Tribeca 2013: Festival Announces Shorts Slate, Including Performances from Elle Fanning, Kevin Corrigan, and Elijah Wood
Now that this year’s Tribeca Film Festival has unveiled their feature slate (to remind you of the great lineup, check out HERE, HERE, and HERE), the fest has now rolled out their ironically huge short film slate, which includes a massive sixty films, including thirty world premieres (a new record for the festival), along with one special screening.
This year, Tribeca has divided their giant shorts program into eight thematic programs ‐ including five narrative categories, two documentary categories, and one experimental category ‐ with sections dedicated to New York City and vampire and werewolf themes (juicy). Some of the shorts also include performances by such recognizable talents as Lauren Ambrose, Kevin Corrigan, Elle Fanning, Jessica Hecht, Nastassja Kinski, Julian Sands, Jay O. Sanders, Dominic West, and Elijah Wood. With such a depth of theme and talent, Tribeca looks to be offering a short for everyone. And, hey, if you don’t like them, they’re, well, short.
Check out the full listing of all the just-announced shorts (and their respective categories) after the break.
Character Witness (documentary program)
These documentaries present first-person perspectives that ponder events affecting life, death and in-between. In Yamamoto, Japan, eighteen months after the Tohoku disaster, survivors left with nothing hold onto their existence through pictures found and restored from tsunami rubble in Recollections. Grave Goodsexplores the fetishism of the “beautiful things” collected by a grandmother during her lifetime and what happens to these prized possessions after she is gone. When the Song Dies weaves a captive spell of stories, songs and memories from across Scotland, in counterpoint to the country’s richly evocative landscape. Wilt Chamberlain: Borscht Belt Bellhop reveals a chapter in the life of one of basketball’s greatest players when a different era of the sport met the borscht belt at the peak of its Dirty Dancing-style fame. A slot machine junkie records his psychotherapy sessions and confronts the consequences of his twelve-year addiction inLapse: Confessions of a Slot Machine Junkie. We Will Live Again looks at the unusual operations and caretakers of the Cryonics Institute, a mom-and-pop style warehouse that maintains ninety-nine deceased human bodies stored at below-freezing temperatures in cryopreservation. Timmy Brennan, a Freedom Tower ironworker and surfer who lost everything in the Breezy Point fires during Hurricane Sandy, is given a new board by strangers and finds hope riding the same ocean that shattered his community in The Rider and the Storm.
Recollections, Directed and written by Nathanael Carton, (Japan), New York Premiere
Grave Goods, Directed and written by Leslie Tai, (USA), World Premiere
When The Song Dies, Directed by Jamie Chambers, (Scotland), North American Premiere
Wilt Chamberlain: Borscht Belt Bellhop, Directed by Caroline Laskow and Ian Rosenberg, (USA), World Premiere
Lapse: Confessions of a Slot Machine Junkie, Directed and written by Jonathan VanBallenberghe, (USA), World Premiere
We Will Live Again, Directed by Josh Koury and Myles Kane, (USA), World Premiere
The Rider and the Storm, Directed and written by David Darg and Bryn Mooser, (USA), World Premiere
Deadbolt (narrative program)
Robots and vampires and werewolves, oh my, roam these short films as we call for a lockdown with our late-night genre program. In The Girl with the Mechanical Maiden, an inventor takes an unorthodox approach to childrearing after the death of his wife. A young girl who lives in a remote wrecking yard confronts the town bullies when they torment her father in Yardbird. It is 2021, and imprisoned journalist Joseph Michaels faces government execution and contemplates a desperate escape attempt in order to return to his young family in The Exit Room. Following a gruesome accident, a man finds himself stuck and injured on a remote road in the dead of winter waiting for first responders in AB-. As a young runaway heads to Harlem, where her father is a low-level drug dealer, she is assaulted by a mysterious creature and left for dead in Peanut Butter & Jelly. A special American guest is coming to a hotel in Beijing to stay in theHoneymoon Suite, but the new guest services manager soon learns that the visitor is not quite what he appears to be. A culinary connoisseur and a chef go on a hunt for a rare animal in Delicacy. Set in the candy-colored world of 1950s suburbia, The Root of the Problem follows a reluctant young housewife who suspects that the friendly neighborhood dentist is hiding a horrible secret.
