Client: “Mark, Mary & Some Other People”: Jon Lullo – Producer; “Werewolves Within”: Ubisoft – Production Company; “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain”: Morgan Neville – Director, Producer; Caitrin Rogers – Producer
Tribeca Film Festival announced the lineup for its 2021 edition, which will run June 9 through 20.
In response to the pandemic, the 12-day event will host in-person screenings and panels, most of which will occur outdoors and at drive-in venues. For the first time, Tribeca Film Festival is taking place not just in lower Manhattan, but across New York City’s five boroughs.
“Despite the challenges our industry faced this past year, it did not stop filmmakers, artists, and storytellers from creating compelling, entertaining, and thought-provoking content,” said Paula Weinstein, chief content officer of Tribeca Enterprises. “The selections for each of these categories represent the tenacity and commitment of our creative community and we are so proud to include them as part of this year’s Festival and share them with our returning in-person audiences.”
This year’s festival slate includes 64 films from 81 filmmakers from more than 23 different countries. The lineup will host 54 world premieres — including its opening night film, the musical “In the Heights” — as well as one international premiere, four North American premieres, one U.S. premiere and three New York premieres. In total, 11,222 titles were submitted across all categories, a record high for Tribeca.
In a milestone for representation, more than 60% of the feature films playing at the festival were directed by female, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ artists.
Since Tribeca will run through Juneteenth, the festival has curated special programing to celebrate voices from the African diaspora with an emphasis on African American artists, performers and filmmakers.
Additionally, the feature films that were scheduled to premiere at the 2020 edition of Tribeca, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak, have been invited back.
“After a year of closed cinemas, canceled gatherings, and virtual everything, it is with joy and hope that we finally invite New Yorkers out of their homes and back to the movies,” said Tribeca’s festival director and VP of programming Cara Cusumano. “Immersed in the city itself, Tribeca 2021 will bring once-in-a-lifetime big-screen experiences to filmmakers and audiences alike as we reconnect, re-imagine, and reopen through the shared experience of film.”
See the complete lineup below:
U.S. NARRATIVE COMPETITION
Mark, Mary & Some Other People, directed and written by Hannah Marks. Produced by Hannah Marks, Pete Williams, Jon Lullo, Brendan Walter, Jonathan Duffy, Kelly Williams. (United States) – World Premiere. Young newlyweds Mark and Mary agree to try exploring other sexual partners, with surprising results in this unexpectedly charming love story from writer/director Hannah Marks. With Ben Rosenfield, Hayley Law, Odessa A’Zion, Nik Dodani, Matt Shively, Sofia Bryant.
SPOTLIGHT NARRATIVE
Werewolves Within, directed by Josh Ruben, written by Mishna Wolff. Produced by Jason Altman, Margaret Boykin, Andrew Lieberman, Natalie Metzger, Matt Miller, Benjamin Wiessner, Sam Richardson. (United States) – World Premiere. In Josh Ruben’s video game-inspired horror-comedy, a newly assigned forest ranger checks into a quaint Vermont inn just as a snowstorm cuts him and the eccentric townsfolk off from civilization. Yet frigid weather isn’t their biggest concern—that’d be the bloodthirsty creature picking them off one by one. With Sam Richardson, Milana Vayntrub, Michaela Watkins, Cheyenne Jackson, Glenn Fleshler. An IFC Films release
SPOTLIGHT DOCUMENTARY
Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, directed by Morgan Neville. Produced by Caitrin Rogers, Morgan Neville. (United States) – World Premiere. Bad boy chef. Bestselling author. Global adventurer. Academy Award® winner Morgan Neville’s (20 Feet From Stardom) documentary brims with the same energy, curiosity, and deep humanity that made Anthony Bourdain the superstar whose life touched so many. A Focus Features release.