BY THE EDITORS |
TFF '10: Encounters
The 14 films in the Encounters section, sponsored by vitaminwater zero™, include familiar faces both behind and in front of the camera.
The 2010 Encounters section, sponsored by vitaminwater zero™, includes a mixture of 14 narrative and feature films from a wide range of established directors. Eleven are world premieres, including new works by Academy Award®-winning filmmakers Alex Gibney and Chuck Workman and Academy Award nominee Dana Adam Shapiro.
The films are a mixture of mystery-thrillers and lighter fare, and feature actors you know and respect: Ellen Barkin, Tilda Swinton, Liev Schreiber, Helen Hunt, Brian Dennehy, Eddie Izzard, Kim Cattrall, Rashida Jones and Melissa Leo, to name just a few. The subjects are familiar too, including men who revolutionized music around the world—the legendary Canadian band Rush, British punk rock pioneer Ian Dury, and Long Island music legend Billy Joel—and one man who revolutionized hair and modern pop culture, Vidal Sassoon.
Note: Nice Guy Johnny will also make its debut on the new Tribeca Film Festival Virtual premium platform. Passes available now!
Beginning April 21, two others will be available on demand via Tribeca Film: sex & drugs & rock & roll and Climate of Change.
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The Chameleon (Le Cameleon)
Directed by Jean-Paul Salomé, written by Jean-Paul Salomé and Natalie Carter
(Canada, France)—World Premiere
When teenager Nicholas Barclay (Marc-André Grondin, C.R.A.Z.Y.) mysteriously resurfaces after he went missing three years ago, his sister (Emilie De Ravin, Lost) and mother (Ellen Barkin) welcome him back with open arms, but a no-nonsense FBI agent (Famke Janssen) is out to prove he’s an impostor. Working from a true story, director Jean-Paul Salomé (Female Agents) delivers an unsettling psychological thriller—featuring an unforgettable performance by Barkin—that will keep you guessing. In English.
Climate of Change
Directed by Brian Hill
(USA/UK)—North American Premiere
A group of 13-year-olds in India rally against the use of plastics. A renaissance man in Africa teaches villagers to harness solar power. Self-described "hillbillies" in Appalachia battle the big business behind strip mining. Tilda Swinton beautifully narrates this rich and inspiring documentary—from the producers of An Inconvenient Truth—about a world of regular people taking action in the fight to save our environment. Executive produced by Participant Media and the Alliance for Climate Protection. A Tribeca Film release.
Every Day
Directed and written by Richard Levine
(USA)—World Premiere
Meet Ned: his live-in father-in-law is putting serious strains on Ned's marriage. He's having a hard time adjusting to raising an independent teenager. His job as a TV writer is unfulfilling, and late nights with a sexy coworker are only complicating matters... Liev Schreiber, Helen Hunt, Brian Dennehy, Carla Gugino, Eddie Izzard, and Ezra Miller star in this eloquent and honest look at an everyday family dealing with life's little curveballs.
Last Play at Shea
Directed by Paul Crowder and Jon Small (concert footage)
(USA)—World Premiere
The intersecting histories of a stadium, a team, and a music legend are examined in a documentary that charts the ups and downs of the New York Mets and the life and career of Long Island native Billy Joel, the last performer to play Shea Stadium. Set to the soundtrack of Joel's final Shea concerts, Last Play interweaves personal Joel interviews with exclusive concert footage—featuring guests like Tony Bennett and Roger Daltrey. Part of the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival.
Meet Monica Velour
Directed and written by Keith Bearden
(USA)—World Premiere
In this quirky comedy, Tobe (Dustin Ingram, perfectly cast), an awkward teenage aficionado of 1980s soft-core, sets off in his grandfather's (Brian Dennehy) used Weinermobile to see his sexual idol perform at the Gentlemen's Club in Indiana. After defending her honor against ruffians who taunt the aging erotic starlet (Kim Cattrall) off the stage, he negotiates his unripe romantic impulses with the reality of her anything-but-glamorous life as a trailer-park single mother.
Monogamy
Directed by Dana Adam Shapiro, written by Dana Adam Shapiro and Evan M. Wiener
(USA)—World Premiere
Exhibitionism, voyeurism, jealousy, lust. Brooklyn wedding photographer Theo's (Chris Messina) side business taking surveillance-style photos of clients on the sly takes an unexpected turn—and creates a rift with his fiancée (Rashida Jones)—when he's hired by a provocative mystery woman (Meital Dohan). The first narrative feature from Oscar®-nominated director Dana Adam Shapiro (Murderball), Monogamy effectively fuses an absorbing mystery-thriller and a taut relationship drama.
