey Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer of Tribeca Enterprises, has expanded his role in overseeing the Festival program. Genna Terranova has been promoted to Director of Programming, and Cara Cusumano returns as Programmer.

“It’s been so gratifying to watch the new programming team come together and hear their dialogue around film,” said Nancy Schafer, Executive Director of Tribeca Film Festival. “Their passion is inspiring and is reflected in the strength and breadth of the program.”

“To me the films in competition reflect the diversity and vitality of contemporary cinema. Diversity in the themes addressed through powerful storytelling, but also in filmmaking itself where the images, the sounds and the way of capturing the truth in human beings is striking. Vitality because this year we are presenting nine first time feature filmmakers in competition, and I believe we will keep a close eye on these directors’ works in the future,” said Frédéric Boyer. “The quality of American independent cinema is well represented this year, but international diversity has its share too, with films from countries as varied as Cuba and Kenya. All different films, but all consistent in their shared ambition of representing their own world.”

In addition to the Competition and Viewpoints categories, the Festival presents feature-length films in the Spotlight, Cinemania and Special Screenings sections, which will be announced on March 8, with the list of short films to follow soon after. The 2012 online Film Guide will go live on Monday, March 12. The 11th Tribeca Film Festival will take place from April 18 to 29 in lower Manhattan.

Of the 12 films in Tribeca’s 2012 World Narrative Competition, half are international productions and half American. Though the balance is less a product of design than serendipity, it amply reflects the Tribeca Film Festival’s commitment to fostering dialogue between the global filmmaking community and U.S. audiences and auteurs.

All In (La Suerte En Tus Manos)
Directed by Daniel Burman, written by Daniel Burman and Sergio Dubcovsky
(Argentina)—International Premiere

Professional poker player Uriel has been on a real hot streak—with the ladies—since his marriage fizzled out. But in between growing his online gambling business and helping to raise his kids, Uriel has rediscovered his old pre-marriage flame, Gloria…. Starring the great Valeria Bertuccelli (XXY) and Oscar^®-winning songwriter Jorge Drexler, this romantic comedy from Daniel Burman (Lost Embrace) unfolds in the acclaimed director’s signature style: poignant, natural, and bitingly funny. In Spanish with subtitles.

Beyond the Hill (Tepenin Ardi)
Directed and written by Emin Alper
(Turkey, Greece)—North American Premiere

Faik, a proud old forester, is having trouble with nomads grazing their livestock on his land. For revenge, he and his hulking farm hand Mehmet snatch a goat to butcher for a family holiday, unwittingly sparking a dire blood feud. Debuting Turkish director Emin Alper creates an atmosphere of skin-crawling terror in this psychological drama by withholding, not showing, the escalating acts of violence that hurtle these feuding farmers toward a shocking confrontation. In Turkish with subtitles.

First Winter
Directed and written by Benjamin Dickinson
(USA)—World Premiere

In this extraordinary debut feature, a blackout of apocalyptic proportions strands a group of Brooklyn hipsters in a remote country farmhouse with no heat and no electricity during the coldest winter on record. At first, it’s all sex and drugs and acoustic guitars. But as the days go on and the food supply dwindles, struggles of power, jealousy, and desire threaten the group’s ability to work together in order to survive.

The Girl
Directed and written by David Riker
(USA, Mexico)—World Premiere

From the director of La Ciudad comes this moving drama about a single mother (Abbie Cornish) caught in emotional quicksand after losing her job and custody of her son. Desperate to earn cash for her custody battle, she makes the daring choice to help smuggle illegal immigrants over the border. A deep connection to a young Mexican girl will take her on a life-changing journey and force her to confront her past. In English, Spanish with subtitles.

Jack and Diane
Directed and written by Bradley Rust Gray
(USA)—World Premiere

Tomboy Jack and bubbly Diane fall head over heels in love one hot summer in New York City. When Diane reveals she must leave the city for school in Europe, their budding love is tested. Weaving horror elements into a distinctive and fresh yet timeless and universal first-love story, TFF alum Bradley Rust Gray (The Exploding Girl) brings his unique vision to this idiosyncratic story of the joys and terrors of first love. A Magnolia Pictures release.

Nancy, Please
Directed by Andrew Semans, written by Will Heinrich and Andrew Semans
(USA)—World Premiere

Paul’s life is good. He has a gig teaching literature at Yale, and he just moved in with his longtime girlfriend, finally shedding his casually sinister roommate, Nancy. There’s just one thing. Paul left an item of great importance at his old apartment, and Nancy doesn’t want to give it back.… Paul’s life is about to unravel. Debuting director Andrew Semans skillfully orchestrates a minor annoyance into an all-consuming obsession in this smart, stunning psychodrama.

