The Tribeca film festival launches its 15th edition on Wednesday in the wake of the biggest controversy the event has ever weathered, following the festival’s decision to program and then pull the anti-vaccination documentary Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Controversy from its program.
Co-founder Robert De Niro, who allegedly initially fought to have it included, is no doubt hoping this year’s slate of films and panels will overshadow the Vaxxed fallout. Given the robust lineup, the chances appear to be in his favor.
Positioned shortly after the Sundance and SXSW film festivals each spring, and weeks before Cannes, Tribeca often serves as a springboard for artier independent fare from lesser-known film-makers, and star vehicles set to open shortly after the event packs up, in order to add some needed glamour to the red carpets.
This year, the star with biggest clout set to attend is Tom Hanks, who will be world-premiering his latest film, A Hologram for the King, at the festival. Based on the popular novel by Dave Eggers, the drama reunites Hanks with one of his Cloud Atlas directors, Tom Tykwer, for a freewheeling tale about a desperate American salesman waiting an eternity to meet a Saudi Arabian billionaire.
Hanks is also scheduled to take part in a panel hosted by comedian John Oliver, where he is to discuss his “passion for great stories”.
In fact, the bulk of the star wattage at this year’s edition can be found in the featured speakers sidebar, where Hanks is included on an illustrious roster that also includes Patti Smith, Tina Fey, Jodie Foster, Baz Luhrmann, Jane Fonda, Joss Whedon and Mark Ruffalo. In a spirited pairing, JJ Abrams is to talk about his career opposite this year’s Oscars host, Chris Rock.
Probably most anticipated of all, De Niro himself will be on hand to reflect on the making of Taxi Driver in honor of the film’s 40th anniversary. Martin Scorsese and the writer Paul Schrader will join him for the onstage talk following a screening.
Other highlights to feature prominent actors include the drama The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, starring Jason Sudeikis as an introverted architect who bonds with a homeless teen following the death of his wife (Jessica Biel); Custody, which stars Viola Davis, Hayden Panettiere and Catalina Sandino Moreno as three women whose lives are changed after they cross paths at a New York family court; the romance The Meddler, which pairs Susan Sarandon with recent Oscar winner JK Simmons; the coming-of-age drama Mr Church, starring Eddie Murphy as a chef; and the Michael Shannon-led Wolves, about a troubled father whose addiction to gambling threatens to derail his son’s aspiration to go to Cornell on a sports scholarship.
Shannon also features as Elvis Presley in the festival’s centerpiece screening, Elvis & Nixon. The Amazon Studios release follows the star in 1970, when he visited the White House seeking to be deputized into the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs by the president himself (played by Kevin Spacey).
In 2014, Courteney Cox made her feature film directorial debut at the festival with Just Before I Go. This year, the big star to take the leap is Katie Holmes, who will unveil All We Had, her mother-daughter drama based on Annie Weatherwax’s popular novel. The film boasts a script by The Fault in Our Stars director Josh Boone, and pairs Holmes onscreen with Luke Wilson.
Mia Wasikowska also steps into the director’s chair for the first time with a film that features in the anthology effort Madly, which features six shorts from film-makers from across the globe. Wasikowska’s segment follows a young mother’s postpartum struggles.
As for the “smaller” pictures, AWOL, premiering in the festival’s US narrative competition, looks to be a standout based on its premise alone: it’s a rural-set love story about lesbians in and around the military. Lola Kirke, who delivered a strong performance in Mistress America and Gone Girl, stars.
Also hoping to make an impact is Kicks, an opening night selection about a 15-year-old in Oakland on a mission to retrieve his recently stolen Air Jordans. The film marks the feature debut of Justin Tipping, who won a Student Academy Award for his short Nani.
Tribeca has in recent years also become a strong showcase for documentary film. Past standouts include Frédéric Tcheng’s acclaimed Dior and I, which followed Raf Simon’s first couture collection for the Parisian fashion house, and the hypnotic Bombay Beach, from music video director Alma Har’el.
Har’el returns to the festival with her anticipated follow-up LoveTrue, executive-produced by Shia LaBeouf. Her new feature is rumored to be similarly experimental in tone, exploring three complimentary stories that aim to “demystify the fantasy of true love”.
There’s also a lot of buzz about All This Panic, a documentary by the artist Jenny Gage, who took a Boyhood-like approach by following two sisters in New York City as they came of age over the course of three years.
- The 15th edition of the Tribeca film festival will take place from 13-24 April in New York City. It opens on Wednesday with the world premiere of The First Monday in May, a documentary about the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute exhibition, China: Through the Looking Glass.
