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THE 2007 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES SELECTIONS FOR ITS COMPETITION AND SPOTLIGHT SECTIONS, continued
Films in the Midnight sections are eligible for the Audience Award for Best Feature Film.
Discovery:
The Discovery section includes 39 feature films both narrative and documentary, which are the work of up-and-coming directors from 12 countries. Films in this section include such talent as Eva Mendes, Matthew Perry, Lucy Liu, Elijah Wood, Jeffrey Wright, Anna Paquin and the directorial debut of Fred Durst. Discovery titles cover a diverse spectrum of stories ranging from the fascination of facing childhood fears to the journey of a transgender and from the scenario of a reinstated military draft to six horses’ path to the Kentucky Derby.
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- Alexis Arquette: She’s my Brother, a documentary directed by Matthew Barbato. (U.K.) – World Premiere. An intriguing look at sex and celebrity, this richly textured documentary, filled with drag queens and Hollywood glitterati, is actually a serious movie about transgendered life. In this unique and candid work, Alexis reveals a more private side as she grapples with the process of sex reassignment surgery.
- Amexicano, directed by Matthew Bonifacio, written by Carmine Famigelietti. (U.S.A.) – World Premiere. A low-key, charming depiction of working-class American life, this rare gem explores the surprising bond between a hard-working illegal immigrant and a blue-collar Italian American from Queens. Wrestling language barriers and racial prejudices, the two grow closer as their worlds expand, while the permanent threat of deportation looms large. In English and Spanish.
- Armin directed and written by Ognjen Svilicic. (Croatia, Germany, Bosnia and Herzogovina) – North American Premiere. Ibro takes his 13-year-old son Armin from their small Bosnian village to Croatia to audition for a German film about the Balkan conflict. A skeptical take on the promises of the "New Europe," Armin is also the story of a growing relationship between a father and a son. In Croatian, German, Bosnian and English.
- Autism: The Musical, a documentary directed by Tricia Regan. (U.S.A) – World Premiere. Although the statistic is alarming—one in 150 children in the U.S. is now diagnosed with autism—this documentary is steeped in a sense of optimism. Filmed over the course of one year, it follows five autistic children in Los Angeles as they write and rehearse their own full-length musical, tossing aside all stereotypes in the process.
The Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez, a documentary directed by Kieran Fitzgerald. (U.S.A) – U.S. Premiere. Nearly ten years after the death of an 18-year-old American at the hands of a U.S. Marine team fighting the War on Drugs in Texas, the border continues to see increased militarization. Juxtaposing the victim's family’s grief with the Marines' frustration and guilt in their first on-screen interviews, this probing documentary, narrated by Tommy Lee Jones, asks, “is history doomed to repeat itself?” In English and Spanish. Winner, Best Documentary, Mexico City Film Festival.
- Blackout, directed and written by Jerry Lamothe. (U.S.A.) – World Premiere. In summer 2003, America experienced the largest blackout in its history—widely reported as peaceful. But in Brooklyn's forgotten East Flatbush neighborhood, mayhem unfolded when the power shut down. This is the untold story of the blackout—a place where, as night fell, looters emerged, violence surfaced and residents feared for their lives. With M elvin Van Peebles and Jeffrey Wright.
- Blue State, directed and written by Marshall Lewy. (U.S.A., Canada) – World Premiere. After Bush's re-election in 2004, John (Breckin Meyer), a distraught Democrat, decides to move to Canada after receiving a call from "Marry-a-Canadian," established to help disgruntled liberals "escape" from the U.S. When Chloe (Anna Paquin) answers his ad for the road trip, he soon finds that the misadventures of the open highway bring them closer in this lighthearted road trip tale.
- The Business of Being Born, a documentary directed by Abby Epstein. (U.S.A.) – World Premiere. In this candid and eye-opening documentary, director Epstein and producer Ricki Lake tackle the controversial debate between at-home and hospital births in the US. Shocking facts (to men and women alike) regarding the historical and current practices of the child birthing industry interweave with footage of married couples opting for home childbirth.
- Day Zero, directed by Bryan Gunnar Cole, written by Rob Malkani. (U.S.A) – World Premiere. The draft has been reinstated. Our conflicting attitudes toward war are examined through the eyes of Aaron (Elijah Wood), George (Chris Klein) and Dixon (Jon Bernthal), as each prepares to report for duty and learns, individually, what it means to "serve with honor."
- The Education of Charlie Banks, directed by Fred Durst, written by Peter Elkoff. (U.S.A) – World Premiere. Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst makes his directorial debut with this potent coming-of-age drama about confronting one's fears. Pensive, honorable college student Charlie Banks (Jesse Eisenberg) must reconcile with his past when he gets an unexpected visit from a hometown thug—who may or may not know that Charlie once ratted him out to the police.
- Falafel, directed and written by Michel Kammoun. (Lebanon/France.) – North American Premiere. Everything bad that can happen on the way to a party happens to easygoing young Tou in this chronicle of a nighttime trip though Beirut, permeated by the smell of falafel frying at neon-lit stands. Flipping between the playful youth and scenes of unexpected danger, Kammoun creates a kind of Lebanese After Hours.
- Fiestapatria, directed by Luis R. Vera. (Chile, Peru) – World Premiere. As two families celebrate the engagement of their children, one of the betrothed discovers the family's dark secret. A provocative metaphor on the social and moral state of Chile, from the start of the Pinochet dictatorship to today, Fiestapatria tells its tale through a gallery of characters representative of Chilean society.
- The First Saturday in May, a documentary directed by The Hennegan Brothers, written by The Hennegan Brothers and Mark Krewatch. (U.S.A) – World Premiere. Heartbreak and hope abound in this engrossing documentary about the holy grail of horse racing—the Kentucky Derby. Two brothers travel from Arkansas to Dubai and on to Churchill Downs to trace the paths of six rising equine stars, including the heroic Barbaro, and the people, passion and dreams at the core of this breakneck competition.
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