tribeca film festival

Delighting in the type of self-centred behaviour that more of us are guilty of than not, the character at the core of The Travel Companion, Alex Mallis and Travis Wood’s debut feature, sprouts lyrical to anyone who’ll listen (or tolerate) about his forthcoming directorial feature – an experimental, hybrid docu-fiction-travelogue about the cultural bridges and…

The age-old question around if a tree falling in the forest makes a sound is asked in quite a compelling, pressure-cooker type of way in A Tree Fell in the Woods, Nora Kirkpatrick‘s debut dramedy about the implosion of relationships between two couples across a New Year’s Eve getaway in the snowy forests of Utah….

“Are you here for the boat or the tooth?” And with that sentence, writer/director Olivia Accardo welcomes us into the bizarre reality of Baby Tooth, a wild five minute short film screening as part of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival; it’s set to play before the feature The Trainer, as well as being included in…

Whilst Everything’s Going to Be Great starts out a bit more eccentric and comedically minded than how it ends, the performances at the core of Jon S. Baird‘s dramedy, and the sense that it celebrates art and those that have always felt a little different in doing so, keeps it continually moving at an enjoyable…

One of the great things about documentaries such as The Rose: Come Back to Me is that it both provides further insight into a rock outfit for the legions of fans, as well as introducing uninitiated viewers into a world that proves endlessly fascinating.  I am personally of the latter, as going into this film,…

If hearing the title I Was Born This Way immediately brings to mind the Lady Gaga song “Born This Way”, the coincidence is intentional.  Gaga, one of the few interviewees featured in Daniel Junge and Sam Pollard‘s beautiful, insightful documentary, talks about how Carl Bean‘s legacy influenced her songwriting, as he did for the likes…

Set in the heart of the San Gabriel Valley and based on a harrowing true story, Rosemead is a gripping, emotionally charged portrait of a mother’s love pushed to its limits. Lucy Liu delivers a transformative performance as a terminally ill Chinese immigrant who uncovers her teenage son’s disturbing fixation with mass shootings. As her health deteriorates, she takes…

A film that embraces a more eclectic hobby over ridiculing its eccentricities, Horsegirls is a sweet natured drama that speaks to the importance of independence and inclusivity. Written and directed by Lauren Meyering, Horsegirls embraces the defiance of its lead character, Margarita (so beautifully embodied by Lillian Carrier), and how her perceived fragility gives way…

There’s a lived-in mentality to Poreless that is sure to resonate with certain audiences – it’s lead is a gay Muslim – but the comedic nature of its script, written by director Harris Doran and Fawzia Mirza, is particularly universal, looking at the vapid disconnection of the beauty world, the tightrope many walk when it…

A fabulous, queer Muslim beauty entrepreneur must figure out how to compete in a Shark Tank-like product pitch contest after suffering an untimely allergic reaction. Such is the logline for Poreless, a biting, commentative short currently screening at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.  Headlined and produced by Akbar Hamid, the performer is making a plenty…

Highlighting the drama behind the for-the-camera-smiles of the 1970s variety show, Kate McCarthy‘s The Hicks Happy Hour is a moment-in-time short feature that escalates with a certain tension, before it ultimately pivots for a more cathartic climax that speaks to one woman’s eventual truth. “Stars stay smiling” is the Hicks family motto, something mother Jill…

Finding truth in the absurd and writing what you know are so often two rules that filmmakers adhere to, and both apply heartily for writer/director Chris Merola, who speaks his veracity in Lemonade Blessing, a coming-of-age dramedy centred around religion and how one responds to its pressures. Inspired by his own childhood growing up under…

Premiering at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Lemonade Blessing is a biting coming-of-age comedy about John (Jake Ryan), freshly tossed into a private Catholic high school by his devout mother, who falls head over heels for a devious classmate ready to push his faith (and morals) to the brink with a series of increasingly uncomfortable…

When Ally (Rachel Paulson) excitedly calls her bestie, Jess (Capri Campeau), in the morning-after scenario of a pinch-me like hook-up, she can’t quite believe herself when she announces that in her bed is a bona fide rockstar.  Better than hooking up with the high-school teacher she was obsessed with, and “gayer than Rihanna”, Ally’s bed…

The basic narrative at the core of Restless – asking how far one would go to maintain peace in your own home – is perhaps one of the most relatable, and it’s because of that potential familiarity that Jed Hart‘s dread-drenched thriller is all the more chilling. Whether it’s happened directly to us or we…

