Tribeca Festival 2025: Trans Rights, Sushi Chefs, & Gonzo Journalists

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Monday, 26 May 2025 14:40

Written by Brad Balfour

Celebrating film, games, and audio storytelling, the Tribeca Festival hits NYC June 4th to the 15th.  The opening night feature is Billy Joel: And So It Goes, a documentary from directors Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin featuring rare, never-before-seen archival footage with candid, soul-baring interviews to chart Billy Joel’s meteoric rise—from humble Long Island roots to international superstardom. The documentary State of Firsts follows Sarah McBride, the first transgender person ever to be elected to Congress during this time of heated and seemingly incessant political opposition to the transgender community. Director Chase Joynt brings a highly relevant and provocative examination of McBride's first year in Congress as she becomes the target of MAGA Republicans who ban her from using restrooms in the Capitol and routinely misgender her, intentionally and publicly.

Gonzo Girl is the directorial debut of Patricia Arquette, adapting Cheryl Della Pietra's novel of the same name loosely inspired by her experience as Hunter S. Thomspon's assistant. After a chance encounter at a book reading, Alley (Camila Morrone) is offered her dream job — working as a writing assistant to Walker Reade (Willem Dafoe), an aging journalist and author whose drug and alcohol use have worn him into a fading legend. Tasked with getting Reade to finish his newest book, Alley struggles not to be consumed by his drug-soaked lifestyle while ensuring the job gets done by any means necessary. 

Nobu is a documentary on the legendary chef Nobu Matsuhisa from his humble beginnings through his journey to hone his culinary skills. Directed and produced by Matt Tyrnauer, this compelling documentary traces Nobu’s journey from his childhood in Japan to the transformative experiences that shaped him in Peru and Alaska, ultimately leading to the creation of his iconic restaurants, Matsuhisa and Nobu. The premiere of the film will be followed by a conversation with Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, Robert De Niro, and director Matt Tyrnauer.

The Tribeca Festival, presented by OKX, brings artists and diverse audiences together to celebrate storytelling in all its forms, including film, TV, music, audio storytelling, games, and immersive. With strong roots in independent film, Tribeca is synonymous with creative expression and entertainment. Tribeca champions emerging and established voices, discovers award-winning talent, curates innovative experiences, and introduces new ideas through exclusive premieres, exhibitions, conversations, and live performances.

To learn more, go to https://tribecafilm.com/

Tribeca Festival
June 4 - 15, 2025

Various venues across NYC

Margaret Mead Film Festival 2025: “We Are the Story”

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Thursday, 01 May 2025 14:45

Written by Brad Balfour

Seeds

Showcasing voices from around the world, The Margaret Mead Film Festival returns to New York’s American Museum of Natural History May 2 to the 4th. The Mead festival is the longest running nonfiction film festival in the US, founded in 1976. This year’s installment features 16 films, including one U.S. premiere and 15 New York premieres. These documentaries reflect the theme “We Are the Story,” illuminating the diverse ways we connect with one another, our environments, and shared histories. The festival includes the New York premiere of Sundance award-winning documentary Seeds, in which black farmers confront Washington’s bureaucracy. This year’s festival also includes the New York premiere of Our Land, Our Freedom, directed by Zippy Kimundu and Meena Nanji, with executive producer Mira Nair in attendance, and the New York premiere of Viktor, directed by Oliver Sarbil and produced by Darren Aronofsky, both of whom will also be present for the screening and post-screening discussion.

Mead 2025 will present two awards to films making their New York Premiere at the Festival: The 2025 Margaret Mead Filmmaker Award as selected by the Mead Festival Jury, and the second annual Audience Award, voted upon by festival attendees. The Mead festival is named for renowned anthropologist Margaret Mead, a celebrated Museum curator whose research and practices endure in the field today.

To learn more, go to: https://www.amnh.org/explore/margaret-mead-festival

Margaret Mead Film Festival
May 2 - 4, 2025

American Museum of Natural History
200 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024
(Entrance for all Margaret Mead Film Festival programs is on 77th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue.)

Brooklyn Film Festival Asks Us to "Pause" and Reflect on Cinema

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Monday, 14 April 2025 20:31

Written by Renzo Adler

 Under My Skin

Now in its 28th edition, the Brooklyn Film Festival returns May 30th to June 8th at Brooklyn’s Windmill Studios (300 Kingsland Avenue) and Wythe Hotel (80 Wythe Avenue). With 160 film premieres, the BFF includes Feature Narratives, Documentary Features, Short Narratives, Short Documentaries, Experimental films, and Animation. The theme of this year’s Brooklyn Film Festival is “Pause.” “In a world of distractions, pop-up notifications, infinite scrolling with fabricated truths, content that demands constant attention, what if the solution isn’t more noise, but a Pause,” said festival Director, Marco Ursino. “The 28th BFF plans to grab the audience’s attention amongst the chaos, and underscore the relief associated with smart, honest, quality screen time and the clarity that comes from taking a break, finding focus, and tuning in.”

Films include Under My Skin, directed by Pascal Tessaud. Back to his hood in the North Side of Marseille, South of France, Kaleem accepts a job in construction. He reconnects with his best friend Rachad who wants to hire him as manager in his new sport center. Kaleem is training hard for Krump and meets a mysterious Greek architect named Marie.

Atikamekw Suns, directed by Chloé Leriche is a mystery set in snowy Canada.  On June 26, 1977, a vehicle drives into a river outside the Atikamekw community of Manawan in northern Québec. Two Whites survive the accident, but five Atikamekw lose their lives. The police conclude it was an accident, but for the victims' families, many questions remain unanswered.

In Heavier is the Sky, directed by Petrus Cariry, after taking in an abandoned child, Teresa meets Antonio, and the two begin a journey on the roads. They share a past in common, which is the memories of a town submerged at the bottom of a dam. Life is a dream, but the future is uncertain.

Since 1998 the organizers of the Brooklyn Film Festival have set out to provide a public forum in Brooklyn to advance public interest in films and the indie production of films and to encourage the rights of Brooklyn residents to experience the power of independent filmmaking.

To learn more, go to: https://www.brooklynfilmfestival.org

Brooklyn Film Festival
May 30 - June 8, 2025

Windmill Studios
300 Kingsland Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11222

Wythe Hotel
80 Wythe Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11249