The controversial Michael Winterbottom thriller “The Killer Inside Me,” a comedy from “Amelie” director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, and films starring Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Catherine Keener, Melissa Leo, Patricia Clarkson, Liev Schreiber, Ellen Barkin and Idris Elba are among the latest entrants at the Tribeca Film Festival, which begins April 21 in New York City.
“The Killer Inside Me” (below), a brutally noir which stars Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba and is based on the hard-boiled Jim Thompson novel, drew wildly disparate reactions when it screened at the Sundance Film Festival. “Micmacs,” the latest film from Jeunet, is a slapstick fantasy that was compared to the work of Buster Keaton by the Hollywood Reporter.
Also on tap for the festival, which announced the first 33 of its films last week: new work from directors Neil Jordan (“The Crying Game”), Nicole Holofcener (“Lovely & Amazing”), John Carney (“Once”) and Edward Burns (“The Brothers McMullen”); music-centered films about British punk musician Ian Dury, Canadian hard rockers Rush and New York popster Billy Joel; documentaries about climate change, Vidal Sassoon, Shea Stadium, river surfing, the North Pole and Joan Rivers; and at least three films centering on transsexuals and transvestites.
Academy-Award-winning documentarian Alex Gibney (“Taxi to the Dark Side”), whose “Untitled Eliot Spitzer Project” is also showing at Tribeca, will also be represented by “My Trip to Al-Qaeda,” his film version of Lawrence Wright’s one-man play. Oscar-winning director Chuck Workman introduces “Visionaries,” his new documentary about avant-garde film.
The latest films to be announced are showing out-of-competition in the festival’s Encounters, Discovery, Cinemania and Spotlight sections. Films in the World Narrative Feature Competition, World Documentary Feature Competition and Global Cinema Showcase sections were announced last week.
The Encounters section is made up of 14 films, six documentaries and eight narrative features. They include “Climate of Change,” narrated by Tilda Swinton; “Every Day,” a family drama from Richard Levine; “Meet Monica Velour,” in which Kim Cattrall plays an ‘80s soft-core icon; and “sex & drugs & rock & roll,” for which Andy Serkis (below right) received a BAFTA Best Actor nomination for playing Ian Dury.
Discovery films include “Arias with a Twist: the Docufantasy,” about the downtown New York art scene; the Brazilian romantic comedy “Elvis & Madonna”; “The Infidel,” a comedy in which a young Muslim discovers he’s adopted, and was born to a Jewish mother; and “The Sentimental Engine Slayer,” the directorial debut of Omar Rodriguez from the band The Mars Volta.
The Cinemania section contains six films. Three are Asian, including “Clash (Bay Rong),” the top-grossing Vietnamese film of the past year. The others include an ‘80s style dance movie, Spork”; a Irish-set film about a smalltown family and their alien visitor, directed by John Carney (“Once”) and Kieran Carney; and a campy exploitation flick, “Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives.”
Spotlight is a section comprised of nine films that have distribution deals, among them “The Killer Inside Me”; “Get Low,” featuring an acclaimed performance by Robert Duvall; “Please Give,” for which director Nicole Holofcener and stars Catherine Keener and Oliver Platt drew raves at Sundance; Neil Jordan’s “Ondine,” in which Colin Farrell plays an Irish fisherman who appears to catch a mermaid; and the documentary “Joan Rivers – A Piece of Work.”
The complete Tribeca lineup includes 85 feature-length films and 47 short films, including 45 world premieres, seven international premieres, 14 North American premieres, six U.S. premieres and 12 New York premieres.
For the first time, in addition to screenings in lower Manhattan, video-on-demand screenings will be held on cable and satellite of 12 of the films to begin the same day as their festival debuts. And a Tribeca Film Festival Virtual will enable viewers to see films, panel discussions and Q&As, and other aspects of the festival on the Internet.
Films that will be available through TFF Virtual include “Nice Guy Johnny,” “Elvis & Madona (Elvis e Madona),” “Spork,” “Buried Land,” “Into the Cold,” “Possessed (Bool-sin-ji-ok),” “Freetime Machos” and “The Sentimental Engine Slayer.”
Entries in the short film program will be announced on March 18.
The Tribeca Film Festival was founded in 2001 by Robert Ne Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff. A for-profit organization, it has in the past been criticized for the high price of its tickets. This year’s tickets cost $16 for evening and weekend screenings and $8 for daytime weekday and late-night films, a drop from past prices.
The festival’s main sponsor is American Express.
For information on the selected films, and on ticket packages and individual tickets, go to www.tribecafilm.com.
The latest films to be announced:
Encounters:
“The Chameleon (Le Cameleon),” directed by Jean-Paul Salomé, written by Jean-Paul Salomé and Natalie Carter. (France, USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. With Marc-André Grondin, Emilie De Ravin, Ellen Barkin, Famke Janssen.
“Climate of Change,” directed by Brian Hill. (USA/UK) – North American Premiere, Documentary. Narrated by Tilda Swinton.
“Every Day,” directed and written by Richard Levine. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. With Liev Schreiber, Helen Hunt, Brian Dennehy, Carla Gugino, Eddie Izzard, and Ezra Miller.
“Last Play at Shea,” directed by Paul Crowder and Jon Small (concert footage). (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. Featuring Billy Joel, Tony Bennett and Roger Daltrey. Part of the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival.
“Meet Monica Velour,” directed and written by Keith Bearden. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. With Dustin Ingram, Brian Dennehy, Kim Cattrall.
“Monogamy,” directed by Dana Adam Shapiro, written by Dana Adam Shapiro and Evan Weiner. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. With Chris Messina, Rashida Jones.