There’s a subtlety and quietness to Darkest Miriam that continually laces this sad, yet captivating drama, with Britt Lower‘s haunting central performance adding a poetry to proceedings that beautifully captures those watching. In a Toronto neighbourhood, Miriam (Lower) lives a quiet life as a librarian, seemingly content with her daily routine of shuffling through the…

As much as Vincent Grashaw‘s Bang Bang revels in the alpha masculinity that oft dominates the boxing industry and the men it produces, this hard drama laces its narrative with a sadness and humanity that consistently brings the film above its gruff exterior. And much of that belongs to the impeccable Tim Blake Nelson, leading…

The fifth directorial effort from actor Steve Buscemi, and his first since 2007’s Interview, The Listener is an intensely quiet film, one that hones a sobering nature that can’t help but speak to its prime pandemic nature. COVID-19 is never specifically stated across the film’s sensitive 96 minutes, but the loneliness in the story’s set-up…

There’s an utterly fascinating (and still unsolved) murder case at the centre of Maggie Moore(s), the second directorial feature from Mad Men alum John Slattery, which aims for Coen Brothers-esque comedic darkness, but unfortunately falls short of Fargo greatness. The real case at hand was a dual assassination of sorts in 2000 Texas, where two…

From the opening shot of Barnaby Clay‘s The Seeding there’s a sense that nothing will be as it initially appears.  There’s an immediate knowing that hell will break loose over the 94 minutes that are to come when we see the imagery of a baby chewing on human flesh in quite the most casual of…

There’s a palpable sense of unrest that litters the core of Catching Dust, Stuart Gatt‘s feature debut that speaks to one woman’s sense of autonomy and choosing between the devil she knows and that she doesn’t. The woman in question is Geena (Erin Moriarty), whose isolated Texas desert locale is the result of her violent…

Premiering at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Bill Oliver‘s Our Son is where drama meets mindfulness as audiences explore contemporary relationships between two men (played by Luke Evans and Billy Porter) trying to make their way in the world of parenting their child in the aftermath of their separation. This story unabashedly unfolds with the…

Whilst the breakdown of a marriage and the impending custody battle that will take place as to whose time favours the child in question has been a reliable staple for cinematic drama over the years – most recently displayed in Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story and perhaps most famously in 1979’s Kramer vs. Kramer – queer…

Indian representation in cinema has certainly hit a certain stride over the last few years in moving beyond the character stereotypes and Bollywood-framed imagery that Hollywood so often adhered to.  Filmmakers such as Gurinder Chadha and Mira Nair have been representing their native communities for over three decades with their various theatrical offerings – the…

There’s an interesting concept and potentially deep conversation regarding mental illness to be had with Roving Woman, but the execution presented sadly undoes any of the film’s potential, leaving Michal Chmielewski‘s drama a more aimless experience. The roving woman of the title is Sara (Lena Gora), who opens the film in a state of panic…

The cultural phenomenon that is RuPaul’s Drag Race has made way for otherwise niche performers to breakthrough in a mainstream fashion.  Whilst it’s still more likely that queer audiences will recognise their presence in a stronger manner, it must be said that the program knows how to unearth the type of talent that deserves to…

An incredibly topical drama that navigates its story with natural humour and heart, Sophie Galibert delicately treads the waters around the subject of unwanted pregnancy in her feature debut, Cherry. Initially adhering to a more comical temperament, Cherry centres on its titular character (Alex Trewhitt, a star-making turn), a driftless, 25-year-old Los Angelean, whose already…

Though it’s fair to be intrigued by the title of Alex Lehmann‘s Acidman and assume there’s perhaps something more sinister behind its moniker, the film is a quieter affair, looking at reclusion, mental health, and the power of a familial relationship. Lehmann himself has noted that the idea came from his own personal experience with…

Statistics regarding the prevalence of mental illness in men today have become a more commonly known factor as the walls of machoism continue to break down.  No longer a subject that goes undiscussed, the depression aspect of a man’s mental psyche is at the centre of Saul Abraham‘s striking short film, Enjoy. Following its screening…

A sensitive subject that manages to transcend its 18 minute containment, Saul Abraham‘s Enjoy is a delicate look at depression, specifically in men, and how difficult it is to remove your own psyche from spiralling downwards. 1 in 8 men in Australia experience some form of depression or anxiety, 3 times more common than it…