Tribeca Film Festival 2021 Wrap-Up feat. Werewolves Within, 12 Mighty Orphans, False Positive, Wolfgang, No Man of God, and More! + I Carry You With Me

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On this episode of Why Watch That:

SNEAK PEEK

I Carry You With Me

Website: Sony Pictures Classics

Synopsis: Based on true love, this decades spanning romance begins in Mexico between an aspiring chef and a teacher. Their lives restart in incredible ways as societal pressure propels the couple to embark on a treacherous journey to New York with dreams, hopes, and memories in tow.

Release Date: Opens Friday, June 25, 2021 in NY and LA (with a national rollout throughout July)

Directed by: Heidi Ewing

Screenplay by: Heidi Ewing and Alan Page Arriaga

Starring: Armando Espitia, Christian Vázquez, Michelle Rodríguez, Ángeles Cruz, Raúl Briones, and Arcelia Ramírez

Distributed by: Sony Pictures Classics

Genre: Drama

Running Time: 1 hour 51 minutes

Rated R

TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL 2021 WRAP-UP

Featured Narrative Films:

No Man of God

Website: Tribeca

Tribeca Film Festival Synopsis: It was a radical new approach to criminal investigations: “profiling.” Through one-on-one discussions with serial offenders, FBI researchers could go much more in-depth. FBI analyst Bill Hagmaier (Elijah Wood), emboldened by this new philosophy, sat down with famed serial killer Ted Bundy (Luke Kirby) for several interviews from 1984-1989 inside Florida State Prison, in hopes of figuring out why Bundy murdered more than 20 victims. What started out as a straightforward informational assignment gradually turned personal for Hagmaier, whose feelings about his charismatic subject grew more complicated with each conversation. Is it possible to empathize with evil?

Studies of Ted Bundy’s life and crimes have been in vogue lately, but this two-character study from director Amber Sealey is the most sober and psychologically intricate look at the killer’s story yet. With a pair of dynamic performances at its center, particularly that of an exceptional Kirby as Bundy, No Man of God is riveting in its intimate chamber piece structure. Sealey and company, including writer Kit Lesser, who based the screenplay on real-life transcripts, don’t glamourize the oft-romanticized Bundy; instead, No Man of God deftly balances emotional complexity and clear-eyed truthfulness. —Matt Barone

Release Date: In theaters and available on demand and digital August 27, 2021

Directed by: Amber Sealey

Screenplay by: Kit Lesser

Starring: Elijah Wood, Luke Kirby, Aleksa Palladino, and Robert Patrick

Distributed by: RLJE Films

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Running Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Not Rated

India Sweets and Spices

Website: Tribeca

Tribeca Film Festival Synopsis: On her summer break from college, outspoken Indian American freshman Alia returns home to her wealthy New Jersey suburb and for the first time pushes back against her parents' pretentious lifestyle. After a year at UCLA, she’s eager to trade in the family’s lavish Saturday-night dinner parties and the gossiping “aunties” of her community for a more meaningful existence—even if she doesn’t quite know what that looks like yet. When Alia meets Varun (Rish Shah), the handsome son of local shopkeepers, she impulsively invites him to her straitlaced mother’s upcoming extravagant soiree, and accidentally uncovers a pair of family secrets in the process. In this fresh take on the classic coming of age story, writer-director Geeta Malik brings a tongue in cheek sense of humor and an acute understanding of class privilege to an award winning script. And actress Sophia Ali delivers a charming performance as the rebellious leading lady who confronts her parents’ values in order to understand her own evolving identity. —Lucy Mukerjee

No release date yet

Directed by: Geeta Malik

Screenplay by: Geeta Malik

Starring: Sophia Ali, Manisha Koirala, Adil Hussain, Deepti Gupta, Rish Shah, and Ved Sapru

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Running Time: 1 hour 41 minutes

12 Mighty Orphans

Website: Official Site

Tribeca Film Festival Synopsis: 12 Mighty Orphans tells the true story of the Mighty Mites, the football team of a Fort Worth orphanage who, during the Great Depression, went from playing without shoes—or even a football—to playing for the Texas state championships. Over the course of their winning season these underdogs and their resilient spirit became an inspiration to their city, state, and an entire nation in need of a rebound, even catching the attention of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The architect of their success was Rusty Russell, a legendary high school coach who shocked his colleagues by giving up a privileged position so he could teach and coach at an orphanage. Few knew Rusty's secret: that he himself was an orphan. Recognizing that his scrawny players couldn't beat the other teams with brawn, Rusty developed innovative strategies that would come to define modern football.