“My Trip to Al-Qaeda,” directed by Alex Gibney, Documentary. (USA) – World Premiere. With Lawrence Wright.
“Nice Guy Johnny,” directed and written by Edward Burns. (USA) – World and TFF Virtual Premiere, Narrative.
“RUSH: Beyond the Lighted Stage,” directed by Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn. (Canada) – World Premiere, Documentary. With Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart.
“sex & drugs & rock & roll,” directed by Mat Whitecross, written by Paul Viragh. (UK) – North American Premiere, Narrative. With Andy Serkis, Olivia Williams, Ray Winstone, and Naomie Harris.
“The Space Between,” directed and written by Travis Fine. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. With Melissa Leo.
“Tetsuo: The Bulletman,” directed by Shinya Tsukamoto, written by Shinya Tsukamoto and Hisakatsu Kuroki. (Japan) – North American Premiere, Narrative.
"Vidal Sassoon The Movie," directed by Craig Teper. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary.
“Visionaries,” directed by Chuck Workman. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. With Jonas Mekas, Kenneth Anger, Su Friedrich, and Amy Taubin.
Discovery:
“Arias With a Twist: The Docufantasy,” directed by Bobby Sheehan. (USA) – North American Premiere, Documentary. With Joey Arias, Basil Twist, Andy Warhol, Jim Henson, Keith Haring, Grace Jones, and Divine.
“Beware the Gonzo,” directed and written by Bryan Goluboff. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. With Ezra Miller, Jesse McCartney, Zoë Kravitz, Campbell Scott, and Amy Sedaris.
“brilliantlove,” directed by Ashley Horner, written by Sean Conway. (UK) – World Premiere, Narrative.
“Elvis & Madona (Elvis e Madona),” directed and written by Marcelo Laffitte. (Brazil) – North American and TFF Virtual Premiere, Narrative.
“Gerrymandering,” directed by Jeff Reichert. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary.
“The Infidel,” directed by Josh Appignanesi, written by David Baddiel. (UK) – International Premiere, Narrative. With Omid Djalili, Richard Schiff and Matt Lucas.
“Into the Cold,” directed by Sebastian Copeland. (USA) – World and TFF Virtual Premiere, Documentary.
“Just Like Us,” directed by Ahmed Ahmed. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary.
“Keep Surfing,” directed by Björn Richie Lob. (Germany) – International Premiere, Documentary. With Nick Carroll and Kelly Slater.
“Legacy,” directed and written by Thomas Ikimi. (UK/Nigeria) – International Premiere, Narrative. With Idris Elba.
“Meskada,” directed and written by Josh Sternfeld. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. With Nick Stahl.
“No Woman, No Cry,” directed by Christy Turlington Burns. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary.
“The Other City,” directed by Susan Koch. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary.
“The Sentimental Engine Slayer,” directed and written by Omar Rodriguez Lopez. (USA, Mexico) – North American and TFF Virtual Premiere, Narrative.
“Snowmen,” directed and written by Robert Kirbyson. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. With Bobby Coleman, Josh Flitter, Ray Liotta, and Christopher Lloyd.
“The Travelogues,” directed and written by Dustin Thompson. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative.
“The Trotksy,” directed and written by Jacob Tierney. (Canada) – US Premiere, Narrative. With Jay Baruchel.
Cinemania:
“Clash (Bay Rong),” directed by Le Thanh Son, written by Johnny Tri Nguyen, Le Thanh Son, Ho Quang Hung. (Vietnam) – International Premiere, Narrative.
“Dream Home,” directed by Pang Ho-Cheung, written by Pang Ho-Cheung, Kwok Cheung Tsang, and Chi-Man Wan. (Hong Kong) – North American Premiere, Narrative.
“Possessed (Bulshinjiok),” directed and written by Lee Yong-ju. (South Korea) – North American and TFF Virtual Premiere, Narrative.
“Spork,” directed and written by J.B. Ghuman, Jr. (USA) – World and TFF Virtual Premiere, Narrative.
“Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives,” directed and written by Israel Luna. (USA) –World Premiere, Narrative.
“Zonad,” directed and written by John Carney and Kieran Carney. (Ireland) – International Premiere, Narrative.
Spotlight:
“Cairo Time,” directed and written by Ruba Nadda. (Canada, Ireland, Egypt) – US Premiere, Narrative. With Patricia Clarkson, Alexander Siddig.
“The Disappearance of Alice Creed,” directed and written by J Blakeson. (UK) – US Premiere, Narrative.
“Get Low,” directed by Aaron Schneider, written by Chris Provenzano and C. Gaby Mitchell. (USA) – New York Premiere, Narrative. With Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek, and Lucas Black.
“Joan Rivers – A Piece of Work,” directed by Ricki Stern, Annie Sundberg. (USA) – New York Premiere, Documentary.
“The Killer Inside Me,” directed by Michael Winterbottom, written by John Curran. (USA) –With Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba, Bill Pullman, and Elias Koteas.
“Micmacs (Micmacs à tire-larigot),” directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, written by Anne Wermelinger. (France) – New York Premiere, Narrative. With Dany Boon.
“Ondine,” directed and written by Neil Jordan. (Ireland, USA) – US Premiere, Narrative. With Colin Farrell.
“Please Give,” directed and written by Nicole Holofcener. (USA) – New York Premiere, Narrative. With Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Amanda Peet and Rebecca Hall.
“Soul Kitchen,” directed by Fatih Akin, written by Fatih Akin and Adam Bousdoukos. (Germany) – US Premiere, Narrative.
