2019 Tribeca Film Festival® Announces Feature Film Lineup For 18th Edition

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Category: Entertainment News

Published on Saturday, 09 March 2019 20:39

The 2019 feature film selection is as follows:

U.S. NARRATIVE COMPETITION

Tribeca's U.S. Narrative Competition showcases extraordinary work from breakout independent voices and distinguished filmmaking talent.

These ten world premieres will vie for the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Actor, and Best Actress. Last year, the award for Best Narrative Feature went to Kent Jones' Diane while Jeffrey Wright was awarded Best Actor for his role in O.G. Other previous films from this section include Reed Morano's Meadowland (2015), Ingrid Jungermann's Women Who Kill (2016), and Nia DaCosta's Little Woods (2018).

Blow the Man Down, directed and written by Danielle Krudy, Bridget Savage Cole. Produced by Drew Houpt, Alex Scharfman, Tim Headington, Lia Buman. (USA) - World Premiere. While grieving for the loss of their mother, the Connolly Sisters suddenly find they have a crime to cover up, leading them deep into the underbelly of their salty Maine fishing village. With Morgan Saylor, Sophie Lowe, Margo Martindale, June Squibb, Annette O'Toole, Marceline Hugot.

Burning Cane, directed and written by Phillip Youmans. Produced by Wendell Pierce, Mose Mayer, Ojo Akinlana, Karen Kaia Livers, Cassandra Youmans, Phillip Youmans. (USA) - World Premiere. Set among the cane fields of rural Louisiana, Burning Cane follows a deeply religious mother struggling to reconcile her convictions of faith with the love she has for her troubled son. With Wendell Pierce, Karen Kaia Livers, Dominique McClellan, Braelyn Kelly.

Clementine, directed and written by Lara Jean Gallagher. Produced by Aimee Lynn Barneburg, Davis Priestley, Karina Ripper. (USA) - World Premiere. Reeling from a one-sided breakup, heartbroken Karen breaks into her ex's lakehouse. There, she strikes up a complicated relationship with provocative younger woman Lana in this beautifully rendered psychological drama and sexual coming of age story. With Otmara Marrero, Sydney Sweeney, Will Brittain, Sonya Walger.

Gully, directed by Nabil Elderkin, written by Marcus Guillory. Produced by Brad Feinstein, Tom Butterfield, Ben Pugh, Corey Smyth, Alex Georgio. (USA) - World Premiere. After surviving traumatic childhoods and socioeconomic hardships, three disillusioned teens reach their breaking points and go on a rampage through a dystopian modern day Los Angeles. With Terrence Howard, Amber Heard, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Charlie Plummer, Jacob Latimore, Jonathan Majors, John Corbett, Robin Givens.

Initials SG (Iniciales SG), directed and written by Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia. Produced by Ivan Eibuszyc, Shruti Ganguly, Georges Schoucair. (Argentina, Lebanon, USA) - World Premiere. An aging Argentine Serge Gainsbourg wannabe struggles with a career he can't seem to get on track, an affair he doesn't want, and a crime he didn't mean to commit. With Diego Peretti, Julianne Nicholson, Daniel Fanego, Malena Sanchez, Francisco Lumerman.

Low Tide, directed and written by Kevin McMullin. Produced by Brendan McHugh, Kevin Rowe, Richard Peete, Rian Cahill, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones. (USA) - World Premiere. Alan, Red, and Smitty spend high summer on the Jersey Shore roving the boardwalk and getting into trouble. But the discovery of good old fashioned treasure sets the friends on an escalating course of suspicion and violence in this atmospheric thriller. With Keean Johnson, Jaeden Lieberher, Alex Neustaedter, Daniel Zolghadri, Kristine Froseth, Shea Whigham.

The Place of No Words, directed and written by Mark Webber. Produced by Dustin Hughes, Teresa Palmer, Mark Webber. (UK, USA, Australia) - World Premiere. A three year old asks his father an unanswerable question: "Where do we go when we die?" Together, they embark on an epic journey of fantasy realms and mythical creatures in a quest for the answer. With Mark Webber, Teresa Palmer, Bodhi Palmer, Nicole Elizabeth Berger, Eric Olsen, Sarah Wright, Phoebe Tonkin.

The Short History of the Long Road, directed and written by Ani Simon-Kennedy. Produced by Kishori Rajan, Eddie Rubin, Darren Dean, Cailin Yatsko, Ani Simon-Kennedy, Bettina Kadoorie, Dominique Telson. (USA) - World Premiere. For teenage Nola, home is the open road with her self-reliant father and their trusty van, two nomads against the world. When Nola's rootless existence is turned upside-down, she realizes that life as an outsider might not be her only choice. With Sabrina Carpenter, Steven Ogg, Danny Trejo, Maggie Siff, Rusty Schwimmer.

Stray Dolls, directed by Sonejuhi Sinha, written by Sonejuhi Sinha, Charlotte Rabate. Produced by Charlotte Rabate, Sonejuhi Sinha, Edward Parks. (USA) - World Premiere. Riz is a recent South Asian immigrant who takes a job at a seedy motel in a bid to start over in America. The motel's other employees and guests pull her back into a life she preferred to leave behind. With Geetanjali Thapa, Olivia DeJonge, Robert Aramayo, Cynthia Nixon.

Swallow, directed and written by Carlo Mirabella-Davis. Produced by Mollye Asher, Mynette Louie, Carole Baraton, Frederic Fiore. (USA) - World Premiere. Hunter, a newly pregnant housewife, finds herself increasingly compelled to consume dangerous objects. As her husband and his family tighten their control over her life, she must confront the dark secret behind her new obsession. With Haley Bennett, Austin Stowell, Elizabeth Marvel, David Rasche and Denis O'Hare.

DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

In step with last year, every title in Tribeca's esteemed documentary competition will make their world premiere at the Festival. Over Tribeca's 18-year history, the nonfiction film selections have exhibited work from emerging and renowned filmmakers, including future Oscar winners.

This year's films will compete for Best Documentary Feature, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing. Past films include Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing's Oscar® nominated Jesus Camp (2006), Alex Gibney's Oscar® winner Taxi to the Dark Side (2007), Lee Hirsch's Bully (2011), Alma Har'el's Bombay Beach (2011), Orlando von Einsiedel's Oscar® nominated Virunga (2014), David France's The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (2018), and Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown's United Skates (2018).

17 Blocks, directed by Davy Rothbart, written by Jennifer Tiexiera. Produced by Alex Turtletaub, Michael B. Clark, Marc Turtletaub, Rachel Dengiz, Davy Rothbart. (USA) - World Premiere. Using two decades of intimate home video, 17 Blocks tells the story of the Sanford family, whose struggles with addiction and gun violence eventually lead to a journey of love, loss, and acceptance.

The Dog Doc, directed by Cindy Meehl. Produced by Alice Henty, Cindy Meehl. (USA) - World Premiere. Called a maverick, a miracle-worker, and a quack, Dr. Marty Goldstein is a pioneer of integrative veterinary medicine. By holistically treating animals after other vets have given up, Goldstein provides a last hope for pet owners with nothing left to lose.

For They Know Not What They Do, directed by Daniel Karslake, written by Nancy Kennedy, Daniel Karslake. Produced by Daniel Karslake, Sheri Heitker, Barbara Simon. (USA) - World Premiere. When the Supreme Court legalized marriage equality, the backlash by the religious right was swift, severe, and successful. Karslake's documentary looks at four faith-based families with LGBTQ children caught in the crosshairs of sexuality, identity, and scripture.

Leftover Women, directed, written, and produced by Shosh Shlam, Hilla Medalia. (Israel) - World Premiere. In China, single women are under immense pressure to marry young or face the stigma that comes with being "leftover." Through marriage markets, matchmakers, and government-sponsored dating festivals, Leftover Women follows three hopeful singles seeking to define love on their own terms.

Mystify: Michael Hutchence, directed and written by Richard Lowenstein. Produced by Maya Gnyp, John Battsek, Sue Murray, Mark Fennessy, Richard Lowenstein, Lynn-Maree Milburn, Andrew de Groot. (Australia) - World Premiere. Michael Hutchence was flying high as the lead singer of the legendary rock band INXS until his untimely death in 1997. Richard Lowenstein's kinetic yet intimate documentary examines Hutchence's deeply felt life through his many loves and demons. With Kylie Minogue, Helena Christensen.

Our Time Machine, directed by Yang Sun, S. Leo Chiang, written by S. Leo Chiang, Bob Lee. Produced by S. Leo Chiang, Yang Sun. (China) - World Premiere. Conceptual artist and puppeteer Ma Liang begins work on an ambitious performance piece about time and memory. For collaboration, he turns to his father, a former director of the Shanghai Chinese Opera, who is beginning to lose his own memories. TFI Supported.

Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project, directed by Matt Wolf. Produced by Kyle Martin, Andrew Kortschak, Walter Kortschak. (USA) - World Premiere. Beginning in the 1970s, Marion Stokes recorded an incredible 70,000 VHS tapes of unfiltered daily television. At the time, her compulsion raised eyebrows, but revisited through the lens of today's media landscape, Stokes' unusual life's work becomes an extraordinary archive of television—and American—history.

Rewind, directed by Sasha Joseph Neulinger. Produced by Thomas Winston. (USA) - World Premiere. Rewind is an unflinching personal narrative that reconstructs the unthinkable story of director Sasha Joseph Neulinger's boyhood and bravely exposes the dynamics of abuse passed through generations.

Scheme Birds, directed and written by Ellen Fiske, Ellinor Hallin. Produced by Mario Adamson, Ruth Reid. (Scotland, Sweden) - World Premiere. As her childhood turns into motherhood, teenage troublemaker Gemma comes of age in her fading Scottish steel town. But in a place where "you either get knocked up or locked up," innocent games can easily turn into serious crime.

Seahorse, directed and written by Jeanie Finlay. Produced by Andrea Cornwell, Jeanie Finlay. (UK) - World Premiere. Director Jeanie Finlay charts a transgender man's path to parenthood after he decides to carry his child himself. The pregnancy prompts an unexpected and profound reckoning with conventions of masculinity, self-definition and biology.

Watson, directed by Lesley Chilcott. Produced by Louise Runge, Lesley Chilcott, Wolfgang Knöpfler. (USA, Costa Rica, Tonga) - World Premiere. Founder of Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd, Captain Paul Watson has spent 40 years fighting to end the destruction of the ocean's wildlife and its habitat. Part pirate, part philosopher, Watson's methods stop at nothing to protect what lies beneath.

A Woman's Work: The NFL's Cheerleader Problem, directed by Yu Gu, written by Elizabeth Ai. Produced by Yu Gu, Elizabeth Ai. (USA, UK) - World Premiere. Football and feminism collide in this documentary that follows former NFL cheerleaders battling the league to end wage theft and illegal employment practices that have persisted for 50 years. Also playing as part of the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival.