Pop-Culturalist.com

Tribeca Film Festival is taking New York City by storm once again. This fantastic festival for independent films (and also featuring television, VR, industry talks, and more) is something you should experience once in your life. It can be a bit overwhelming with all the wonderful offerings so we’ve narrowed it down for you. Take a look at the films and television show screenings you should try attending:

Film

Disobedience
Filmmaker Sebastián Lelio just won an Oscar for his Chilean film A Fantastic Woman so this film is one that I am super excited to see. Not only is the setting fascinating (an Orthodox Jewish community in London), but the actors are top-notch (Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams, and Alessandro Nivola).

Mary Shelley
Who doesn’t love a good historical drama with a lush setting and gorgeous costumes? The story of the women behind one of the most well-known books, Frankenstein, is told by a team of fabulous young actors (Elle Fanning, Douglas Booth, Tom Sturridge, Maisie Williams) and is directed by the first female filmmaker from Saudi Arabia, Haifaa al-Mansour.

All These Small Moments
This coming-of-age story from debut writer-director Melissa Miller Costanzo has the makings of a classic New York movie (I’m thinking this could be like The Squid and the Whale from master filmmaker Noah Baumbach). Also, I love seeing some of my favorite Broadway actors on film (shout-out to Brian d’Arcy James in this one).

Woman Walks Ahead
Almost any project that Jessica Chastain is a part of is a project I want to see. This one is no different. Based on the real life of Caroline Weldon, this film is about her journey from an artist from Brooklyn who travels to South Dakota to meet Sitting Bull to an Indian rights activist.

Into the Okavango
A documentary about the journey of a team of scientists down the Okavango Delta (from Angola to Botswana) to discover the causes of threats to the source water. Director Neil Gelinas works for the National Geographic Society so you know this film will be beautifully shot with lots of gorgeous nature images.

Jonathan
This feature debut from director Bill Oliver is a scifi drama that promises twists (naturally). It’s hard to make a really good scifi movie that has a solid story as well as a solid look and design so we’re curious to see if this will.

Obey
This is writer-director Jamie Jones’s feature film debut. This is sure to be incredibly engaging and thought-provoking as the main character struggles against the limits poverty has inflicted on him (and how, in turn, that leads to violence).

Television

Fabled
A new anthology series that reimagines fairytales with a feminist twist. The first episode features Zosia Mamet and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (have I seen anything with Gugu Mbatha-Raw that I haven’t liked?! I don’t think so.).

Sweetbitter
Did you read this novel? If not, you should. It’s addicting and is both a coming-of-age story and a New York story of the restaurant world. As one of the season’s most buzzed-about adaptations, I’m really excited to see how it turns out.

Picnic at Hanging Rock
This is the remake of the film (from the 1970s) which, in turn, was based on the 1967 novel of the same name. The story takes place in 1900 in Australia. A few students and a governess from a girls’s boarding school vanish in thin air one day while they are picnicking. The unsolved case has ripple effects on the town. Natalie Dormer stars in this new series so that’s reason enough to watch it.

Little Women
I have to see every single adaptation of this beloved classic book so this one is toward the top of my must-watch list. Thanks to a great production team (including amazing dramatist Heidi Thomas whose work includes I Capture the Castle and Call the Midwife), this series is sure to be a hit. Also, Maya Hawke makes her starring debut in this as Jo March.

Westworld
So we all know what this series is (or at least I hope so), but I have to mention this as something to try for during TFF solely for the talkback after the season 2 premiere screening. This is a brilliant show that left us with a lot of questions.

 

For more information on the Tribeca Film Festival and to see the full schedule and buy tickets, click here.

Photo Credit: Tribeca Film Festival/AMC