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April 2009
2009 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL PREVIEW

2009 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL PREVIEW
by Wilson Morales

HERE ARE SOME SELECTED FILMS WORTH SEEING AT THE FESTIVAL





Black Dynamite, directed by Scott Sanders
This is the story of 1970s African-American action legend Black Dynamite. The Man killed his brother, pumped heroin into local orphanages, and flooded the ghetto with adulterated malt liquor. Black Dynamite was the one hero willing to fight The Man all the way from the blood-soaked city streets to the hallowed halls of the Honky House. Cast includes Miichael Jai White, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Obba Babatunde, Kym Whitley, Mykelti Williamson, Bokeem Woodbine, Kevin Chapman, Tommy Davidson, John Salley, Chris Spencer, Phil Morris, Brian McKnight, and Arsenio Hall.


Passing Strange, directed by Spike Lee
After a sold-out run at The Public Theater, a Broadway transfer, and multiple nominations and awards (including a Tony), the spectacular Passing Strange played its final super-energized performance in 2008. But before that final curtain, Spike Lee captured the show on film, amazingly retaining and transmitting the power and intensity of co-creator/star Stew and crew's performances so that nobody has to miss one of the greatest theatrical productions in recent memory. Join Lee, Stew, and co-creator Heidi Rodewald for a conversation following the screening on May 2.

 

Soul Power, directed by Jeff Levy-Hinte
Kinshasa, 1974. As Ali and Foreman fought their legendary "Rumble in the Jungle," an equally epic music festival united the hottest African American and native African soul musicians for an electrifying display of ethnic empowerment. Cameramen charted everything from the life on the streets to the haps backstage, but the footage sat unedited… until now.



Soundtrack for a Revolution, directed by Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman
A timeless film about the American civil rights movement told through the soul-stirring music that birthed and fortified the fight from picket lines and mass meetings to paddy wagons and jail cells. This powerful doc, crafted by Oscar® winner Guttentag and Sturman (Nanking), pairs modern renditions of freedom songs by Wyclef Jean, John Legend, Joss Stone, The Roots, and others with a retelling of this important moment in history.



Moon, directed by Duncan Jones
A thoughtful character study wrapped in a hi-tech sci-fi flick, Moon stars Sam Rockwell as the sole operator of a lunar mining base, living with only a computer robot (voiced by Kevin Spacey) to keep him company. Three years living on the surface of the moon, far from the touch of his wife and young daughter, has taken its tol—he's starting to hallucinate, touching off a thrilling chain of events that will shake his sense of identity to the core.



In The Loop, directed by Armando Iannucci
A fiery political satire that would be frightening if it weren't so funny, In the Loop expands on director/cowriter Iannucci's BAFTA-winning BBC satire The Thick of It. With allies the US and Britain secretly on the road to war with a hostile nation, a timid British cabinet member's (Tom Hollander) vague public comments about the prospect of an invasion create a firestorm of controversy. The terrific ensemble cast also includes James Gandolfini and Steve Coogan.



Wonderful World, directed by Josh Goldin
Matthew Broderick is Ben Singer, the world's most negative man. When his roommate, Ibou, falls ill, Ben is forced to host his Senegalese sister, Khadi (Sanaa Lathan). What starts as an awkward living arrangement soon turns into something more, and Ben's usual self-destructive nature gives way as he begins to find inspiration in the most unlikely of places.



City Island, directed by Raymond De Felitta
Vinnie's been secretly taking acting classes, his daughter's moonlighting as a stripper, his son's got a weighty fetish, and mom's eye is wandering… the Rizzos might get along a lot better if they weren't keeping so many secrets. Andy Garcia, Julianna Margulies, Emily Mortimer, and Alan Arkin star in this smart and poignant dysfunctional-family comedy, set in unassuming City Island.




Departures, directed by Yojiro Takita
Winner of the Academy Award® for best foreign language film, Departures is the eccentric, lushly scored, movingly funny tale of a cellist who returns to his picturesque rural hometown with his adoring wife following the breakup of his Tokyo orchestra. A cryptic classified ad for work in "Departures" leads him into an unexpected but strangely rewarding new job as an undertaker.



The Lost Son of Havana, directed by Jonathan Hock
Luis Tiant never anticipated spending a half-century in exile from Cuba. Torn between his career and his homeland, he went on to become one of baseball's top pitchers, heating up the mound for (among others) the Red Sox and Yankees. Director Jonathan Hock follows Tiant on his return to Cuba for the first time, capturing an inspiring and profound portrait of one of game's greatest heroes.

 

For film screenings and other films, go to http://www.tribecafilm.com/filmguide/



 



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