Mr. SOUL!

AFI DOCS 2018 Unveils Full Slate of 92 Films

[caption id="attachment_29156" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] UNITED SKATES[/caption] AFI DOCS has finally revealed its full slate of 92 films representing 22 countries for the 16th edition of the American Film Institute’s five-day documentary film festival in the nation’s capital. AFI DOCS 2018 runs June 13 to 17 in Washington, DC, and Silver Spring, MD. As previously announced, the festival will open with the world premiere of PERSONAL STATEMENT and will close with UNITED SKATES. ABOVE AND BEYOND: NASA’S JOURNEY TO TOMORROW screens as the Centerpiece Screening. Special Screenings include THE COLD BLUE, KINSHASA MAKAMBO, MR. SOUL! and WITKIN & WITKIN.
AFI DOCS 2018 PROGRAM

OPENING NIGHT SCREENING
PERSONAL STATEMENT: DIRS Juliane Dressner and Edwin Martinez. USA. Karoline, Enoch and Christine are Brooklyn high school seniors who just want to go to college, but like so many public-school students throughout the country, their schools don’t have enough college guidance support. Refusing to give up, they decide to work as college counselors in their schools, becoming the very resource they don’t have themselves. World Premiere.
CLOSING NIGHT SCREENING
UNITED SKATES: DIRS Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown. USA. Roller-skating has played a critical role in modern African-American culture, with rinks serving as both a haven of community and of artistic expression, and a flashpoint in the civil rights movement. UNITED SKATES chronicles the fight to save these rinks, and the souls of communities nationwide.
CENTERPIECE SCREENING
ABOVE AND BEYOND: NASA’S JOURNEY TO TOMORROW: DIR Rory Kennedy. USA. Rory Kennedy tells the stories of the women and men behind the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s decades-long exploration of our solar system, our universe and our planet, in this enlightening film that celebrates NASA’s triumphs, mourns its tragedies and affirms the importance of its mission both in space and on Earth.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
THE COLD BLUE: DIR Erik Nelson. USA. In 1943, legendary Hollywood director William Wyler crafted MEMPHIS BELLE, a celebrated tribute to the titular WWII bomber. Using footage shot by Wyler from the National Archives, director Erik Nelson has made a new film, featuring gripping narration from some of the last surviving B-17 pilots. A meditation on youth, war and stunning bravery. World Premiere. KINSHASA MAKAMBO: DIR Dieudo Hamadi. DRC, France, Germany. Amid the backdrop of seemingly the neverending political and social unrest that hangs over the Democratic Republic of Congo, three young activists take to the streets with their fellow countrymen to overthrow their country’s President and help enact much needed change in their politically beleaguered country. East Coast Premiere. MR. SOUL!: DIRS Sam Pollard and Melissa Haizlip. USA. An in-depth look at the late 1960s WNET public television series SOUL! and its producer Ellis Haizlip. The series was among the first to provide expanded images of African Americans on television, shifting the gaze from inner-city poverty and violence to the vibrancy of the Black Arts Movement. WITKIN + WITKIN: DIR Trisha Ziff. Mexico. The artwork of septuagenarian twins Joel-Peter and Jerome Witkin transcends genres and traditional form. WITKIN & WITKIN explores the brothers’ complicated relationship with one another, and examines depths and divisions in their work. Joel-Peter’s stunning photography and Jerome’s powerful figurative paintings distinctly capture the human condition, reflecting differing emotional and intellectual approaches. U.S. Premiere.
FEATURE FILM SELECTIONS
209 RUE SAINT-MAUR, PARIS 10ÈME – THE NEIGHBOURS: DIR Ruth Zylberman. France. After selecting a building at random in a Jewish neighborhood in Paris, French director Ruth Zylberman meticulously reconstructed its community of inhabitants during the German occupation. What results is the spellbinding 209 RUE SAINT-MAUR, an experimental historiography that tells the emotional story of lives uprooted and destroyed under the Nazis. U.S. Premiere. ALONE IN THE GAME: DIRS Natalie Metzger and Michael Rohrbaugh. USA. Outdated ideas and outright prejudice have made competitive sports one of the gay rights movement’s final frontiers. ALONE IN THE GAME reveals how a new generation of queer and transgender athletes are scoring victories on and off the field by standing up for their rights — including the right to compete. World Premiere. AMÉRICA: DIRS Erick Stoll and Chase Whiteside. USA. At the heart of this film is 93-year-old matriarch América. When an accidental fall lands her son in jail for neglect, her three freewheeling grandsons must reunite to get their father out of prison and their grandmother out of bed. What emerges is an unforgettable and tender tale of familial love. AMERICA TO ME: DIR Steve James. USA. In this first episode of his excellent miniseries, Steve James returns to the subjects that have marked his career — class, race, and how the two affect social and economic mobility. James follows students at a public high school in suburban Chicago that is considered the gold standard of diversity, yet on the ground, he discovers a different story. BATHTUBS OVER BROADWAY: DIR Dava Whisenant. USA. Steve Young is obsessed with industrial musicals, the often bizarre and hilarious productions commissioned by companies to celebrate their products at corporate conventions. Follow him as he investigates this odd aspect of midcentury corporate culture, while continuing his search for gems like “Diesel Dazzle” and “The Bathrooms Are Coming!” BISBEE ’17: DIR Robert Greene. USA. Bisbee, Arizona, an old copper-mining town on the Mexican border, finally reckons with its darkest day: the deportation of 1,200 immigrant miners left to die in the middle of the desert in 1917. Filmmaker Robert Greene captures the city’s residents as they commemorate this tragic event by staging a reenactment on its 100th anniversary. BLOWIN’ UP: DIR Stephanie Wang-Breal. USA. A New York City courtroom recommends a unique and compassionate intervention option to young women charged with prostitution: submit to free counseling sessions designed by a mentoring program to get you off the street, and your record will be expunged. Are they ready to make that change? CENTRAL AIRPORT THF: DIR Karim Aïnouz. Germany, France, Brazil. A decade after ceasing operations, Berlin’s historic Tempelhof Airport has found a second life serving a new group of arrivals and departures: refugees now seeking asylum in Germany. CENTRAL AIRPORT THF looks at the absurdity of life for migrants making the most of the long layover. CHARM CITY: DIR Marilyn Ness. USA. On the streets of Baltimore, the murder rate is approaching an all-time high, and distrust of the police reaches a fever pitch. With neighborhoods in peril, residents attempt to diffuse the violence through cooperative efforts helmed by community leaders, compassionate law-enforcement officers and a progressive young city councilman. COMBAT OBSCURA: DIR Miles Lagoze. USA. Miles Lagoze was deployed as a combat photographer in Afghanistan, making videos for official Marine Corps recruitment purposes. Compiled of outtakes from those videos, this disturbingly raw portrait of the conflict in Afghanistan exposes the gulf between the war we’re meant to see and the war as it really is. East Coast Premiere. CRIME + PUNISHMENT: DIR Stephen Maing. USA. In 2015, a group of 12 