My Trip to Al-Qaeda
Directed by Alex Gibney
(USA)—World Premiere
Academy Award® winner Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side, TFF '07) collaborates with Lawrence Wright to bring Wright's titular one-man play to the screen. With equal parts Spalding Gray and An Inconvenient Truth, My Trip to Al Qaeda chronicles fundamentalist Islam's rise to power and explores Wright's struggle to maintain his objectivity as a journalist writing about Islamic terror.
Nice Guy Johnny
Directed and written by Edward Burns
(USA)—World and TFF Virtual Premiere
A master of the modern relationship dramedy, Edward Burns crafts a summery gem centered on baby-faced 24-year-old Johnny Rizzo, who's about to trade his dream job in talk radio for some snoozeville gig that'll pay enough to please his fiancée. Enter Uncle Terry (Burns), a rascally womanizer set on turning a day in the Hamptons into an eye-opening fling for his nephew. Nice guy Johnny's not interested, of course, but then he meets Brooke...
RUSH: Beyond the Lighted Stage
Directed by Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn
(Canada)—World Premiere
For fans and newcomers to the legendary Canadian band Rush, this is the music documentary to experience. Directors Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn embark on a comprehensive exploration of this extraordinary power trio, from their early days in Toronto through each of their landmark albums to the present day. Sit back and revel in the words, music, and wonder of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart.
sex & drugs & rock & roll
Directed by Mat Whitecross, written by Paul Viragh
(UK)—North American Premiere
Mat Whitecross (codirector of The Road to Guantanamo) paints a stylized, ripsnorting portrait of mercurial British punk rock pioneer Ian Dury (flawlessly portrayed by BAFTA nominee Andy Serkis). From a troubled childhood and a battle with debilitating polio to the effects of fame on relationships and fatherhood, here are the highs and lows of a life lived sneeringly, unapologetically out loud. With Olivia Williams, Ray Winstone, and Naomie Harris. A Tribeca Film release.
The Space Between
Directed and written by Travis Fine
(USA)—World Premiere
Lonely flight attendant Montine McLeod (Academy Award® nominee Melissa Leo) becomes responsible for a 10-year-old Pakistani-American boy traveling solo when news of the 9/11 attacks grounds their flight in Texas. After learning the boy's direct connection the tragic events, McLeod musters the compassion she could never afford her own family, and the two embark on a heartrending road trip to meet an uncertain future in New York City.
Tetsuo The Bullet Man
Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto, written by Shinya Tsukamoto and Hisakatsu Kuroki
(Japan)—North American Premiere
More than 20 years after he used 16mm to prove himself worthy of a cult following with Tetsuo, The Iron Man, Shinya Tsukamoto is back with another frenetic, hyperbolic experience. This slick, modernized third installation of the Tetsuo series—shown here in the final director's cut for the first time—continues to challenge ideas of man and machine... and the trouble that ensues when the two become one.
Vidal Sassoon The Movie
Directed by Craig Teper
(USA)—World Premiere
With the geometric, Bauhaus-inspired hairstyles he pioneered in the '60s and his "wash and wear" philosophy that liberated generations of women from the tyranny of the salon, Vidal Sassoon revolutionized the art of hairdressing. This fun, fast-paced documentary traces with visual gusto the life of a self-made man whose passion and perseverance took him from a Jewish orphanage in London to the absolute pinnacle of his craft.
Visionaries
Directed by Chuck Workman
(USA)—World Premiere
Oscar®-winning filmmaker Chuck Workman brings alive the vibrant history of the avant-garde cinema. Through interviews with filmmakers and critics including Jonas Mekas, Kenneth Anger, Su Friedrich, and Amy Taubin, he reveals how this artistic movement highlights subjective vision, sensory experience, and dreams over plot and storyline. Workman couples these conversations with a dazzling array of diverse extracts from experimental films that illuminate for the general audience a qualitatively different kind of moviegoing experience.
Check out more of the slate:
TFF 2010: World Documentary Feature Competition
TFF 2010: World Narrative Feature Competition
TFF 2010: Showcase
TFF 2010: Special Events
TFF 2010: Spotlight
TFF 2010: Cinemania
TFF 2010: Discovery
Learn more: TFF 2010 Ticket Packages and Virtual Pass
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