The Girl with the Mechanical Maiden, Directed and written by Andrew Legge, (Ireland), New York Premiere
Yardbird, Directed by Michael Spiccia, written by Julius Avery, (Australia), New York Premiere
The Exit Room, Directed and written by Todd Wiseman Jr, (USA), World Premiere
AB-, Directed and written by Daniel Klein, (USA), World Premiere
Peanut Butter & Jelly, Directed and written by David Winkfield, (USA), World Premiere
Honeymoon Suite (????), Directed by Zao Wang, written by Zao Wang and Tom Toro, (China), World Premiere
Delicacy, Directed by Jason Mann, written by Frieda Luk and Jason Mann, (USA), New York Premiere
The Root Of The Problem, Directed and written by Ryan Spindell and Mark E. Davidson, (USA), New York Premiere
The End Is Near (narrative program)
The Mayans were wrong. We’re still here, but endings both apocalyptic and personal confront the characters in these short films. Every forty seconds a person commits suicide, and The Acrobat is the story of one of them. Two friends who work as luggage rack attendants on a bus take a road trip filled with reality and mysticism in Murk Light. Snow In Paradise is a snapshot of life on a remote island in the South Pacific through the eyes of a young girl unaware of the power beyond the ocean reef. Grace follows a dozen interconnected lives as they experience loss and understanding in the pivotal hours before a global event occurs. On a stormy night in Long Island, three siblings fight over their grandmother’s fortune, but no one realized that Grandma was ready to fight back in Grandma’s Not a Toaster. Skillman has vanquished his nemesis, recovered the artifact and saved his latest lover from certain doom, but wait until you see what happens when his greatest adventure is over in Epilogue.
The Acrobat, Directed and written by Gerardo Herrero, (Spain), New York Premiere
Murk Light (??? ????), Directed by Yasir Al-Yasiri, written by Mohammed A. Al Hammadi, (Iraq), North American Premiere
Snow in Paradise, Directed by Justine Simei-Barton and Nikki Si’ulepa, written by Nikki Si’ulepa, (New Zealand), New York Premiere
Grace, Directed and written by Keir Burrows, (U.K.), International Premiere
Grandma’s Not a Toaster, Directed by Andrew Napier, written by Shawn Christensen, (USA), World Premiere
Epilogue, Directed and written by Dylan Allen, (USA), World Premiere
History Lessons (documentary program)
The past is brought into the present through these personal and social documentaries offering a wide range of insights on shaping our world. Four experts on arms trafficking recount first-hand experiences with the black market and how the illegal flow of weapons facilitates loss of life and devastation in A Short Film About Guns. Reporting on The Times: The New York Times and The Holocaust explores why The New York Times, a Jewish-owned newspaper, buried reports of The Holocaust during World War II. Coach Vivian Stringer is one of the most prolific coaches in the history of college basketball, and also a perfect example of grace under fire. Royal American features a love triangle between a found typewriter from the 1930s, the streets of Manhattan and the lost art of letter writing. Who Shot Rock & Roll explores the groundbreaking collaborations between the photographers and musicians who created some of the most enduring images in rock history.