whistleblower cops sued the NYPD for using illegal quotas despite a 2010 statewide ban on the practice. A blood-boiling investigation into a corrupt organization, CRIME + PUNISHMENT follows these officers as they face retaliation for attempting to resist against racist practices. DARK MONEY: DIR Kimberly Reed. USA. A portrait of democracy under fire, DARK MONEY pulls back the curtain on big money in national politics. Revealing how right-wing giants like the Koch brothers hide behind super PACs to do their bidding — in the forms of corporate-funded smear campaigns and dangerous legislation — this film is as timely as it is eye-opening. THE DISTANT BARKING OF DOGS: DIR Simon Lereng Wilmont. Denmark, Finland, Sweden. Taking an observational approach, this masterful film follows 10-year-old Oleg and his grandmother as they cope with life mere miles from the frontline of the war in Ukraine, showing how children navigate the trauma of conflict, while still seeing the world with naiveté and wonder. DON’T BE NICE: DIR Max Powers. USA. Following a diverse team of slam poets as they mine their feelings and personal experiences about race, sexuality, gender and popular culture to craft poems for national competition, DON’T BE NICE demonstrates how collaboration and communication between artists can allow them to better understand who they are and what they want to say. U.S. Premiere. FOR THE BIRDS: DIR Richard Miron. USA. In Richard Miron’s surprising and empathetic film, we follow a woman named Kathy who lives with 200 pet birds. What starts as a story about Kathy’s battle with local animal advocacy groups slowly transforms into an intimate drama about the toll of Kathy’s bird-hoarding — on her marriage and mental health. North American Premiere. FOSTER: DIR Mark Jonathan Harris. USA. Oscar® winners Mark Jonathan Harris and Deborah Oppenheimer (INTO THE ARMS OF STRANGERS: STORIES OF THE KINDERTRANSPORT) roam courtrooms, foster homes, juvenile halls and the streets of Los Angeles to tell the moving human stories behind the largest county child protection agency in the United States. World Premiere. THE GOSPEL OF EUREKA: DIRS Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher. USA. A tiny Arkansas town is home to a popular live-action Passion Play — and a tightknit gay community centered around a lively drag bar. A touching, upbeat look at an enlightened town that maintains a peaceful coexistence of two seemingly divergent groups through tolerance, love and inclusion. GURRUMUL: DIR Paul Williams. Australia. With the release of his debut album, blind indigenous Australian musician Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu became an unlikely star in both his homeland and in the larger world music scene. But as Gurrumul’s fame grew, the balance between his culture’s way of life and a career in music proved tricky to maintain. U.S. Premiere. HAL: DIR Amy Scott. USA. Surveying the works of iconoclastic filmmaker Hal Ashby (HAROLD AND MAUDE, THE LAST DETAIL, COMING HOME), director Amy Scott identifies how Ashby’s brilliant and seminal works helped define both the New Hollywood of the 1970s and the American experience for a decade. HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING: DIR RaMell Ross. USA. Winner of a Special Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, RaMell Ross’ assured feature debut is a lyrical look at the lives of two young African-American men born and raised in Alabama’s Hale County, the community that surrounds them and the paths they follow throughout the years. HAPPY WINTER: DIR Giovanni Totaro. Italy. The escapism of being on holiday gets a fascinating twist in Giovanni Totaro’s shrewdly observant HAPPY WINTER. Mondello beach in Palermo, Italy, is a seemingly pleasant circus of bronzed vacationers milling about. But behind the happy goings-on is a different story of collective denial about the looming economic crisis. U.S. Premiere. HESBURGH: DIR Patrick Creadon. USA. He counseled presidents and popes, served on corporate boards and infuriated Richard Nixon. He was one of the only friends to whom Ann Landers turned for advice. During his 35 years as president of the University of Notre Dame, Theodore Hesburgh became one of the most influential and inspiring people of the 20th century. World Premiere. INTO THE OKAVANGO: DIR Neil Gelinas. USA. National Geographic photographer Neil Gelinas makes his directorial debut with INTO THE OKAVANGO. This visually stunning film follows three passionate individuals as they embark on a four-month journey along the titular river — witnessing Africa’s animal and bird population in visceral, jaw-dropping close-up — to discover why the Okavango Delta is rapidly drying up. INVENTING TOMORROW: DIR Laura Nix. USA. Laura Nix’s inspiring film follows high school students from around the world, many of whom hail from dangerously polluted countries, as they tackle daunting environmental issues affecting their communities. Watch as the teens then bring their ingeniously proposed solutions to “the science fair of science fairs” — the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. IT WILL BE CHAOS: DIRS Lorena Luciano and Filippo Piscopo. USA. Follow an Eritrean man and a Syrian family on dual quests for freedom amid the refugee crisis in the eastern Mediterranean. Tension mounts as they battle the rough seas, harsh conditions and red tape standing in their way. Will they make it to a new life in Europe? THE LIBERATION: DIRS Christoph Green and Brendan Canty. USA. Therapy sessions, cooking lessons and raw personal stories provide the drama in THE LIBERATION, DC-based filmmakers Christoph Green and Brendan Canty’s story of the formerly incarcerated men and women struggling to get through DC Central Kitchen’s 14-week culinary training program. Can they make it and turn their lives around? East Coast Premiere. LOVE, GILDA: DIR Lisa D’Apolito. USA. Lisa D’Apolito’s moving documentary LOVE, GILDA looks back at the exuberant life and courageous death of Gilda Radner, the first female superstar of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. Using an abundance of archival photos and clips, along with confessional narration by Radner, the film paints a loving portrait of her short but spectacularly eventful life. MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A.: DIR Stephen Loveridge. UK. Drawn from 22 years’ worth of personal video footage, MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A. is an intimate look at the life of rapper, songwriter and activist M.I.A., from her childhood in war-torn Sri Lanka, to her eventual rise to international stardom as one of the most thought-provoking artists working in music today. MCQUEEN: DIRS Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui. UK. This intimate profile offers unparalleled access to one of the fashion industry’s brightest stars, Alexander McQueen. Brilliant, bold and informed by a British punk aesthetic, the designer was known for his exquisite and strikingly original clothes and his legendary runway shows — theatrical spectacles influenced by contemporary art, theater and photography. MINDING THE GAP: DIR Bing Liu. USA. First-time filmmaker Bing Liu turns the camera on himself, his family members and his skateboarder friends in this deeply moving depiction of three young men in a small Midwestern town grappling with issues of class, race and learning to overcome the cycles of family violence. A MURDER IN MANSFIELD: DIR Barbara Kopple. USA. Two-time Oscar® winner Barbara Kopple takes on true crime, revisiting a horrific 1989 domestic murder in Ohio. Collier Boyle was 12 when his father killed and buried his wife under the flooring of a remote countryside home. Now an adult, Collier returns to Mansfield to face the lingering impact of his mother’s murder. ON HER SHOULDERS: DIR Alexandria Bombach. USA. Filmmaker Alexandria Bombach follows Nadia Murad, a young Yazidi woman who gained international attention after escaping captivity by the Islamic State. Forgoing sensationalism, Bombach’s award-winning film offers a fresh perspective on Nadia’s new life as a human rights activist raising awareness for her people and their plight. OVER THE LIMIT: DIR Marta Prus. Poland, Germany, Finland. As the 2016 Summer Olympics loom, Russian gymnast Margarita Mamun prepares to represent her country at this historic event. But the path to the Olympics is not an easy one in this unflinching portrait of an athlete straining to retain her humanity while going for gold. U.S. Premiere. PICK OF THE LITTER: DIRS Dana Nachman and Don Hardy. USA. Shortly after birth, five Labrador puppies enter the intensive two-year training program at California’s Guide Dogs for the Blind. Here, only the best pups will make the cut to protect and serve blind partners, while others will have to change careers for good. THE PRICE OF EVERYTHING: DIR Nathaniel Kahn. USA. An examination of the contemporary art market through the eyes of artists, dealers and collectors, THE PRICE OF EVERYTHING is the latest work from Oscar® nominee Nathaniel Kahn. Illuminating complex dynamics between artistic intention and consumer behavior, the film begs the question: What value do we place on the priceless? THE PROVIDERS: DIRS Anna Moot-Levin and Laura Green. USA. THE PROVIDERS follows three “country doctors” — health care providers working for a small network of clinics in northern New Mexico — as they confront the challenges of keeping those in their poor and opioid-plagued communities safe. As the film movingly shows each doctor’s day-to-day responsibilities, a complex portrait emerges of small-town America. SHIRKERS: DIR Sandi Tan. USA. In 1992, Sandi Tan shot a film in Singapore with her friends and her American mentor, Georges. As the film neared completion, Georges disappeared with the footage, leaving Sandi heartbroken. Twenty years later, the footage is discovered, and the strange mystery of Georges begins to unravel. THE SILENCE OF OTHERS: DIRS Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar. USA, Spain. A quest for justice by those who suffered under the repressive regime of General Francisco Franco is at the heart of this powerful and provocative film. Those who were tortured or had family members murdered are demanding the truth be told to the Spanish people, and the remaining perpetrators put on trial. U.S. Premiere. STUDIO 54: DIR Matt Tyrnauer. USA. An Icarus tale unfolds to a disco beat in STUDIO 54, an intimate peek behind the velvet ropes, where mirror balls twinkled over Liza Minelli, Diana Ross, Mick Jagger and Andy Warhol in Matt Tyrnauer’s illuminating history of the rise and fall of the legendary New York nightclub. THIS ONE’S FOR THE LADIES: DIR Gene Graham. USA. Diving inside an unexpected subculture of Newark, THIS ONE’S FOR THE LADIES follows a group of women who throw weekly underground male exotic dance parties. Exploring sexual identity and the meaning of community, the film is a unique portrait of the black experience in 21st-century America. TRANSMILITARY: DIRS Gabriel Silverman and Fiona Dawson. USA. Gabriel Silverman and Fiona Dawson make their stirring feature debut with TRANSMILITARY, following four individuals who come out as transgender to top officials at the Pentagon — a brave move that puts their military careers in jeopardy, and shows a struggle for equality that is more relevant than ever. TRE MAISON DASAN: DIR Denali Tiller. USA. With a parent in prison, three Rhode Island boys tackle adult realities few of their peers can even imagine. Unfettered access to three troubled but promising young lives produces an unforgettable perspective on the multigenerational consequences of U.S. incarceration, where one out of 14 kids has a parent with a prison history. UNDER THE WIRE: DIR Chris Martin. UK. In 2012, acclaimed journalist Marie Colvin illegally crossed the Syrian border to cover the country’s civil war. She became one of the only voices reporting on the atrocities being committed against the Syrian people. With breathtaking footage, UNDER THE WIRE profiles one woman’s drive to uncover the truth, no matter the cost. International Premiere. UNITED WE FAN: DIR Michael Sparaga. Canada. UNITED WE FAN follows the ingenious save-our-show campaigns that have been spurred by passionate television uber-fans throughout the decades. From STAR TREK to CAGNEY AND LACEY and CHUCK — plus many more — this delightful doc highlights the grassroots efforts needed to save beloved TV shows. U.S. Premiere. YOURS IN SISTERHOOD: DIR Irene Lusztig. USA. More than four decades after the birth of Ms. Magazine, director Irene Lusztig combs the publication’s archives and pairs some of the most memorable letters, many never published, with contemporary readers to comment on just how far we’ve come — and what we still have to accomplish.
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AFI DOCS 2018 to Open With World Premiere of PERSONAL STATEMENT, Close with UNITED SKATES

[caption id="attachment_28877" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] PERSONAL STATEMENT[/caption] For its 16th edition, AFI DOCS, the documentary film festival in the nation’s capital, will open with the world premiere of PERSONAL STATEMENT directed by Juliane Dressner and Edwin Martinez; and will close with UNITED SKATES directed by Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown. This year’s program also includes ABOVE AND BEYOND: NASA’S JOURNEY TO TOMORROW (DIR Rory Kennedy) as the Centerpiece. The four Special Screenings will be the world premiere of THE COLD BLUE (DIR Erik Nelson), KINSHASA MAKAMBO (DIR Dieudo Hamadi), MR. SOUL! (DIRS Sam Pollard and Melissa Haizlip) and WITKIN & WITKIN (DIR Trisha Ziff). AFI DOCS runs June 13 to 17, 2018, in Washington, DC, and Silver Spring, MD The Opening Night screening of PERSONAL STATEMENT will be held on June 13 at the Newseum and will be followed by a Q&A with directors Juliane Dressner and Edwin Martinez. The film centers on three Brooklyn high school seniors who, lacking support services at school, band together to help each other get into college. The Closing Night screening of UNITED SKATES will be held on June 17 at the Landmark E Street Cinema and will be followed by a Q&A with directors Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown. The film chronicles the fight to save roller-skating rinks, which have played a critical role in modern African-American culture. The Centerpiece screening of ABOVE AND BEYOND: NASA’S JOURNEY TO TOMORROW will take place at the National Air and Space Museum. As NASA heads into its 60th anniversary, filmmaker Rory Kennedy looks back at the men and women who have built the institution, and whose boundless curiosity drives scientific progress forward.
OPENING NIGHT SCREENING
PERSONAL STATEMENT: Karoline, Enoch and Christine are Brooklyn high school seniors who just want to go to college, but lack the resources most American teens take for granted, including guidance counselors. Refusing to give up, they learn to counsel each other, and carry their classmates with them as they pursue their dreams.
CLOSING NIGHT SCREENING
UNITED SKATES: Roller-skating has played a critical role in modern African-American culture, with rinks serving as both a haven of community and of artistic expression, and a flashpoint in the civil rights movement. UNITED SKATES chronicles the fight to save these rinks, and the souls of communities nationwide.
CENTERPIECE SCREENING
[caption id="attachment_28881" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] ABOVE AND BEYOND: NASA‘S JOURNEY TO TOMORROW[/caption] ABOVE AND BEYOND: NASA‘S JOURNEY TO TOMORROW: Rory Kennedy tells the stories of the women and men behind the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s decades-long exploration of our solar system, our universe and our planet, in this enlightening film that celebrates NASA’s triumphs, mourns its tragedies and affirms the importance of its mission both in space and on Earth.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
THE COLD BLUE: In 1943, legendary Hollywood director William Wyler crafted MEMPHIS BELLE, a celebrated tribute to the titular WWII bomber. Using footage of the film from the National Archives, THE COLD BLUE features gripping narration from some of the last surviving B-17 pilots. A meditation on youth, war and stunning bravery. KINSHASA MAKAMBO: Amid the backdrop of seemingly never-ending political and social unrest that hangs over the Democratic Republic of the Congo, three young activists take to the streets with their fellow countrymen to overthrow their country’s President and help enact much needed change in their politically beleaguered country. MR. SOUL!: An in-depth look at the late 1960s WNET public television series SOUL! and its producer Ellis Haizlip. The series was among the first to provide expanded images of African Americans on television, shifting the gaze from inner-city poverty and violence to the vibrancy of the Black Arts Movement. [caption id="attachment_28879" align="aligncenter" width="1249"] WITKIN & WITKIN[/caption] WITKIN & WITKIN: The artwork of septuagenarian twins Joel-Peter and Jerome Witkin transcends genres and traditional form. WITKIN & WITKIN explores the brothers’ complicated relationship with one another, while examining depths and divisions in their work. Joel-Peter’s stunning photography and Jerome’s powerful figurative paintings distinctly capture the human condition, reflecting differing emotional and intellectual approaches.
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MR. SOUL! – Film Behind Ellis Haizlip and his TV Program SOUL! – to World Premiere at Tribeca Film Festival

MR. SOUL! a film about a fearless black pioneer who took things in his own hands and created a television program that was so beyond it’s time and yet was so on time, will World Premiere at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. Directors Melissa Haizlip and Sam Pollard bring us the film behind Ellis Haizlip and his television program SOUL! This groundbreaking TV Show ran from 1968 – 1973 and celebrated Black American/African American culture on a weekly basis in living color in your home. This timely film, MR. SOUL!, chronicles how SOUL! was at the forefront of late night talk shows and became a model for many of your favorite programs you watch today. From hard topics on race to musical performances from up and coming music icons SOUL! had it all! It was like The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson but was all Black. Before there was Oprah and before there was Arsenio, there was Mr. Soul – Ellis Haizlip. Right on the heels of the Civil Rights Movement, one fearless black pioneer reignited a Harlem Renaissance for a new era, ushering giants and rising stars of Black American culture onto the national television stage. He was hip. He was smart. He was innovative, political and gay. In his personal fight for social equality, this man ensured the revolution would be televised. The man was Ellis Haizlip. The Revolution was SOUL! – an amazing weekly television show that aired on public television from 1968 – 1973 celebrating Black American culture, art, life and community and shared it with the nation via the airwaves. Featuring rare live performances and interviews from the legendary Al Green, heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, Sidney Poitier, Cicely Tyson, James Baldwin, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind and Fire, Ashford and Simpson, Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes, Billy Preston, Black Ivory, The Delfonics, Bill Withers, Nikki Giovanni, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Sonia Sanchez, The Last Poets, Wilson Pickett, Odetta, Merry Clayton, Mandrill, Kool and the Gang, Toni Morrison, Kathleen Cleaver, Betty Shabazz, Stokely Carmichael, Louis Farrakhan, Mrs. George Jackson, George Faison, Patti Labelle and many more.
MR. SOUL! TRIBECA SCREENINGS
Sun. 4/22, 8:00 p.m.- Tribeca Festival Hub – WORLD PREMIERE Mon. 4/23, 5:45 p.m., Regal Cinemas Battery Park 11-3 Wed. 4/25, 9:15 p.m., Cinepolis Chelsea 5 Thurs. 4/26, 6:30 p.m., Regal Cinemas Battery Park 11-5
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2018 Tribeca Film Festival Announces Tribeca TV and N.O.W. (New Online Work) Lineup

[caption id="attachment_27725" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Home[/caption] The 2018 Tribeca Film Festival will debut highly anticipated TV shows and introduce audiences to online storytellers without boundaries in its Tribeca TV and N.O.W. (New Online Work) sections. The Tribeca TV line-up includes 18 shows made up of eight series premieres, three season premieres, one mid-season premiere, two feature documentaries and five indie pilots. The 5th edition of N.O.W. includes 12 programs in the Episodic and Short Form Showcases, in addition to the Creators Market. N.O.W. will also present five The New York Times Op-Docs. The Tribeca Film Festival takes place April 18-29. This year’s Tribeca TV lineup includes world premieres of new series, including Rest In Power: The Trayvon Martin Story, from Executive Producer Jay-Z, based on the timely book of the same title; Sweetbitter, a coming-of-age series about a young woman working the restaurant industry in New York City and Cobra Kai, with Ralph Macchio reprising his iconic role from The Karate Kid franchise. Two feature films exploring iconic television shows will World Premiere: Freaks and Geeks: The Documentary, looking at the fan favorite with a dedicated cult following, created by Paul Feig and executive produced by Judd Apatow and Mr. SOUL!, which focuses on the groundbreaking show Soul!, which presented the breadth of black artistry and culture for the first time to nationwide audiences via the medium of television. National Geographic’s acclaimed Genius series returns to Tribeca with Genius: Picasso, starring Antonio Banderas, on the heels of the series’ world premiere at last year’s festival. The star-studded cast of HBO’s hit series Westworld, Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, and James Marsden will be in attendance for the New York premiere of season two’s premiere episode. Tribeca TV also presents the best in new independent voices in episodic television with its Pilot Season section with five new unaffiliated projects. “Tribeca TV has become a destination for some of the most highly anticipated and well-received shows on television,” said Cara Cusumano, Director of Programming at the Tribeca Film Festival. “While we continue that tradition with an exciting slate of new and returning series premieres, we also sought to pay homage to the rich cultural history of TV through two feature documentaries about groundbreaking shows of the past, and all-new episodes of a true-crime trailblazer.” The N.O.W. Showcase features the latest work from 18 unique online creators who are using their platforms to tell original stories. In the Episodic Showcase the projects range from coming-of-age stories about gender non-conforming friends in Dinette, to Snugglr, a comedic series about a young Turkish woman who takes up the strange profession of cuddling with strangers for profit, to an animated series based on the Oscar®-nominated short film Pig: The Dam Keeper Poems. Some of the works in the Short Form Showcase include a documentary about the devastating water crisis in Flint, Michigan called Flint is a Place; a film set in the dystopian future wherein an aging fisherman in Vietnam discovers an android woman from his past called The Last Fisherman; and Crime Cutz, a hybrid documentary-music video all set to the music of the band Holy Ghost! These online creators, as well as an additionally curated 15 participants – including, for the first time, VR and immersive filmmakers – are invited to take part in the Tribeca Creators Market – a private industry market that brings creators together with distributors, brands, and MCNs to pitch and discuss their latest work. “We started Tribeca N.O.W. five years ago to recognize a truly unique brand of storytellers emerging from the online space,” said Liza Domnitz, Senior Programmer, Tribeca Film Festival. “Here were creators who found the Wild West landscape of the web the perfect playground for their hysterical, provocative and moving visions. Tribeca is proud to be a leader in recognizing these diverse filmmakers who, this year, have created vastly different work ranging from an episodic, dark comedy about addiction, to a visual extension of a popular podcast, to a serial version of a beloved Oscar®-nominated animated short film.”
