Tribeca Film Festival® Announces Feature Film Line Up For The Competition, Spotlight, Viewpoints And Midnight Sections Of The 16th Annual Festival

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Category: Entertainment News

Published on Thursday, 02 March 2017 23:47

Written by Tribeca Film Festival

SPOTLIGHT NARRATIVE

Supported by The Lincoln Motor Company

With a focus on marquee filmmakers and star performers, The Spotlight Narrative section is a launching pad for some of 2017’s most exciting new independent premieres for a wide audience of film lovers.

The Boy Downstairs, directed and written by Sophie Brooks. (USA) - World Premiere. Zosia Mamet exhibits winsome charm as Diana, navigating the rite of passage of every single New Yorker: the search for an apartment. She seemingly finds a jewel of a home until realizing her downstairs neighbor is her ex whose heart she broke. Like a true New Yorker, she keeps the apartment. With Matthew Shear, Deirdre O'Connell, Sarah Ramos, Diana Irvine.

Buster's Mal Heart, directed and written by Sarah Adina Smith. (USA) - New York Premiere. A fugitive hotly pursued by rangers reviews the pathway to his present circumstances and finds conflicting stories. A spellbinding Rami Malek (Mr. Robot) brings impressive range to Sarah Adina Smith’s sophomore feature: a twisting, mind-bending thriller in which the typical rules don’t apply, least of all to a man who cannot be certain of anything he’s done. With DJ Qualls, Kate Lyn Sheil, Sukha Belle Potter, Lin Shaye. A Well Go USA release.

Chuck, directed by Philippe Falardeau, written by Jeff Feuerzeig, Jerry Stahl. (USA) - US Premiere. Chuck is the true story of Chuck Wepner (Liev Schreiber), the man who inspired the billion-dollar film series Rocky—a liquor salesman from New Jersey who went 15 rounds with Muhammad Ali. Wepner suffered numerous losses, knockouts, and broken noses in his ten years in the ring, and lived an epic life of drugs, booze, and wild women outside of it. With Elisabeth Moss, Ron Perlman, Naomi Watts, Jim Gaffigan, Michael Rapaport. An IFC Films release.

The Clapper, directed and written by Dito Montiel. (USA) - World Premiere. Ed Helms stars as Eddie Krumble, a professional audience member who gains unwanted notoriety when a late-night talk show turns his life into a national obsession, threatening his budding relationship with gas station attendant Judy (Amanda Seyfried). Directed by Dito Montiel (Boulevard, Tribeca ‘14), The Clapper is a heartfelt comedy featuring Tracy Morgan, Adam Levine, Russell Peters, PJ Byrne, and appearances from Rob Gronkowski, Mark Cuban and the late Alan Thicke.

Dabka, directed and written by Bryan Buckley. (USA) - World Premiere. When rookie journalist Jay Bahadur (Evan Peters) has an inspiring chance encounter with his idol (Al Pacino), he uproots his life and moves to Somalia looking for the story of a lifetime. Hooking up with a local fixer (Barkhad Abdi), he attempts to embed himself with the local Somali pirates, only to find himself quickly in over his head. Based on the true story of one reporter’s risk-taking adventure that ultimately brought the world an unprecedented first-person account of the pirates of Somalia. With Melanie Griffith. In English, Somali with subtitles.

The Dinner, directed and written by Oren Moverman. (USA) - North American Premiere. Two brothers, congressman Stan and caustic former teacher Paul, are locked in sibling rivalry and are forced to come head to head over a dinner with their wives. As the two couples (Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan and Rebecca Hall) sit down to dine, their dark family secrets are drudged on to the table along with the main course, in this adaptation of the Herman Koch bestseller. With Chloe Sevigny. An Orchard release.

Literally, Right Before Aaron, directed and written by Ryan Eggold. (USA) - World Premiere. Still reeling from his breakup with college sweetheart Allison (Cobie Smulders), Adam's (Justin Long) world is thrown into further chaos when he’s surprisingly invited to attend her wedding. Over a surreal weekend, he stumbles through a nightmarish rehearsal dinner and drinks his way through the reception as he thinks back on where it all went wrong with the one that got away. Ryan Eggold directs this refreshingly unconventional romantic comedy. With John Cho, Luis Guzman, Kristen Schaal, Leah Thompson, Ryan Hansen.