A Short Film About Guns, Directed by Minos Papas, (Cyprus), (U.K.), (USA), World Premiere
Reporting on The Times: The New York Times and The Holocaust , Directed by Emily Harrold, (USA),World Premiere
Coach, Directed by Bess Kargman, (USA), World Premiere
Royal American, Directed and written by Michael Scalisi, (USA), World Premiere
Who Shot Rock & Roll, Directed and written by Steven Kochones, (USA), World Premiere
Let There Be Light: The Cycles of Life (experimental program)
This selection of experimental short films showcases the profound artistic influence of light. In their artistic practice, experimental filmmakers are acutely aware of the quality of light that informs their work. This selection highlights the unique manner in which they seek inspiration from the power of the sun, the reflections of the moon and the luminosity emitted by artificial light sources. In linking their own vision directly to that of the eye of the camera, these artists create brilliant moving works that both illuminate the human condition and reflect the cycles of life. Films include Sight, Star Light No. 5 Bis, Depart, Lunatic,Parallel North, Hermeneutics, Light Plate, The Moon Has Its Reasons, Corn Mother, The Last Time, Two Islands, Dead World Order and Look Inside the Ghost Machine.
Sight, Directed and written by Thirza Cuthand, (Canada), U.S. Premiere
Star Light No.5 Bis, Directed and written by Cécile Fontaine, (France), North American Premiere
Depart, Directed by Blake Williams, (Canada), U.S. Premiere
Lunatic, Directed and written by Aasa Ersmark, (Sweden), International Premiere
Parallel North (Parallèle Nord), Directed and written by Félix Dufour-Laperrière, (Canada), World Premiere
Hermeneutics, Directed by Alexei Dmitriev, (Russia), New York Premiere
Light Plate, Directed and written by Josh Gibson, (Italy), (USA), New York Premiere
The Moon Has Its Reasons, Directed and written by Lewis Klahr, (U.K.), North American Premiere
Corn Mother, Directed and written by Taylor Dunne, (USA), New York Premiere
The Last Time, Directed and written by Candy Kugel, (USA), World Premiere
Two Islands, Directed and written by Jan Ijäs, (Finland), North American Premiere
Dead World Order, Directed by Dana Levy, (France), International Premiere
Look Inside The Ghost Machine, Directed and written by Peter Lichter, (Hungary), North American Premiere
Skin Deep (narrative program)
We expose our more sensitive side to delve into issues of self-image and self-discovery. A young girl battles with body image and enters the world of eating disorders, where worth rises as weight falls, in Likeness. Fifteen-year-old Klara is Eating Lunch with four others at the Eating Disorder Clinic under the supervision of nurses, but they have only thirty minutes to finish their meal. In Wings, Christopher prepares for one of the most important concerts of his career knowing that he cannot make any mistake. On a sweltering hot day, pregnant Maria’s loving-kindness practice is tested by work schedules, mechanical failures and complex human relationships conspiring against a desperately needed cooling dip in The River. The Cup Readerfollows a woman renowned for her mystical seeing and matchmaking as she reads the fortunes of clients who must choose between love or marriage. Tonight, Sophie will play the violin in the school concert and wants desperately for her mother to be there to see her shine in Ina Litovski. A vow to climb a summit in the Italian Alps becomes the challenge of a lifetime for a man and a woman recovering from open-heart surgery in The Nightshift Belongs to the Stars.