TRIBECA TV
Bobby Kennedy for President (Netflix) – World Premiere. Executive Producers: Laura Michalchyshyn, Dawn Porter, Gunnar Dedio, Nestan Behrans, Dave Sirulnick, Justin Wilkes, Jon Kamen. Acclaimed director Dawn Porter reveals anew what America gained and what it lost in the life, vision, politics, and hope of Bobby Kennedy. After the screening: A conversation with director Dawn Porter and Ambassador William vanden Heuvel. Screening: Wednesday, April 25, 5:00 PM, SVA Theatre Cobra Kai (YouTube Red) – World Premiere Executive Producers: Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, Susan Ekins, Will Smith, James Lassiter, Caleeb Pinkett, Ralph Macchio, William Zabka. Epic adversaries return to the dojo in Cobra Kai, an all-new series in which Ralph Macchio and William Zabka reprise their star-making roles (and rivalry) from the iconic film franchise, The Karate Kid. With Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Mary Mouser, Xolo Maridueña, Tanner Buchanan, Courtney Henggeler. After the screening: A conversation with writers, directors, and executive producers Hayden Schlossberg, John Hurwitz, and Josh Heald and series stars and executive producers Ralph Macchio and William Zabka. Screening: Tuesday, April 24, 7:45 PM, SVA Theatre Drunk History (Comedy Central) – Season Five, Midseason Premiere Executive Producers: Derek Waters, Jeremy Konner, Will Ferrell, Owen Burke, Adam McKay. Derek Waters, along with an ever-changing cast of actors and comedians, travels across the country to present the liquored-up narrative of our nation’s rich history. With Derek Waters, Jeremy Konner. After the screening: A conversation with co-creator, director, and host Derek Waters, co-creator and director Jeremy Konner, and other special guests. Each screening ticket provides access to two (2) complimentary drink tickets. Screening: Thursday, April 26, 8:30 PM, Tribeca Festival Hub Freaks and Geeks: The Documentary, directed by Brent Hodge, produced by Aly Kelly, Matthew Galkin. (USA) – World Premiere, Feature Documentary Tribeca alum Brent Hodge examines the untold stories and pivotal moments from the making of one of the greatest “one-season wonders” ever produced—one that influenced pop culture far beyond the series’ short TV life. With Paul Feig, Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Linda Cardellini, Busy Philipps, James Franco. After the movie: A conversation with director Brent Hodge and Freaks and Geeks creator Paul Feig. First Screening: Saturday, April 21, 8:00 PM, Tribeca Festival Hub; Genius: Picasso (National Geographic) – World Premiere Executive Producer: Ken Biller In its second season, Genius explores the Spanish expatriate Pablo Picasso’s devotion to his craft, his contribution to modern art, and his turbulent personal life. With Antonio Banderas, Alex Rich, Clémence Poésy, Samantha Colley, Poppy Delevingne, T.R. Knight, Seth Gabel. After the screening: A conversation with showrunner Ken Biller, executive producers Brian Grazer and Francie Calfo, and cast-members Antonio Banderas, Alex Rich, Clémence Poésy, Poppy Delevingne, and Samantha Colley. Screening: Friday, April 20, 8:30 PM, BMCC Tribeca PAC Little Women (PBS) – North American Premiere Executive Producers: Colin Callender, Sophie Gardiner, Heidi Thomas, Lucy Richer, Rebecca Eaton. Set against the backdrop of a country divided, the story follows the four March sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy on their journey from childhood to adulthood under the guidance of their mother Marmee. Little Women is a coming-of-age story that is as relevant and engaging today as it was on its original publication in 1868. With Emily Watson, Michael Gambon, Angela Lansbury, Maya Hawke, Annes Elwy, Kathryn Newton, Dylan Baker and Jona Hauer-King. After the screening: A conversation with Executive Producers Colin Callender and Rebecca Eaton along with cast-member Maya Hawke. Screening: Friday, April 27, 5:00 PM, SVA Theatre Mr. SOUL!, directed by Melissa Haizlip, Samuel Pollard, written and produced by Melissa Haizlip. (USA) – World Premiere, Feature Documentary Mr. SOUL! offers an entertaining, essential look at the groundbreaking television show SOUL!, which, under producer-host Ellis Haizlip’s passionate guidance, showcased the breadth of black artistry from 1968 to 1973. After the movie: A tribute to SOUL! hosted by Blair Underwood and featuring performances from Robert Glasper and more. First Screening: Sunday, April 22, 8:00 PM, Tribeca Festival Hub Picnic at Hanging Rock (Amazon Prime Video) – North American Premiere Executive Producers: Jo Porter, Anthony Ellis, Penny Win. A penetrating reimagining of the iconic, timeless Australian classic, Picnic at Hanging Rock plunges audiences into the mysterious disappearances of three schoolgirls and their governess on Valentine’s Day, 1900. With Natalie Dormer, Lily Sullivan, Madeleine Madden, Samara Weaving, Lola Bessis, Yael Stone, Inez Curro, Harrison Gilbertson, Ruby Rees. After the screening: A conversation with director Larysa Kondracki, executive producer Jo Porter and cast member Natalie Dormer. Screening: Saturday, April 28, 8:00 PM, SVA Theatre Phenoms (FOX, FOX Sports) – World Premiere Executive Producers: David Brooks, Mario Melchiot, Tony Sella. Chronicling the journey of the next great soccer players on their quests to represent their respective