From a crime thriller based on a memoir to a zombie drama set in small-town America or peeks into the lives of a ballerina and a singer, the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival is showcasing a varied mix of movies along with live dance, music and comedy.
Tribeca Film Festival 2015 will feature 67 world film premieres
Since it started more than a decade ago, the festival has become a showcase for independent and documentary works, as well as a launching pad for new talent and a testing ground for innovative filmmaking.
“It was a singular mission is 2001-2002, which was how do you give our community – what do you do as film makers to help the community after such a tragedy. And it was ‘can you create a new memory, can you give people something to look forward to?’ And that was singular vision. The fact that we’re here years later is a testament to the film makers and the audience that really come to the festival,” said co-founder Jane Rosenthal.
“We’re both just happy that its latest this long. And my hope was always that it would become part of New York tradition and I think it will be at the end of the day forever, you know. That’s a great thing to have been a part of,” added actor and co-founder Robert De Niro.
“Live From New York!”, a documentary about the NBC late-night comedy sketch show “Saturday Night Live,” kicks off the festival on April 15.
Nearly 100 feature-length films will be shown before the festival closes with a special screening and cast reunion of the gangster classic “Goodfellas” to mark the film’s 25th anniversary.
“A Ballerina’s Tale,” about American Ballet Theatre soloist Misty Copeland will be paired with a special dance performance, and the screening of “Mary J. Blige – The London Sessions” will be followed by a concert by the singer.
“I think we’ve always had films that are about the artist process. So to have Nelson George’s film about Misty Copeland and her process as dance. To have JR’s ‘Les Bosquets’ about his process as both a street photographer and then creating this ballet with the New York City Ballet. And with ‘Lil Buck’ is very interesting to see how artist have evolved from, whether it’s from art to film or dance. We’ve always had that peak behind the curtain if you will,” said Rosenthal.
Tribeca will mark the centenary of Frank Sinatra’s birth with screenings of three of his films and live performances by Tony Bennett and others. The surviving members of British comedy troupe Monty Python will also reunite for the 40th anniversary of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”
The festival will feature 67 world film premieres, including “Maggie,” with Arnold Schwarzenegger as a farmer whose daughter is infected with a zombie virus, and Oscar winner Patricia Arquette in “The Wannabe.”
“The Adderall Diaries,” a thriller with James Franco and Amber Heard will debut at the festival, and Glenn Close, Sam Waterston and Kristen Stewart head an ensemble cast in “Anesthesia.”
De Niro, Rosenthal and investor Craig Hatkoff started the festival to revitalize the downtown neighborhood following the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.
Ventuno