Tribeca: 2012

[Ceetar]

They seem to have released someof the movies. Some of them look interesting.

First Winter Directed and written by Benjamin Dickinson (USA)�World Premiere In this extraordinary debut feature, a blackout of apocalyptic proportions strands a group of Brooklyn hipsters in a remote country farmhouse with no heat and no electricity during the coldest winter on record. At first, it�s all sex and drugs and acoustic guitars. But as the days go on and the food supply dwindles, struggles of power, jealousy, and desire threaten the group�s ability to work together in order to survive.

The Girl Directed and written by David Riker (USA, Mexico)�World Premiere From the director of La Ciudad comes this moving drama about a single mother (Abbie Cornish) caught in emotional quicksand after losing her job and custody of her son. Desperate to earn cash for her custody battle, she makes the daring choice to help smuggle illegal immigrants over the border. A deep connection to a young Mexican girl will take her on a life-changing journey and force her to confront her past. In English, Spanish with subtitles.

Postcards From the Zoo (Kebun Binatang) Directed by Edwin, written by Edwin, Daud Sumolang, and Titien Wattimena (Indonesia)�North American Premiere Acclaimed Chinese-Indonesian director Edwin (Blind Pig Who Wants To Fly) returns with a gorgeous, dreamlike fairy tale set inside Jakarta�s wondrous Ragunan Zoo. Abandoned in the zoo as a little girl and raised among the wild menagerie, Lana finally embarks outside the peculiar confines she has always known�and into the seedier side of Jakarta�when she falls in love with a charming magician. In Indonesian with subtitles.

Death of a Superhero Directed by Ian Fitzgibbon, written by Anthony McCarten (Ireland, Germany)�U.S. Premiere, Narrative Donald is a teenager with extraordinary talents, wild daydreams, and a bright future as an artist of fantastical graphic novels. But when Donald discovers that a very real enemy is trying to kill him, an unorthodox psychologist tries to help him find the light in an otherwise dark world. Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Andy Serkis star in this exceptionally honest drama about discovering life, love, and death. A Tribeca Film release.

This one may be misleading.. I can't tell.

The Fourth Dimension Directed by Harmony Korine, Alexey Fedorchenko, and Jan Kwiecinski, written by Harmony Korine, Alexey Fedorchenko, Jan Kwiecinski, Oleg Loevsky, and Yaroslava Pulinovich (USA, Poland, Russia)�World Premiere, Narrative A motivational speaker named Val Kilmer (played by Val Kilmer) delivers a sermon at a roller rink. A Russian scientist builds a time machine in his apartment. Four friends stumble upon an abandoned village in the Polish countryside. All are in search of the fourth dimension�whether they know it or not. Weird, ominous, cool, compelling: These three short films could only be inspired by the creative vision of Harmony Korine and Vice Media�s Eddy Moretti. In English, Polish, Russian with subtitles.

Francophrenia (or: Don�t Kill Me, I Know Where the Baby Is) Directed by Ian Olds and James Franco, written by Ian Olds and Paul Felten (USA)�North American Premiere, Narrative James Franco stunned the film world when he committed to a regular gig on General Hospital, but the Oscar�-nominated actor had a clever trick up his sleeve. While shooting a key GH episode, Franco brought along a film crew. TFF award winner Ian Olds (Fixer, 2009) then repurposed Franco�s behind-the-scenes footage into an experimental psychological thriller set amid the spectacle of a celebrity�s escalating paranoia, creating a mind-bending exploration of identity.

Rubberneck Directed by Alex Karpovsky, written by Alex Karpovsky and Garth Donovan (USA)�World Premiere, Narrative Months after a one-night-stand-gone-nowhere with a sexy coworker, sad-sack Boston scientist Paul still finds himself increasingly consumed with obsessive thoughts toward his uninterested colleague. As his impulses become increasingly irresistible, and the repercussions of his actions snowball, the tension mounts. Indie stalwart Alex Karpovsky directs this slow-burn psychosexual character study.

This one's topical for most of you.

Town of Runners Directed by Jerry Rothwell (UK)�World Premiere, Documentary Over the past two decades the small, rural Ethiopian town of Bekoji has been the unlikely home to numerous Olympic champion long-distance runners, whose athletic success has paved the way for a generation of young Ethiopians searching for a better future. With a keen artistic eye, TFF award winner Jerry Rothwell (Donor Unknown) follows two teenage track hopefuls who face the challenge of growing up and striving for greatness in a developing nation. In Amharic, Oromo with subtitles.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

A lot of them sound intriguing.

The Girl Directed and written by David Riker (USA, Mexico)�World Premiere From the director of La Ciudad comes this moving drama about a single mother (Abbie Cornish) caught in emotional quicksand after losing her job and custody of her son. Desperate to earn cash for her custody battle, she makes the daring choice to help smuggle illegal immigrants over the border. A deep connection to a young Mexican girl will take her on a life-changing journey and force her to confront her past. In English, Spanish with subtitles.

This one sounds like Frozen River South.