countries in the 2018 FIFA World Cup™, Phenoms allows fans and viewers to experience the personal lives of players through unprecedented behind-the-scenes access. After the screening: A conversation with Executive Producer David Brooks, Producer Arbi Pedrossian, Director Chris Perkel, and Editor Thomas Verette. Screening: Wednesday, April 25, 8:30 PM, SVA Theatre [caption id="attachment_27726" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Rest In Power: The Trayvon Martin Story[/caption] Rest In Power: The Trayvon Martin Story (Paramount Network) – World Premiere Executive Producers: Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, Michael Gasparro, Nick Sandow, Sybrina Fulton, Tracy Martin, Chachi Senior. Rest In Power: The Trayvon Martin Story depicts the life and legacy of Trayvon Martin, presenting the definitive look at one of the most talked-about, controversial events of the last decade. After the screening: A conversation with co-directors Julia Willoughby Nason and Jenner Furst, the parents of Trayvon Martin, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, executive producers Mike Gasparro and Chachi Senior, and special guest. Screening: Friday, April 20, 5:45 PM, BMCC Tribeca PAC The Staircase – International Premiere Executive Producers: Matthieu Belghiti, Jean-Xavier de Lestrade.The true-crime phenomenon The Staircase returns with all-new chapters, as convicted murderer Michael Peterson faces his final trial. After the screening: A conversation with creator and director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade and producers Matthieu Belghiti and Allyson Luchak Screening: Saturday, April 28, 6:00 PM, SVA Theatre Sweetbitter (STARZ) – World Premiere Executive Producers: Stephanie Danler, Stuart Zicherman, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Sarah Esberg. New to New York City, 22-year-old Tess is quickly intoxicated by the chaotic, adrenalized world of the upscale restaurant industry, where she tastes expensive wine, explores dive bars, and learns who she can trust. With Ella Purnell, Tom Sturridge, Caitlin FitzGerald, Paul Sparks, Evan Jonigkeit, Eden Epstein, Jasmine Matthews, Daniyar. After the screening: A conversation with Sweetbitter creator, executive producer, and writer Stephanie Danler, showrunner Stuart Zicherman, and cast-members Ella Purnell, Caitlin FitzGerald, Tom Sturridge, and Paul Sparks. Screening: Thursday, April 26, 5:00 PM, SVA Theatre Westworld (HBO) – Season Two, New York Premiere Executive Producers: Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy, J.J. Abrams, Athena Wickham, Roberto Patino, Richard Lewis, Ben Stephenson. As a new chapter begins, Westworld continues on its dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin. With Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Ed Harris, Jeffrey Wright, James Marsden, Tessa Thompson. After the screening: a conversation with co-creators, showrunners, and directors Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, and cast-members Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, and James Marsden. Screening: Thursday, April 19, 8:30 PM, BMCC Tribeca PAC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvhMHJfB5U8
PILOT SEASON
Screening Showcase: Monday, April 23, 6:45 PM, Cinépolis Chelsea Fabled (USA) – World Premiere Executive Producers: Evan Jonigkeit, Alex Gayner, Zosia Mamet. This anthology series reimagines classic fairy tales through the perspective of its female characters, whose overlapping stories take place in the same small town. With Zosia Mamet, Trace Lysette, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Paul Wesley, Norbert Butz. Nice (USA) – World Premiere Executive Producer: Naomi Ko. Teddy, a sarcastic-but-loveable 23-year-old, prides herself on being the black sheep of her conservative Korean-American family. But when her cancer returns—and she keeps it a secret—everything in her life takes on new meaning. With Naomi Ko, Sun Park, Kim Cooper, Parvesh Cheena, Nathan Yueh, Connor Gould. Tantalum (USA) – World Premiere Executive Producers: Clara Aranovich. Detroit-based tech mogul Colton stands on the edge of a bridge in the middle of the night, ready to jump to his death. But when a strange woman perched above him derails his plan, he finds he’s in for a bizarre, and increasingly violent, night. With Marcus Henderson, Susan Deming, Jeffery Waddell, Langston Fishburne. Oversharing (USA) – World Premiere Executive Producers: Katie Flynn, Terri Timely. When a new business venture fails, uptight Jenny is forced to start renting out her apartment online. But diving into the sharing economy proves not to be so easy for someone who never actually learned to “share.” With Beth Dover, Sarah Burns, David Danipour, Thomas Fowler. On the Spectrum (Israel) – World Premiere Executive Producers: Ron Eilon, Danna Stern, Koby Gal Raday, Dganit Atias Gigi. On the Spectrum follows three 20-something roommates, all on the autism spectrum, as they navigate the day-to-day concerns of work, friendship, and romance. With Neomi Levov, Niv Majar, Ben Yosipovich, Uri Gat, Avi Dangur, Tal Yakimov.
N.O.W. SHOWCASE
A curated selection of independent, online creators invited to showcase their latest work at public screenings as official Tribeca Film Festival selections and on TribecaFilm.com. Divided into two groups: Episodic and Short Form.
