The 2017 Tribeca Film Festival begins Wednesday, April 19 and runs through Sunday, April 30. This is the 16th year of awe-inspiring offerings. Many thanks go to co-founders Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro for this long-standing celebration of New York City, movies, media, and activism.The festival is known for its exquisite mix of pure entertainment and searing documentaries. Jane Rosenthal said, “You have to remember, the festival started as a way to help our community after 9/11 and to bring people together and to bring a community together. That kind of activism is the DNA of this festival, not just of us as individuals.”
Ever since its inception, Rosenthal has championed the power of women by showcasing their work. Not only are there 25 female jurors this year, but out of 98 festival selections, 32 are helmed by female filmmakers. There has never been a more important time for solidarity among women.
Highlights of 2017 TFF Feature Films Directed By Women
For showtimes click on film titles
One Percent More Humid Iris (Juno Temple) and Catherine (Julia Garner), are overwhelmed with grief after a shared tragedy. They turn to using sex like a drug to numb out and spin out into self-destruction. The movie was written and directed by Liz W. Garcia.Flames Real-life couple, filmmaker Josephine Decker and artist Zefrey Throwell, filmed their romantic relationship over a five-year period. Movie viewers experience the pair during their giddy in love phase and high on their creative juices. Viewers watch the couple’s sexual encounters, knowing there is another woman in the room, she is off-screen but recording every intimate detail through her camera. It’s an eerie and fascinating concept to watch a relationship from its gleeful beginning to its soured end.
Blame This is 22-year-old writer-director Quinn Shephard’s feature debut. She also plays the starring role of emotionally unstable Abigail who lands the lead in class for Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Mean girl Melissa Bowman (Nadia Alexander) is pissed. The substitute drama teacher (Chris Messina) notices the hostile classroom environment and steps in to rally for vulnerable Abigail. The timing is tricky, though. The teacher’s marriage is strained, leaving him shaky, too.
Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story Written and directed by Alexandra Dean, this is a new look at a Hollywood legend. Although known for her beauty, she had an incredible mind. Through the film we learn about her inventions, including a secret communication system for the Allies to beat the Nazis. She never received credit for her engineering innovations.
I Am Evidence Every year in America, thousands of rape kits containing DNA evidence are left untested by police. Over 175,000 kits have been uncovered. Only eight states (Georgia, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York) have passed laws requiring that rape kits be tested by police. As a result, decades worth of kits have been shelved, the cases are unsolved and the perps are free. Directed by Trish Adlesic and produced by Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order SVU’s Olivia Benson.
Warning: This Drug May Kill You This timely documentary by Perri Peltz takes an unflinching look at the devastating effects of addiction through the stories of four families whose lives have been decimated by addictions that began with prescriptions to pain meds.Don’t miss Tribeca Film Festival highlights — Follow @DorriOlds and #Tribeca2017.
