TFF 2006: Non-Competitive Selections

[ This is part two of our continuing Tribeca Coverage. You can
read about the competitive sections of the festival in
part one. ]

Another day, another major announcement by the Tribeca Film Festival (TFF). The
selection of a few non-competitive sections has been announced. The 60 films in
the “Spotlight”, “Discovery” and “NY Specials” have been announced and represent
a wide selection of established and new filmmakers from 16 countries. The
Spotlight section contains new works by Chen Kaige, Claude Chabrol, Guy Maddin,
Chris Marker and Sydney Pollack!!

* * *

Spotlight
The Spotlight category was created to present distinctive out-of-competition
films with established and international talent. From revisiting the New York
soccer craze of the 70’s, to a daughter’s unique and heartfelt tribute to her
father, to an overweight and under-loved actor in search of his soul mate, the
Spotlight category reflects the full spectrum of human emotions in 18 films from
eight countries. The Spotlight category includes narratives and documentaries by or with some of the world’s highest profile film talent such as Chen Kaige, Claude Chabrol, Guy Maddin, Chris Marker and Sydney Pollack. These renowned directors illuminate new talent in 14 World and North American Premieres including three documentary features, 14 narrative features, and one short film.

The Case of the Grinning Cat (Chats Perchés) – Chris Marker (France)
Comeback Season – Bruce McCulloch (Canada)
Comedy of Power (L’ivresse du Pouvoir) – Claude Chabrol
(France)
Crime Novel (Romanzo Criminale) – Michele Placido
(Italy)
Five Fingers – Laurence Malkin
The Groomsmen – Edward Burns
House of Sand (Casa de Areia) – Andrucha Waddington
(Brazil)
I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With – Jeff Garlin 

Journey to the End of the Night – Eric Eason
Lonely Hearts – Todd Robinson
Lunacy (Sílení) – Jan Švankmajer (Czech
Republic)
My Dad is 100 Years Old – Guy Maddin (Canada)
Once in a Lifetime – John Dower and Paul Crowder 

Ontic Antics Starring Laurel and Hardy: Bye, Molly – Ken Jacobs
Pittsburgh – Kyle LaBrache and Chris Bradley
The Promise (Wu Ji) – Chen Kaige (China)
Sketches of Frank Gehry – Sydney Pollack
Snow Cake – Marc Evans (U.K., Canada)

Discovery
In previous years this section was named Wide Angle for its global perspective,
but this year the title has changed to the Discovery section to emphasize its 33
World Premieres from up-and-coming directors from eleven countries. The Discovery section debuts outstanding documentary and narrative film voices from around the globe. The
section assembles 37 varied works and covers topics ranging from the Beslan, Russia middle school massacre, with never-before-seen footage, to a
college-educated hustler with a heart of gold to overcoming the fear of
swimming. This year the Discovery category is comprised of 19 narrative films, 18 documentaries with an overwhelming 32 World Premieres.

Beyond the Call, a documentary directed and written by Adrian Belic
The Big Bad Swim, directed by Ishai Setton
Boy Culture, directed by Q. Allan Brocka, written by Brocka and Philip
Pierce
Burke and Wills, directed and written by Matthew Zeremes and Oliver Torr
(Australia)
The Canary Effect, a documentary by Robin Davey and Yellow Thunder Woman,
written by Davey
Civic Duty, directed by Jeff Renfroe
Day Break (Dame Sobh), directed by Hamid Rahmanian (Iran)
Driving Lessons, directed and written by Jeremy Brock (U.K.)
The Elephant King, directed and written by Seth Grossman (U.S.A.,Thailand)

Encounter Point, a documentary by Ronit Avni and Julia Bacha (U.S.A.,
Israel)
Farewell Bender, directed by Matt Oates
Fat Girls, directed and written by Ash Christian
First Snow, directed by Mark Fergus
A Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus, a documentary
by Randy Olson
Freedom’s Fury, a documentary directed and written by Colin Keith Gray