EPISODIC
Premiere Screening: Thursday, April 19, 8:30 PM, Regal Battery Park Theater Cleaner Daze, created by Tess Sweet (USA) – Episode One (New York Premiere), Episode Two (World Premiere). Cleaner Daze, a dark comedy series about addiction, follows Jasmine, a newbie drug counselor, and her eccentric co-workers as they struggle to wrangle a misfit crew of teenage drug addicts. With Abigail Reno, Karin Babbitt, Tess Sweet, Kemi O’Connor. Tess Sweet is an award-winning writer and director, a recovering drug addict, and a lover of dark comedy. In 2011, Sweet graduated with an M.F.A. from the film and television directing program at the University of California at Los Angeles. Sweet now resides in the Bay Area, where she works as a freelance director and editor, serves as president of Loud and Clean, and runs programs for with at-risk youth. Dinette, created by Shaina Feinberg (USA) – World Premiere. The original series Dinette focuses on a group of female and gender non-conforming friends who come together for a commitment ceremony in the waning days of 2017. Shaina Feinberg leads the ensemble cast through a series of inter-connected vignettes riffing on wounded machismo and the patriarchy. Shaina Feinberg has directed and produced content for RIOT, Shatterbox and IFC’s Comedy Crib. Her debut as a writer and director, the award-winning feature The Babymooners, blurred the lines between documentary and fiction while examining gender stereotypes. In 2017, her short film Shiva, a hybrid of improvised comedy and actual grief, premiered at Tribeca. Senior Escort Service, her follow-up to Shiva, is a full-length movie that blends nonfiction and fiction. Driver Ed, created by Jacob A. Ware, Amanda Cowper (USA) – World Premiere. A guy decides to get his driver’s license to impress his NASCAR-loving girlfriend, but unexpected things happen on the open road. With Jacob A. Ware, Layla Khosh, Eddie Diaz, Becca Blackwell. Jacob A. Ware is an actor and writer, best known for playing Harold Selby on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. He is the head writer and host of the RYOT Studio show Screen Time; his television credits also include Law and Order: SVU, Shades of Blue, and Late Night with Seth Meyers. Amanda Cowper is a New York City-based producer and director. As associate producer on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers, Cowper produces all of the show’s field pieces. Home, created by Micah Sudduth, Keylee Sudduth (USA) – World Premiere. Pulling from the true life experiences of the filmmakers, Home mines the humor and heartbreak of growing into adulthood, leaving home, and balancing individual creative careers as a married couple in the millennial age. Micah Sudduth grew up in the woods of East Texas and survived years of homeschooling so that he could one day pursue his dream of a) being around people and b) making films. Keylee Sudduth is a Texan born and raised actor and filmmaker. In childhood, she always found herself better able to connect with others through theater. That has now grown into an unabashed passion for cinematic storytelling. Pig: The Dam Keeper Poems, created by Erick Oh (USA, Japan) – New York Premiere. Pig: The Dam Keeper Poems is a 2D animated series based on the world of The Dam Keeper, the beloved Oscar-nominated short film by Tonko House. The series shows how Pig remembers his father’s departure and having to step into the role of the dam keeper. Erick Oh is a Korean filmmaker and animator based in California, whose independent films have won awards at numerous film festivals. After receiving his B.F.A. from Seoul National University and his M.F.A. from the University of California at Los Angeles’s film program, Oh worked at Pixar Animation Studios as an animator, working on Academy Award®-winning films, including Inside Out and Finding Dory. [caption id="attachment_27728" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Snugglr[/caption] Snugglr, created by Georgia Bernstein, Cemre Paksoy (USA) – World Premiere. Snugglr is an improvised comedy that follows a young Turkish girl, Cemre, who cuddles strangers, professionally as a last resort to make rent. She winds up fully dressed and in bed with all kinds of characters – including a high school student discovering her sexuality, a piano playing dad, and a twelve-year-old with lice, all of whom are looking for more than just a snuggle, in one weird way or another. In English, Turkish with English subtitles. Georgia Bernstein is a filmmaker from Los Angeles. A recent graduate from Northwestern University, she’s living in Chicago where she created and directed a short film for Condé Nast and Indigenous Media based off her web series, Snugglr. Her first short film about modern neuroticism was an official selection in the 13th annual CineYouth Festival. Cemre Paksoy is an actor and filmmaker living in Chicago. She recently adapted Snugglr, the web series, into a short film that can be seen on Condé Nast’s The Scene. She’s from Turkey where she windsurfs and pets dogs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-xJZ_Xh7_o
SHORT FORM
Premiere Screening: Thursday, April 19, 7:15 PM, Regal Battery Park Theater Crime Cutz, created by Ben Fries, Alden Nusser, with the music of Holy Ghost! (USA) – World Premiere. Crime Cutz is a documentary that profiles four New Yorkers to the soundtrack of Holy Ghost!’s Crime Cutz EP. Each subject is invited to interpret a song in their unique style, showcasing these individuals as both subject and collaborator, blurring the line between documentary and music video. With Brad Pawly, Caramia Lior, Lori Brizzi, Louis Orlando, Stuart Hodes, Elizabeth Hodes. Ben Fries is an award-winning director, producer, and composer from New York City. He has directed more than 20 music videos for bands, including Holy Ghost! and Danny Brown, and has composed music for films such as The Search for General Tso, The City Dark, and The Most Unknown. Alden Fitzpatrick Nusser is a native Manhattanite who got his start directing short documentaries for news outlets, including The New York Times, the New Yorker, and HBO. He is now developing several projects; among them is a samurai flick set in the tropics and a documentary-opera about a plastic surgery-obsessed grande-dame. Everything is Stories, created by Mike Martinez, Tyler Wray (USA) – World Premiere. Peter Stefan, owner of Graham Putnam & Mahoney funeral parlor in Worcester, Massachusetts, found himself thrust into the national spotlight in the spring of 2013 amid a damning controversy. With implications that still linger to this day, Stefan and his team faced the question of where to draw the line on who deserves a burial. Directed by Daniel Navetta. Everything is Stories was initially created as a podcast by Garrett Crowe, Mike Martinez, and Tyler Wray. It is now also a documentary series that explores unconventional narratives of the past and present to preserve the eccentric, the authentic, and the personal. The Last Fisherman, created by Shal Ngo (USA, Vietnam) – World Premiere. In a dystopian future, on the South China Sea, an aging fisherman discovers an android woman from his past. Shal Ngo is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker who seeks to bring the inner workings of the human brain to the big screen. After graduating from New York University in 2008, he began working in narrative, documentary, and commercial filmmaking. He is now in development on two projects: his debut feature, a sci-fi thriller about a sentient smart house, and a series of stop-motion documentaries about the psychology of mental health. Flint is a place, created by Zackary Canepari (USA) – World Premiere. This cross platform series about Flint, Michigan, document a specific moment within this American city in an intimate, character-driven way. What happens here happens in many other urban American cities. But in Flint, it happens all at once. It’s what makes Flint so important in the national conversation. Zackary Canepari is a documentary photographer and filmmaker. In 2010, he teamed with filmmaker Drea Cooper to make California is a Place, a short documentary series about California; their first feature documentary, T-Rex, about female boxer Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, premiered at SXSW in March 2015 and was featured on PBS before the 2016 Olympics. 99 Names of God, created by Yumna Al-Arashi (UK) – World Premiere. Arab-American filmmaker Yumna Al-Arashi embraces the rhythmic rituals that have run alongside Islamic tradition throughout the centuries in this surreal and poetic short film. Piecing together old and new, Al-Rashi’s dream-like imagery breathes fresh air to a subject hardly seen in positive light. London-based artist Yumna Al-Arashi was born to a Yemeni father and Egyptian mother and raised in the United States. Her work confronts her own struggles of identity and belonging as both a woman and a Muslim. Her background in politics—she studied international politics at the New School—and journalism shines in her work, in which she focuses on humanitarian issues such as women’s rights and labor injustices. Under Her Skin, created by Rémy Bennett, Kelsey Bennett (USA) – World Premiere. Under Her Skin is an intimate character portrait of 71-year-old photographer Jane Rule Burdine which explores her work, personal struggles, and triumphs in the Mississippi Delta where she grapples with the beautiful yet harrowing complexities ingrained in the culture and landscape of the American Deep South. With Jane Rule Burdine. Rémy Bennett received her B.A. in acting from the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. Her film work includes Martin Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street and HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, and she also runs Hurry Sundown Productions with her husband, Monroe Robertson, and sister, Kelsey Bennett. Kelsey Bennett is a New York City-based photographer and filmmaker who has shown work in her home city, as well as Los Angeles and London and has contributed to Interview magazine, Dazed, and Vice magazine.