[Ceetar]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: A lot of them sound intriguing. The Girl Directed and written by David Riker (USA, Mexico)�World Premiere From the director of La Ciudad comes this moving drama about a single mother (Abbie Cornish) caught in emotional quicksand after losing her job and custody of her son. Desperate to earn cash for her custody battle, she makes the daring choice to help smuggle illegal immigrants over the border. A deep connection to a young Mexican girl will take her on a life-changing journey and force her to confront her past. In English, Spanish with subtitles. This one sounds like Frozen River South.

Well, the world's full of repeated ideas. That one any good?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Yeah-- tense, understated if occasionally contrived... strong and assured for such a shoestring budget kinda dilly. Melissa Leo (of Homicide: Life On The Streets/The Fighter fame) starred.

[Ceetar]

Elles Directed by Malgoska Szumowska, written by Tine Byrckel and Malgoska Szumowska (France, Poland, Germany) � U.S. Premiere, Narrative Juliette Binoche, exquisite and involved as always, stars in this sophisticated, sexually charged drama as Anne, a journalist getting in too deep with the research for her article on college students working as prostitutes. As the surprising stories of her two candid subjects stir up Anne�s image of femininity, she wonders if life with her workaholic husband and two spacey sons is all that different from her subjects� lives. A Kino Lorber release.

Free Samples Directed by Jay Gammill, written by Jim Beggarly (USA) � World Premiere, Narrative Jillian is having a bad day. She�s got a raging hangover, she�s starting to think dropping out of Stanford Law to become an artist wasn�t the best career move, and things are weird with her faraway fianc�. Can spending the day parked in an ice cream truck doling out samples�and a good dose of sass�to oddball Angelenos shake her out of her quarter-life crisis? Jess Weixler, Jesse Eisenberg, and Jason Ritter star in this quirky comedy.

The Giant Mechanical Man Directed and written by Lee Kirk (USA) � World Premiere, Narrative Thirtysomethings Janice (Jenna Fischer) and Tim (Chris Messina) haven�t quite learned how to navigate adulthood. Tim is a street performer whose unique talents as a �living statue� don�t exactly pay the bills. Janice is out of work and under pressure by her sister (Malin Akerman) to date an egotistical self-help guru (Topher Grace). In this charming comedic romance, these two strangers help each other to realize that it only takes one person to make you feel important. A Tribeca Film release.

Headshot (Fon Tok Kuen Fah) Directed and written by Pen-ek Ratanaruang (Thailand, France) � U.S. Premiere, Narrative A return to the crime genre for celebrated Thai auteur Pen-ek Ratanaruang (6ixtynin9, Last Life in the Universe), Headshot is a noir-laced thriller centered on Tul, a hit man who is shot in the head and wakes up to find that he sees everything upside down. Working backwards (and often upside down) to tell a brooding and convoluted tale of underworld double dealings, this is an unexpected and artful take on the action thriller from a genre master. In Thai with subtitles. A Kino Lorber release.

Knuckleball! Directed by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg, written by Christine Schomer, Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg (USA) � World Premiere, Documentary This classic sports story recounts the trials and triumphs of two of the best known knuckleball pitchers currently playing in the MLB: Tim Wakefield, a Red Sox veteran struggling to clinch his 200th career win, and R.A. Dickey, an up-and-comer with the Mets looking to make a name for himself. This energetic documentary from the directors of Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work deconstructs the controversial and erratic knuckleball style.

Struck By Lightning Directed by Brian Dannelly, written by Chris Colfer (USA) � World Premiere, Narrative Even being killed by a bolt of lightning won�t keep Carson Phillips quiet. A hyper-ambitious and outspoken high school senior in a small-minded town, Carson (Glee�s Chris Colfer) narrates his own funeral and the last few weeks of his life through a series of sarcastic flashbacks in this upbeat and energetic comedy from Saved! director Brian Dannelly. With Allison Janney, Dermot Mulroney, and Drive�s Christina Hendricks.

Whole Lotta Sole Directed by Terry George, written by Terry George and Thomas Gallagher (UK) � World Premiere, Narrative In a rowdy little corner of Belfast, hapless young father Jimbo tries to protect his family from the gangster he�s in debt to by robbing the local fish market� which turns out to be a front for the same gangster! On the run, Jimbo holes up in a local antique shop run by a long-lost man from his past. A colorful cast of character actors and a strong turn from Brendan Fraser light up this madcap Irish crime comedy from Terry George (Hotel Rwanda).

Jackpot (Arme Riddere) Directed by Magnus Martens, written by Jo Nesb� (Norway) � International Premiere, Narrative Terrified, bloodied, and gripping a shotgun, Oscar Svendsen wakes up in what used to be a respectable strip joint, surrounded by eight corpses and with a gun pointed at him by a detective with the National Criminal Investigation Service. Naturally, Oscar is taken into custody, and during his interrogation a bloody and darkly comic story of betrayal, murder, and lottery winnings emerges�but is this the whole story? In Norwegian with subtitles.