Release Date: Opens in Texas Friday, June 11, 2021 and everywhere Friday, June 18, 2021

Directed by: Ty Roberts

Screenplay by: Ty Roberts, Lane Garrison, Kevin Meyer

Starring: Luke Wilson, Vinessa Shaw, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Wayne Knight, Jake Austin Walker, Lane Garrison, Levi Dylan, Jacob Lofland, Treat Williams, and Scott Haze

Distributed by: Sony Pictures Classics

Genre: Drama, History, Sports

Running Time: 1 hour 58 minutes

Rated PG-13

Werewolves Within

Website: Official Site

Tribeca Film Festival Synopsis: Forest ranger Finn Wheeler (Veep’s Sam Richardson) is jazzed about his latest assignment: temporarily living inside The Beaverfield Inn, a cozy, woods-bound nook run by nice folks and frequented by Beaverfield’s colorful array of residents, for the duration of a new pipeline construction project. Little does he realize, his timing couldn’t be worse. For one, a major snowstorm is set to rid him and the inn’s occupants of communication with the outside world. And two, something is on the loose and brutally murdering Beaverfield’s denizens—perhaps something lycanthropic. As the body count rises, it’s up to Finn to play the reluctant hero and figure what, or who, is shrinking Beaverfield’s population.

Building on the horror-comedy fun of his 2020 debut, Scare Me (a Shudder Exclusive), director Josh Ruben expands both his storytelling scope and offbeat hilarity quotient with this delightfully macabre whodunit/monster movie, based on Ubisoft’s popular VR game of the same name. It’s also the perfect leading man vehicle for Richardson, whose lovable everyman charms complement a strong cast of TV comedy fan favorites, including AT&T commercial fixture Milana Vayntrub, Casual’s Michaela Watkins and What We Do in the Shadows’ Harvey Guillén. —Matt Barone

Release Date: Opens in theaters and drive-ins Friday, June 25, 2021; Everywhere you rent movies Friday, July 2, 2021

Directed by: Josh Ruben

Screenplay by: Mishna Wolff

Starring: Sam Richardson, Milana Vayntrub, Michaela Watkins, Cheyenne Jackson, Glenn Fleshler, and Harvey Guillén

Distributed by: IFC Films

Genre: Comedy, Horror, Mystery

Running Time: 1 hour 37 minutes

Rated R

False Positive

Website: Hulu

Tribeca Film Festival Synopsis: After difficult struggles with fertility, loving couple Lucy (Ilana Glazer) and Adrian (Justin Theroux) seem to have finally found their potential savior in the charming and world-renowned reproductive specialist Dr. Hindle (Pierce Brosnan). But as their dreams begin to come true and hope transforms to happiness, cracks start to appear in the façade of normalcy, sending the now-expectant mother into a spiral of suspicion that threatens her grasp on reality. A clever and chilling look at gender roles and the notion of unconditional trust, False Positive delivers an unexpectedly twisted tale of modern family troubles. Boasting a solid ensemble cast, including a memorable turn from Gretchen Mol as Hindle’s loyal nurse, director John Lee has truly found a kindred spirit in leading lady and co-writer Glazer. Longtime collaborators on the acclaimed Broad City, the two have shifted gears entirely here, abandoning the jokes but maintaining the edge for this genre-bending thriller about the perils of parenthood. —Loren Hammonds

Release Date: Available on Hulu Friday, June 25, 2021

Directed by: John Lee

Screenplay by: John Lee and Ilana Glazer

Starring: Ilana Glazer, Justin Theroux, Gretchen Mol, Sophia Bush, Zainab Jah, and Pierce Brosnan

Distributed by: A24 and Hulu

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Running Time: 1 hour 32 minutes

Rated R

Featured Documentaries:

Wolfgang

Website: Disney

Tribeca Film Festival Synopsis: From acclaimed filmmaker and Tribeca alum David Gelb (Jiro Dreams of Sushi, Chef’s Table) comes another mouthwatering delight of a film about one of the first “celebrity chefs” to rule the scene and a pioneer in the world of California cuisine, Wolfgang Puck. Pushing beyond the sunny, superstar persona, Gelb follows Puck as he revisits his birthplace in Austria, revealing an abusive childhood that pushed him to flee home and fight for a life of his own as a teenager. With Puck steadily gaining life confidence and cooking know-how in his homeland, France and, eventually, America, he would officially launch a storied career in Los Angeles with the opening of the celebrity hot spot of the 80s and 90s, Spago. Though Puck’s inventive cuisine has remained the core of his popularity, his charming, energetic persona is what pushed him to a stratosphere of fame that would eventually include countless TV appearances, cookbooks and restaurants that span the globe. Using a wealth of archival material and eye-dazzling cinematography of Puck’s truly mouth-watering food, Gelb expertly brings us into the kitchen—and the mind—of this obsessively hard-working and inspirational virtuoso. Be prepared to leave hungry. —Liza Domnitz

