The Press Release:
The fourth day of the 2021 Tribeca Festival, presented by AT&T, was filled with an exciting lineup of world premieres, special talks, shorts, podcasts, and appearances by celebrity favorites! Highlights include:
Legendary chef Wolfgang Puck and acclaimed filmmaker and Tribeca alum David Gelb (Jiro Dreams of Sushi, Chef’s Table) attended the world premiere of their documentary, Wolfgang with supportive friends and family alongside them on the carpet, including Tribeca Executive Vice President Paula Weinstein. With Gelb’s wealth of archival material of the chef and mouth-watering food shots, the audience was left hungry. The documentary begins streaming on Disney Plus on June 25.
Amy Schumer and Emily Ratajkowski participated in a Storytellers conversation discussing their friendship, motherhood, activism and going back to work.
Saidu Tejan-Thomas Jr. and guests hosted a special live recording of a Fuck Your Water Fountain episode from Resistance, a widely acclaimed narrative nonfiction podcast from Gimlet Media and Spotify. This segment on the podcast celebrates little known stories of historical resistance. The event included a musical performance by Ivy Sole, a poetry reading by Dominique Christina, and a stand-up set from Elsa Waithe.
Jason Hirschhorn, Chief Executive Officer of the REDEF Group hosted a compelling conversation around the future of podcasting at Rooftop Spring Studios. He joined EVP, Head of US Content at Audible Rachel Ghiazza, Los Angeles-based podcast creator James Kim, and Chief Executive Officer of the iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group Conal Byrne.
Actress and trailblazer Rita Moreno, actress Fernanda Gordon, director/producer Mariem Pérez Riera, and co-producer Ilia J.Vélez-Dávila were all in attendance for their New York premiere of Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It. Chronicling Rita’s remarkable career as a multi-talented Puerto Rican actress, the film challenges stifling stereotypes and becoming a role model for women and Latinx people in the industry. Guests included Brian d’arcy James, Tony Plana, Armando Riesco.
Director Adam Leon and cast members Simon Brickner, Annika Wahlsten, Annabel Hoffman, TJ Junior, Lauren Colasanti, Wallace Dos Santos, Chris Arias, Mira Maxwell, Fred Hechinger were in attendance for the world premiere of their feature film Italian Studies starring Academy Award nominee Vanessa Kirby.
At The Battery, cast and directors from the 2020 NY Shorts: Prelude, Black Ghost Son, Shadows, Look At Me, Gets Good Light, Sloan Hearts Neckface, Tapes, and 2021 NY Shorts: Leylak, Liza Anonymous, Esther in Wonderland, No Longer Suitable for Use, and Cracked showed up for photo calls.
On the blue carpet at the Italian Studies premiere, director Adam Leon, was joined by a full cast, including producers Fred Hechinger, Joshua Astrachan, Jamund Washington and Brad Becker-Parton. Executive Producers Michael Bloom, Maria Zuckerman and Ryan Heller also took a photo together.
Award-winning writer and director Geeta Malik joined the cast Anita Kalathara, Deepti Gupta, Reena Shah; Rupal Pujara, Christina Burdette, Kayan Tara, Moses Das, Indra Dattagupta, Vee Bhakta, Kamran Shaikh, Priya Deva, Jia Patel, Richa Chandra for the world premiere of India Sweets and Spices.
Following the screening of No Straight Lines, Tribeca’s Shayna Warner moderated a panel with director and producer Vivian Kleiman, comic book artists Alison Bechdel, Rupert Kinnard, Jennifer Camper and producer Justin Hall.
Directors Bing Liu and Joshua Altman, producers Zak Piper and Kelsey Carr, editor Jennifer Tiexiera, and subjects Billy Moore, Marshall Hatch Jr., Zay Manning, Shamont Slaughter, and Charles’ girlfriend Jaida attended their premiere of All These Sons.
The powerful documentary, Not Going Quietly, had its world premiere, which follows Ady Barkan embarking on a national campaign for healthcare reform. Director Nicholas Bruckman along with producer Amanda Roddy celebrated with participants Tracey Corder and Ana Maria Archila who attended the premiere along with Ady’s wife Rachael King.
At the Ascension premiere, director Jessica Kingdon (known for Commodity City, Routine Island, It’s Coming! and recognized as one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film and one of DOC NYC’s 40 Under 40) attended the photocall at Hudson Yards alongside producers Nathan Truesdell and Kira Simon-Kennedy and composer Dan Deacon. The film, which is screening in the Documentary Competition section, is an exploration of contemporary China’s identity as it relates to its vision of consumerism, innovation, and social standing.
Roaring 20’s screenwriters/stars Joris Avodo and Noemie Schmidt attended the photocall at Hudson Yards, alongside producer Laurent Rochette and additional cast members Zoe Fauconnet, Leo Poulet, and Lila Poulet-Berenfeld. The film, screening in the International Narrative Competition section, allows the audience to accompany everyday people as they cross each other throughout their day, much as we frequently cross with strangers whom we never meet. Creatively and meticulously choreographed by Elisabeth Vogler, this 24-actor tour de force was made with only 16 crew members in six takes.
At Brooklyn Commons at MetroTech, Sisters On Track, Accepted, and Shapeless made its world premiere. During the Q&A of Sisters On Track, co-director Corrinne van der Broch and cast members Tai Sheppard, Rainn Sheppard, Tonia Handy, Jean Bell and Karel Lancaster-Williams shared the importance of following your passions even during hardships.
Director Dan Chen, Producers Jason Y. Lee, Jesse Einstein, Executive Producers Davis Guggenheim, Jonathan Silberberg and Nicole Stott were joined by cast members Alicia Simon, Isaac Smith, Cathay Bui for Accepted’s photo call.
During the photocall of Shapeless, Director Samantha Aldana, Co-writer, Executive Producer and cast member Kelly Murtagh were joined by Executive Producer and cast member Bobby Gilchrist, along with Producers Brian C Miller Richar and Misty Talley, Co-writer Bryce Parsons Twesten, Composer Mandy Hoffman and Editor Stephen Pfiel. Cast members Marco Dapper, Erika Ashley, Gralen Bryant were also in attendance. During the Q&A Director Samantha Aldana shared how this project acted as a catalyst for acknowledging why hard conversations need to be had.
Director Anna Kerrigan, co-producer Chris Chavez Laszlo, and production designers Lance Mitchell and Kit Sheridan attended the premiere of Cowboys. Fully embracing their film’s premiere location, they ventured off the carpet to take some fun photos in front of the iconic Staten Island Ferry, docked just behind the venue.
Writer, director, editor Miles Hargrove and writer, producer Eric F. Martin attended the photocall of their 2020 official selection feature Miracle Fishing: Kidnapped Abroad, a deeply personal documentary following Miles Hargrove’s father’s kidnapping in the midst of a Colombian epidemic — the kidnap and ransom trade.
Writer/director Jonathan Cuartas, director of photography Michael Cuartas, actor Owen Campbell, and editor Tj Nelson participated in a post-screening Q&A of their 2020 official selection horror feature, My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To.
At the Rockaway Beach 30th Street Playground in Queens, Tribeca’s borough-to-borough cinema screened Moana, Stateless, and The Host. Over in the Bronx at Van Courtland, the mobile cinema featured Pacified and the 2020 NOW Lost and Found.
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Piercing Ken Thoughts: With so much to digest in these daily recaps I’m going to keep my editorial soapboxing to a minimum. As you can see there was some interesting stuff happening yesterday and we are only getting started with the event. It will run until the 20th of this month and has a little bit of something for everyone. I’m going to keep sharing these recaps so the cinephile members in the readership can make some notes on things they wish to investigate further. Not everyone is attending this happening after all. See you next time around with more of this and anything else that comes to mind in the interim. I’ll be heading out of the city in a couple of days but don’t you worry I will be publishing just the same on this site and on PiercingMetal.com so stay tuned. Keep safe out there.
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