Full Grown Men, directed by David Munro
Hammer & Tickle – The Communist Joke Book, a documentary by Ben Lewis
(France, Canada)
Home Front, a documentary by Richard Hankin
I’m Reed Fish, directed by Zackary Adler
The Journalist and The Jihadi – The Murder of Daniel Pearl, a documentary
by Ahmed Jamal and Ramesh Sharma (U.K.)
Kill Your Darlings, directed by Björne Larson (Sweden, U.S.A.)
Local Color, directed and written by George Gallo
Mentor, directed by David Carl Lang
Mini’s First Time, directed and written by Nick Guthe
The Night of the White Pants, directed and written by Amy Talkington
Once Upon A Time in Marrakech, directed and written by Seifollah Samadian

Return to Rajapur, directed and written by Nanda Anand 
Rock the Bells, a documentary by Denis Henry Hennelly and Casey Suchan 

The Sci-Fi Boys, a documentary and written by Paul Davids 
Siah Bâzi, a documentary by Maryam Khakipour (France, Iran)
Street Thief, a documentary directed by Malik Bader and Miles Harrison 

Three Days in September, a documentary directed and written by Joe
Halderman (Russia, U.S.A.)
Tierney Gearson: The Mother Project, a documentary directed by Jack
Youngelson and Peter Sutherland (U.S.A., U.K., France, India)
Walker Payne, directed by Matt Williams 
Waterbuster, a documentary by J. Carlos Peinado 
When the Road Bends…tales of a Gypsy Caravan, a documentary by Jasmine
Dellal 
Word.Life (aka The Hip Hop Project), a documentary directed by
Matt Ruskin and Scott Rosenberg

NY Specials
The newly formed NY Specials showcases a varied group of out-of-competition
titles that are quintessentially New York. In this years program there are
portraits of experimental filmmakers, a film about 9/11 volunteers and about our
Puerto Rican neighbors.

The Heart of Steel, a documentary by Angelo J. Guglielmo Jr., written by
Karen Lisko
Leaving Home Coming Home: A Portrait of Robert Frank, a documentary by
Gerald Fox (U.K.)
Notes on Marie Menken, a documentary by Martina Kudlacek (Austria)
Yo Soy Boicua, pa’ que tu lo sepas! (I’m Boricua, just so you know!),
a documentary by Rosie Perez and Liz Garbus

* * *

The Case of the Grinning Cat (Chats Perchés), a video by
Chris
Marker (France) – International Premiere. Only cinema’s greatest essayist would
dare combine a personal glance at French (and world) politics of the first few
years of the 21st Century with a love-letter to his adored Cat. Surely the
seemingly magical appearance of felines all over Paris can’t be by chance. And…might
it happen here? Let’s hope so.

Comedy of Power (L’ivresse du Pouvoir), directed by Claude Chabrol, written by
Chabrol and Odile Barski (France) – North American Premiere. Teaming with the
veteran director for the seventh time, Isabelle Huppert turns in another bravura
performance as a powerful examining magistrate on the trail of some corrupt big
cheeses. Delighting in the permutations of human stupidity, the film is both a
political thriller and a moral comedy.

My Dad is 100 Years Old, directed by Guy Maddin, written by Isabella Rossellini
(Canada) – New York Premiere. A Zeitgeist release. In this unique tribute to the
great filmmaker Roberto Rossellini, his daughter Isabella collaborates with
cinephile par excellence Guy Maddin to create a loving and very personal
portrait. Followed by the screening of a new archival print of Rossellini’s The
Flowers of St. Francis (1950.)

Promise (Wu Ji), directed and written by Chen Kaige (China) – New York Premiere.
A Warner Independent Pictures release. The biggest budgeted Chinese movie ever
made, The Promise boasts the acting talents of Hiroyuki Sanada, Jang Dong-Kun,
and Cecilia Cheung. This action-filled epic tells the story of a love triangle
between a general, a slave, and a beautiful princess who yearns for true love.

Sketches of Frank Gehry, a documentary directed by Sydney Pollack  – U.S.
Premiere. A Sony Pictures Classics release. With his first doc, Pollack delivers
a sharp and angular look at the life and work of his close friend Gehry. The
film balances praise and criticism of the famed architect’s work from art
critics and Gehry himself, who proves to be his own worst critic. Featuring
interviews with Julian Schnabel, Dennis Hopper, Michael Eisner, and Gehry’s
94-year-old therapist.