Release Date: Available on Disney+ Friday, June 25, 2021

Directed by: David Gelb

Written by: Brian McGinn

Featuring: Wolfgang Puck, Barbara Lazaroff, Byron Puck, Christina Puck, Nancy Silverton, Evan Funke, Ruth Reichl, Laurie Ochoa, and Michael Ovitz

Distributed by: Disney+

Genre: Biography, Documentary, Food

Running Time: 1 hour 18 minutes

The Lost Leonardo

Website: Sony Pictures Classics

Tribeca Film Festival Synopsis: In 2008, a few of the world’s most distinguished Leonardo Da Vinci experts gathered around an easel at the National Gallery in London to examine a mysterious painting–an unassuming Salvator Mundi (Latin for Savior of the World)–found in a shady New Orleans auction house, that a select few believed to be a long-forgotten masterwork by Leonardo Da Vinci. That day, Salvator Mundi was authenticated as being the creation of Da Vinci himself, and thus, one of the most beguiling and perplexing stories of the 21st century was set into motion.

Unfolding as a gripping, real-life art thriller, The Lost Leonardo pulls back the curtain to uncover the stranger than fiction story behind how a Salvator Mundi painting went from bargain-basement replication to setting the world record as the most expensive painting ever sold at auction, weighing in at an astonishing $450 million. Director Andreas Keofoed positions this story squarely at the intersection of capitalism and myth-making, posing the question: is this multi-million dollar painting actually by Leonardo, or do certain powerful players simply want it to be? The Lost Leonardo detangles how a painting became a pawn in a geopolitical game played by the world’s wealthiest and most powerful people, ultimately revealing how vested interests became all-important, and the truth secondary. —Shayna Weingast

Release Date: Opens NY & LA Friday, August 13, 2021

Directed by: Andreas Koefoed

Written by: Duska Zagorac, Andreas Dalsgaard, Mark Monroe, Christian Kirk Muff, and Andreas Koefoed

Featuring: Dianne Modestini, Yves Bouvier, Evan Beard, Robert Simon, Alexander Parish, Warren Adelson, Luke Syson, Martin Kemp, Frank Zöllner, Maria Teresa Fiorio, Jacques Franck, Kenny Schachter, Bruce Lamarche, Jerry Saltz, Robert K Wittman, Alexandra Bregman, Georgina Adam, Alison Cole, Bradley Hope, Doug Patteson, Stephane Lacroix, Antoine Harari, Didier Rykner, David D. Kirkpatrick, and Bernd Lindemann

Distributed by: Sony Pictures Classics

Genre: Art, Documentary

Running Time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Bitchin’: The Sound and Fury of Rick James

Website: Tribeca

Tribeca Film Festival Synopsis: This profile of legendary funk/R&B icon Rick James captures the peaks and valleys of his storied career to reveal a complicated and rebellious soul, driven to share his talent with the world. Known for his unapologetic and charismatic stage presence, James has been celebrated for his massive catalog of such hit songs as "Mary Jane" and "Superfreak." In this definitive portrait, acclaimed filmmaker Sacha Jenkins examines the brain beneath the braids, charting his soaring artistic success and eventual personal decline. Sexuality, race, and the tumultuous stew of American culture all contributed to the transformation of the songwriter born as James Ambrose Johnson into the larger-than-life performer forever known as Rick James. Against a soundtrack that compels you to get out of your seat from the opening moments, Jenkins approaches his subject not with reverence, but instead with indisputable care as he delves into the circumstances that birthed this one-of-a-kind personality. Surprising and enlightening, Jenkins’ film still pulls no punches with its exploration of James’ tragic obsessions. Comprised of rare archival performances, animation, interviews with family and collaborators and recorded conversations with James himself, this crowd-pleasing film proves the impact that this undeniable force had on American music and popular culture. —Loren Hammonds

*Part of the Juneteenth programming

Coming soon to Showtime

Directed by: Sacha Jenkins

Written by: Sacha Jenkins, Steve Rivo, and Jason Pollard

Distributed by: Showtime Networks

Genre: Documentary, Music

Running Time: 1 hour 51 minutes

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