Postcards From the Zoo (Kebun Binatang)
Directed by Edwin, written by Edwin, Daud Sumolang, and Titien Wattimena
(Indonesia)—North American Premiere

Acclaimed Chinese-Indonesian director Edwin (Blind Pig Who Wants To Fly) returns with a gorgeous, dreamlike fairy tale set inside Jakarta’s wondrous Ragunan Zoo. Abandoned in the zoo as a little girl and raised among the wild menagerie, Lana finally embarks outside the peculiar confines she has always known—and into the seedier side of Jakarta—when she falls in love with a charming magician. In Indonesian with subtitles.

Una Noche
Directed and written by Lucy Mulloy
(UK, Cuba, USA)—North American Premiere

Fed up with catering to the privileged tourist class, Cuban teens Raul and Elio are tantalized by the promise of a new life in Miami. Accused of assaulting a foreigner, Raul has no choice but to flee, but Elio must decide whether his own escape is worth abandoning his beloved sister. Brimming with the nervous energy of Havana’s restless youth and evocative cinematography of the sun-bleached capital, Una Noche follows one sweltering day, full of hope and fraught with tensions, that burns to a shocking climax. In Spanish with subtitles.

Unit 7 (Grupo 7)
Directed by Alberto Rodriguez, written by Rafael Cobos and Alberto Rodriguez
(Spain)—International Premiere

Unit 7 is a semi-official police detail with a seemingly impossible mission: kick Seville’s most vicious drug trafficking ring out of town ahead of a major international expo. By any means necessary. As they slip outside the bounds of the law in the name of duty, two officers fueled by violence, lies, and ambition end up on opposing paths. Spanish superstar Mario Casas (Neon Flesh) stars in this adrenaline-pumping action thriller. In Spanish with subtitles.

War Witch (Rebelle)
Directed and written by Kim Nguyen
(Canada)—North American Premiere

At 14, Komona has lived through horrors that eclipse any adult’s worst nightmares. In this mesmerizing, otherworldly drama, shot entirely in the Congo, she confides to the baby growing inside of her the harrowing story of her life since rebel warlords stormed her village. Fortified by eerily mystical powers and the warming friendship of an albino boy, the sensitive girl battles through this dire, war-ravaged world enchained as a child soldier. In French, Lingala with subtitles.

While We Were Here
Directed and written by Kat Coiro
(USA)—World Premiere

Jane (Kate Bosworth) and her English husband travel to Naples hoping to reinvigorate their silently disintegrating marriage and escape a personal tragedy that hangs heavily between them. When Jane, facing writer’s block, takes a day trip to a beautiful island off the coast, she meets a young American man living a hermetic life on the island. As the two embark on an unlikely emotional affair, Jane faces some drastic changes in her life.

Yossi
Directed by Eytan Fox, written by Itay Segal
(Israel)—World Premiere

Returning to the role that won him TFF’s Best Actor award in Eytan Fox’s Yossi & Jagger in 2003, Ohad Knoller is extraordinary as Yossi, a closeted gay man living a solitary existence in Tel Aviv. A chance encounter with a group of soldiers ignites Yossi’s desire to live an open, fulfilling life. Directed with uncommon honesty and compassion by Fox, this is a deeply moving film about the power of second chances. In Hebrew with subtitles.

Statistics

The 2012 film slate was chosen from a total of 5950 submissions, a record number for the Festival. The 2012 film selection includes feature films from 32 different countries, including 53 World Premieres, 5 International Premieres, 16 North American Premieres, 10 U.S. Premieres and six New York Premieres. A total of 107 directors will be presenting feature works at the Festival, with 33 of these filmmakers presenting their feature directorial debuts. Among these directors, 25 are women. Twenty-six feature film directors are returning TFF filmmakers.

Awards

This year, 12 narrative and 12 documentary features making their North American, International, or World Premieres will compete for combined cash prizes amounting to $180,000 and donated artwork from the Artists Awards program sponsored by Chanel, featuring renowned artists including Cindy Sherman, JR, Kara Walker and Stanley Whitney.

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 Serviced Residences
»» Best New Narrative Director (for first-time feature directors in any section), presented by American Express
»» Best Actor in a Narrative Feature
»» Best Actress in a Narrative Feature
»» Best Screenplay in a Narrative Feature
»» Best Cinematography in a Narrative Feature
»» Best Documentary Feature
»» Best Editing in a Documentary Feature
»» Best New Documentary Director (for first-time feature directors in any section), presented by American Express

New this year, two feature films—one narrative and one documentary—will be selected to receive the Heineken Audience Award, the audience choice for best feature film. Films playing in the World Narrative Competition, World Documentary Competition, Viewpoints, Spotlight and Cinemania sections are eligible. (In past years only one film was chosen by the audience.)

Check out more of the slate:
TFF 2012: World Documentary Competition
TFF 2012: Viewpoints

Get ahead of the crowd and buy your advance ticket package today! Learn more: TFF 2012 Ticket Packages

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