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Ladies and gentlemen, the newly dubbed Tribeca Festival is officially kicking off across various New York locations on June 8. Through June 19, festival-goers will get to catch documentaries, foreign films, indie features and more—all against the backdrop of our very own beautiful metropolis.
This year, Tribeca Festival is also launching its first-ever music lounge, a collaborative effort with Pitchfork that will result in a slew of live performances and chats.
Given the vast roster of films scheduled to be screened, how is the average New Yorker supposed to figure out which ones are actually worth watching? That’s what we’re here for.
Although you should obviously strive to take in as many movies as possible, here is a list of the absolute must-sees this season:
1. Don't Make Me Go
The always wonderful John Cho stars as Max, a single father who finds out he has a terminal illness while raising teenage daughter Wally (Mia Isaac). In order to make the most of the time he has left, he takes Wally on a road trip from California to New Orleans for his 20th college reunion, where he hopes to see Wally's mother.
2. Loudmouth
Loudmouth is the much-anticipated Josh Alexander documentary about Al Sharpton. The film follows the iconic civil rights figure from childhood through his journey as a presidential candidate advisor in 2020. New Yorkers will likely give particular attention to portions of the production dealing with police brutality within the city, a topic that Sharpton is an expert in.
3. Official Competition
As our very own global film editor Phil de Semlyen notes, "Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas are a blast in this riotous takedown of egotistical actors." The two superb actors star as renowned and egotistical film veterans commissioned by a billionaire entrepreneur to create an iconic movie.
4. The Drop
This dark ensemble comedy follows Lex (Anna Konkle) and Mani (Jermaine Fowler) as "they question their relationship after Lex accidentally drops a friend's baby during a picturesque destination wedding."
5. Broadway Rising
Any film about Broadway is sure to tickle all of our senses, but this particular production about the industry during the global pandemic hits differently. The documentary focuses on the 96,000 people who lost their jobs during the COVID-19 shutdown, eventually exploring their return to semi-normalcy.
6. Unfinished Business
New York Liberty was the first team created within the newly established WNBA back in 1997 and this documentary looks at the obstacles that women in the game have had to face since then.
7. Out of Order
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Nicolas Heller, widely known as @newyorknico, makes his directorial debut in Out of Order, a film about an affable 30-year-old man named Ernie (Kareem Rahma), whose "digestive system turns on him as he races to find an ever-elusive bathroom on the streets of New York City." We've all been there.
8. Jerry & Marge Go Large
Jerry & Marge Go Large tells the true story of married couple Jerry Selbee (Bryan Cranston) and Marge Selbee (Annette Bening), who discover a mathematical loophole in the Massachusetts lottery and end up becoming millionaires. Plot twist: the duo uses the money to revive their small town in Michigan.
9. Somewhere in Queens
How far would you go to secure your child's happiness? That's the main question explored by this dramedy that also happens to be Ray Romano's directorial debut. The actor also takes on the role of Leo Russo, a father who meddles in his son's social dynamics to secure him an athletic scholarship based on his basketball skills.