Tribeca N.O.W.: THE NEW YORK TIMES’ OP-DOCS
Screening Time: Thursday, April 26, 5:30 PM, SVA Theatre The New York Times’ Op-Docs returns to Tribeca for year two of beautifully depicted short documentary stories, all told with Op-Docs signature expertise. Touching upon unforgettable historical events, to universally relatable family struggles, all the way to emotionally-charged, timely debates, this crop of online films is an impressive and uniquely diverse group. After the screening, please join us for a conversation with the filmmakers, moderated by The New York Times’ Op-Docs Executive Producer, Kathleen Lingo. The Blue Line, directed by Samantha Knowles (USA) – World Premiere. When a small town makes the controversial decision to paint a blue line in support of police on one of its busiest roads, an explosive division emerges between residents for and residents against the line. Birth Control Your Own Adventure, directed by Sindha Agha (USA). How the filmmaker’s birth control side effects made her four different people. Earthrise, directed by Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee (USA) – World Premiere. The Apollo 8 astronauts recount their memories of capturing the first image of Earth from space in 1968 and evokes the awe of seeing Earth framed against the blackness of space. Also screening as a part of the Shorts Program: Home Sweet Home. The Happiest Guy in the World, directed by Lance Oppenheim (USA) – World Premiere. Mario Salcedo boarded his first cruise nearly twenty years ago — and hasn’t returned since. My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes, directed by Charlie Tyrell (Canada). Was my father’s leftover stuff the key to who he really was?
Tribeca N.O.W. Creators Market
Time and Location: Wednesday, April 25, Tribeca Festival Hub Industry and independents will come together at the Tribeca Creators Market, an invite-only event where creators discuss their work with distributors, brands, and MCNs. The following online and VR/immersive filmmakers will participate in the Creators Market: Gabriela Arp is an independent filmmaker and virtual-reality director whose work focuses on reinterpreting memory and creating experiences that blur the line between reality and imagination. She was a Sundance Institute Knight Fellow in 2017 and was selected for the Oculus VR for Good Creators Lab program. ·Sydney, Australia native Lauren Augarten published her first play, Define You, at just 14 years old. She moved to the United States at 21 to study at David Mamet’s Atlantic Theater School, she created the digital series Same Same, based on her experience as a newly out queer woman in Brooklyn, New York. The series won the LGBT Category award at the LA New Media Film Festival, and was an official selection at Newfest. It has been featured in The Huffington Post, Washington Post and Buzzfeed, and was recently acquired for European distribution. Jesse (Jesus) Ayala is a creator specializing virtual-reality, social-impact storytelling. Ayala is the creative director and founder of Fovrth Studios and was selected for the Oculus VR for Good Creators Lab in 2017, as a creative fellow with Future of Storytelling for Good in 2016, and as a nominee at the Shorty Awards in 2018. Lindsay Branham is an Emmy®-nominated filmmaker and social scientist with an interest in art that inspires human connection in imaginative ways. Her work focuses on how investigative storytelling, combined with emerging technology, can foster behavior change in places of violent conflict or in settings of intractable human rights abuses. Misha Calvert is an award-winning actor and show creator, whose projects span film, television, and digital. Her acclaimed series, Tinder is the Night, is currently screening at festivals around the world. Baron Davis is a professional basketball player as well as an actor, filmmaker, and CEO and founder of No Label Productions. Alongside his 2-time NBA All-Star’s career, he produced the Emmy®-nominated documentary Crips & Bloods: Made In America, and directed the documentary film The Drew; No Excuse, Just Produce which aired on Showtime. Jenn Duong is a director and producer who works primarily in virtual reality. She has created a range of cutting-edge virtual-reality projects, ranging from short-form documentaries to music experiences. After rising to fame with her role on The Real World: Ex-plosion, Ari Fitz (Arielle Scott) created two YouTube Channels, Ari Fitz and TOMBOYISH. She posts videos on an array of subjects that touches upon her life, gender, sexuality, and fashion. She has garnered a strong following, with over 13 million views across both channels. Native New Yorker, Tatienne Hendricks-Tellefsen attended Atlantic Acting school and RADA. Recent Theater credits include: Measure for Measure, and Women by Chiara Atik. Hendricks-Tellefsen wrote, produced, and stars in Adult. Manon Lucy Mathews is an actress and alumnus of The Second City Conservatory in Hollywood, as well as The Groundlings and Upright Citizens Brigade. Bud Light tapped Manon to create original content for them and she has also worked with T-mobile, JBL Speakers, and Mastercard. She is now starring in the YouTube RED series Single by 30, as well as the Universal web series Off Script. Monique Moses has starred in and created content for Bustle, BrickTV, Comedy Central and IFC Comedy Cribs—including X Pat, the IFC series she wrote, and Sport Court, also on IFC, which was listed among Indiewire’s “10 Best Web Series of 2017.” Daniel Navetta is a multi-disciplinary creative artist. He founded the influential creative agency, APK.NYC. Channeling a wealth of experience as a musician and content creator, he has worked with a dynamic range of brands, agencies, networks, musicians, and artists. His work as a director and producer has earned him nods for multiple MTV awards, and a GRAMMY nomination. His films have also been exhibited at Museum of Contemporary Art and the Brooklyn Museum. Landon Stahmer is an emerging writer, director, and producer from Nebraska. Stahmer created the popular horror web series Look-See, which is distributed by CryptTV, and has received over 20 million views. He has produced content for many digital distributors, including, most notably, AwesomenessTV; he also has projects in development at the studio level. Matt Steffanina is a world-renowned choreographer who has worked with countless artists, including Jason Derulo, Taylor Swift, and Chris Brown. In 2016, he won The Amazing Race, a victory that transformed him into an international superstar. Steffanina is YouTube’s most-followed dancer in the world, with more than 10 million subscribers and more than a 1.5 billion views on his videos. Casey Stein & Bernard Zeiger Casey Stein (Holy Night Director/Co-Creator) is a Washington, D.C.-born, New York City-educated, and Brooklyn-based director. A lover of skateboarding, theater, and emerging technology, he has worked with the likes of the New York Times and 20th Century Fox. Bernard Zeiger (Holy Night Writer/Co-Creator) is an award-winning screenwriter and professional game designer. He studied film and economics at New York University and is now an associate writer at Kognito, a health simulation company. Jacob Wasserman is a writer, director, and producer based in Los Angeles, California. Also participating in the Tribeca N.O.W. Creators Market are the N.O.W Showcase creators Tess Sweet, Shaina Feinberg, Georgia Bernstein & Cemre Paksoy, Keylee Sudduth & Micah Sudduth, Jacob A. Ware & Amanda Cowper, Yumna Al-Arashi, Ben Fries & Alden Nusser, Mike Martinez & Tyler Wray, Shal Ngo, Remy Bennett & Kelsey Bennett.
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