Likeness , Directed and written by Rodrigo Prieto, (USA), World Premiere
Eating Lunch (Äta Lunch), Directed and written by Sanna Lenken, (Sweden), International Premiere
Wings, Directed and written by José Villalobos, (USA), (Spain), International Premiere
The River, Directed and written by Sam Handel, (USA), New York Premiere
The Cup Reader (Qariat il Finjan), Directed and written by Suha Araj, (Occupied Palestinian Territory), World Premiere
Ina Litovski, Directed by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette and André Turpin, written by André Turpin and Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, (Canada), U.S. Premiere
The Nightshift Belongs to the Stars (Il Turno di Notte lo Fanno le Stelle), Directed by Edoardo Ponti, written by Erri De Luca, (Italy), North American Premiere
Unlimited Ride (narrative program)
This year our New York shorts program takes you on a journey through Manhattan and into the boroughs to meet some unique individuals trying to survive in the city we call home. Henry and Lucy sleepwalk through New York City in the middle of the night and experience sights and sounds that most people slumber through in ZZZZZZZ. Visually impaired Imani has dreams of college acceptance and love despite her over-protective mother’s objections to both in Close Your Eyes. Ronnie is an existential enforcer for a Brooklyn crime boss conflicted by his life and the pointlessness around him, as he sculpts in ICE and searches for life’s meaning. A seventeen-year-old girl in a wheelchair and a young antisocial male prostitute living on the streets have an unexpected encounter in Atlantic Avenue. Paul and Kate excitedly arrive for dinner at the home of a cool couple from their kids’ school, only to discover an interloping third couple already in attendance, as playground politics boil over in Playdate. In Fortune House, a butterfly romance takes flight with a twist of fate and fortune cookies. When his hippie parents suggest he see a shrink, a dreamy fifteen-year-old goes into a tailspin of self-doubt before his confidence is restored thanks to some quick thinking in Space Cadet.
ZZZZZZZ, Directed and written by Tarik Karam, (USA), World Premiere
Close Your Eyes, Directed and written by Sonia Malfa, (USA), World Premiere
ICE, Directed and written by Anthony Tarsitano, (USA), World Premiere
Atlantic Avenue, Directed and written by Laure de Clermont, (France), International Premiere
Playdate, Directed and written by David Shane and Scott Organ, (USA), World Premiere
Fortune House, Directed by Matthew Bonifacio, written by Bob Linton, (USA), World Premiere
Space Cadet , Directed by Paul Riccio, written by Michael Gambino, (USA), World Premiere
Worst Day Ever (narrative program)
If you are having a bad day, we are betting that these short films will make you feel a wee bit better about things. Three friends go to a housewarming in a Paris apartment, but when some uninvited guests try to crash, the tension mounts in The Hounds. Set in the late 1950s at California’s iconic Madonna Inn, a despondent father struggles with the decision to end his own life and the life of his young son in What’s Left, What’s Lost. On the eve of her thirteenth birthday, Esther Weary must come to terms with the realities of becoming a woman through her clueless grandfather and his pet pug in Life Doesn’t Frighten Me. Two video game characters forge an unlikely romance in RPG OKC. Showing that there is always a reason to laugh, stand-up comic Reuben Stein does the most daring set of his life in Setup, Punch. A small bird with a Fear of Flying tries to avoid heading south for the winter. A third-grade class pulls an innocent prank on its teacher with disastrous results in Fool’s Day.
The Hounds (Les Meutes), Directed and written by Manuel Shapira, (France), North American Premiere
What’s Left, What’s Lost, Directed and written by Katie Rose, (USA), World Premiere
Life Doesn’t Frighten Me, Directed and written by Stephen Dunn, (Canada), New York Premiere
RPG OKC, Directed and written by Emily Carmichael, (USA), World Premiere
Setup, Punch., Directed and written by David Schlussel, (USA), World Premiere
Fear of Flying, Directed and written by Conor Finnegan, (Ireland), New York Premiere
Fool’s Day, Directed by Cody Blue Snider, written by Cody Blue Snider and Shane Snider, (USA), World Premiere
Special Screening
The Battle of amfAR, Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, written by Sharon Wood. (USA), New York Premiere, Documentary. In the darkest days of the AIDS pandemic, two women from very different walks of life unite to take a stand. Two-time Academy Award®-winner Rob Epstein and his longtime collaborator Jeffrey Friedman, the creative forces behind The Celluloid Closet, tell the story of the extraordinary moment when Dr. Mathilde Krim and Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor launched the country’s first AIDS research foundation. The fight against HIV/AIDS would never be the same. An HBO Documentary Films release.
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The Tribeca Film Festival runs in New York City from April 17th until April 28th. [Press Release]
Related Topics: Tribeca
