Jennifer Lopez and Soho House Shorts winner Kasey Elise Walker top the bill at Tribeca Film Festival

Following a bustling Cannes that energised the film community, the Tribeca Film Festival kicks off this week in New York. While it’s difficult to follow fighter jets over the Croisette, Tribeca knows how to deliver – and if anyone can match the star power of Tom Cruise, it’s Jennifer Lopez. The documentary Halftime, an intimate look at Lopez’s life and evolution as an artist will kick off the festival. Other gala events include Vengeance, the feature directorial debut from B.J. Novak, and the Al Sharpton documentary, Loudmouth, will close the festival. 

With a selection of 110 feature films and 43 short films from talent around the world, the festival will not only take place in a physical space, but will offer the hybrid option, ‘Tribeca at Home’. Embracing the varying comfort levels of today’s cinemagoer, 42 films (features and shorts) will be available to view online, so if you aren’t making the trip to New York, you’ll still have the opportunity to experience some of what Tribeca has to offer.

There is much to look forward to in this year’s line-up – here are some of Tribeca’s most anticipated titles.  

Beauty
The visual aesthetic of Andrew Dosunmu is always something to behold. Following Where’s Kyra? which featured a heartbreaking and raw performance from Michelle Pfeiffer, his new feature, Beauty, written by Lena Waithe, follows a young queer Black woman faced with the harsh realities of pop stardom in the 1980s. Newcomer Gracie Marie Bradley stars alongside a stellar cast of Giancarlo Esposito, Niecy Nash, Micheal Ward, and Sharon Stone.

Civil
Nadia Hallgren’s emotional and powerful documentary, screening at Houses in North America later this month, follows Attorney Benjamin Crump and his work as a civil rights leader representing the people of Flint, Michigan and the families of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, among others.

Don’t Make Me Go
Having won the Best Screenplay award last year for her feature Mark, Mary & Some Other People, director Hannah Marks returns to the festival with Don’t Make Me Go. Starring John Cho and Mia Isaac, the film follows a single father who discovers he has a terminal illness. As he tries to make up for lost time, a father-daughter road trip turns into so much more. 

The Drop
Executive produced by Mark and Jay Duplass, Sarah Adina Smith’s The Drop is set to deliver some cringe-worthy comedy. Starring PEN15’s Anna Konkle and Coming 2 America’s Jermaine Fowler, a couple’s marriage is put to the test when one of them drops a baby while attending a tropical island wedding. 

Hoop Dreams
The Shorts section always includes impressive talent to watch and this year is no exception. The 2021 winner of Soho House Shorts, Hoop Dreams will make its debut at the festival. In this charming film, screenwriter and director Kasey Elise Walker follows a young girl who finds her own confidence through the love and admiration she holds for her mother.

Lynch/Oz
Alexandre O. Philippe specialises in immersing cinephiles in their favourite films. Previously taking on the origins of Ridley Scott’s Alien and Hitchcock’s iconic shower scene in Psycho, his new film, Lynch/Oz pulls the audience deep into filmmaker David Lynch’s obsession with The Wizard Of Oz.

Nothing Compares
Kathryn Ferguson’s documentary on Sinead O’Connor introduces a whole new generation to her music and life. Narrated in part by the singer herself, the film focuses on a six-year period when her career was skyrocketing and what led to her eventual exile.

The Year Between
Serving as screenwriter, director and star, Alex Heller’s feature debut follows a college student who is forced to return home after alienating others with her erratic behavior. With a cast that includes Steve Buscemi and Succession’s J. Smith-Cameron, Heller is clearly a talent to watch. 

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