Get us in your inbox

Search

The Tribeca Film Festival will kick off with a history of SNL

Written by
David Ehrlich
Advertising

With every passing year, the Tribeca Film Festival becomes an increasingly unmissable fixture on the city's cinema calendar. The sprawling event brings hundreds of exciting (and sometimes not so exciting) new movies to the heart of downtown Manhattan. Founded by Robert De Niro and friends in the hopes of rejuvenating the area after 9/11, the festival has always been defined by its connection to the city, and its marquee events tend to reflect that. (Last year's opening night film, Nas: Time Is Illmatic, was a euphoric explosion of Queens pride.)

The 2015 edition, which runs April 15–26, is clearly committed to continuing that tradition. Today, the fest announces that this year's opening-night film is Bao Nguyen's Live from New York!, a documentary that looks back at how Saturday Night Live filtered and shaped more than 40 years of American culture, pop or otherwise. Nguyen's film won't be the first feature to turn its cameras on Lorne Michaels's late-night institution (James Franco's Saturday Night, a fly-on-the-wall look at the making of a single episode, played at Tribeca in 2010), but its focus on the program's formative early years promises to make for a unique look at a beloved NYC export.

Be sure to come back for the announcement of the festival's full slate in early March, and follow us (@TimeOutUSFilm) for a comprehensive guide to the fest as it takes shape.

RECOMMENDED: Full coverage of the Tribeca Film Festival

Popular on Time Out

    You may also like
    You may also like
    Advertising