The Lovers, directed and written by Azazel Jacobs. (USA) - World Premiere. Years into a dispassionate marriage, a long-married couple, both seriously involved with other people, resolve to call it quits. To their surprise, their decision reignites a dormant spark that leads to an impulsive affair. Broadway legend Tracy Letts and the always-luminous Debra Winger shine in writer/director Azazel Jacob’s (Terri) latest. With Debra Winger, Tracy Letts, Melora Walters, Aiden Gillen, Tyler Ross, Jessica Sula. An A24 release.

Manifesto, directed and written by Julian Rosefeldt. (Germany) - New York Premiere. All current art is fake. Nothing is original. These are some of the statements exposed in artist Julian Rosefeldt's stunning piece. Starring Cate Blanchett, we witness a series of vignettes which draw upon artist manifestos that question the true nature of art. A chameleonic Blanchett gives a tour-de-force performance as she transforms in each segment like never before. A FilmRise Release.

Permission, directed and written by Brian Crano. (USA) - World Premiere. Anna (Rebecca Hall) and Will (Dan Stevens) are the definition of long-term monogamy, and with great careers, an impending marriage, and a potential new home, things couldn’t be better. But after a close friend’s joke about her non-existent sexual experience hits too close to home, Anna proposes to Will an experiment to broaden their horizons without sabotaging their relationship: to try an open relationship—together. With Gina Gershon, Francois Arnaud, Morgan Spector, David Joseph Craig, Jason Sudeikis.

Rock'n Roll, directed by Guillaume Canet, written by Guillaume Canet, Rodolphe Lauga, Philippe Lefebvre. (France) - International Premiere. Real-life couple Guillaume Canet and Marion Cotillard play themselves in this satirical comedy about a couple dealing with aging in the limelight. After Guillaume gets told by a co-star that he’s just not that cool anymore, he goes to increasingly extreme lengths to prove her wrong, putting his happy domestic life to the test. With Gilles Lellouche, Philippe Lefebvre, Camille Rowe, Yvan Attal. In French with subtitles.

Sweet Virginia, directed by Jamie Dagg, written by The China Brothers. (USA) - World Premiere. Jon Bernthal, Rosemarie DeWitt, Imogen Poots, Odessa Young, and a spectacular Christopher Abbott star in this gritty neo-Western with echoes of the early Coen Brothers: a burglary-homicide rattles the residents of a small Alaska town. Jamie Dagg’s sophomore feature is a haunting drama about the predator in each of us, and the prices we pay to start over.

Take Me, directed by Pat Healy, written by Mike Makowsky. (USA) - World Premiere. Ray is in the boutique simulated abduction business. It’s an understandably threadbare market, so he jumps at the chance when a mysterious call contracts him for a weekend kidnapping with a handsome payday at the end. But the job isn't all that it seems. A black comedy that threads the needle between crime thriller and slapstick farce, Take Me is as twisty as it is funny. With Taylor Schilling, Pat Healy, Alycia Delmore, Jim O'Heir.

Thumper, directed and written by Jordan Ross. (USA) - World Premiere. This suspenseful crime drama follows Kat Carter (Eliza Taylor), the troubled new girl in a school harboring a deep secret. When she attracts the attention of the volatile gang leader Wyatt (a menacing Pablo Schreiber), Kat’s own hidden secrets threaten to put her life in danger. Executive Produced by Cary Fukunaga, the film features raw supporting turns from Lena Headey, Daniel Webber, Ben Feldman, and Grant Harvey.

The Trip to Spain, directed by Michael Winterbottom. (U.K.) - World Premiere. Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon reunite with director Michael Winterbottom for another chapter in their hilarious road trip series. This time taking their wit and appetites on a tour through picturesque Spain’s finest fine dining, Coogan and Brydon trade celebrity impressions and witty banter over paella and gazpacho, their comic observations on fame and friendship as dry as the finest Spanish wine. With Marta Barrio, Claire Keelan, Margo Stilley. An IFC Films release.