TFF2017 Archives - Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer

Juno Temple and Julia Garner Shine in ‘One Percent More Humid’ at TFF

dorriolds — Sat, 22 Apr 2017 15:46:39 +0000

Tribeca Film Festival’s feature narrative, One Percent More Humid, premiered last night in Chelsea at the SVA Theater. The haunting coming-of-age story centers on two childhood friends on a break from college who reunite in their New England hometown. It’s a sweltering, sticky summer, hence the title. Iris (Juno Temple) and Catherine (Julia Garner) find relief in the cooling waters of the local lake.

Juno Temple as Iris in ‘One Percent More Humid’

It soon becomes clear that their seemingly carefree skinny-dipping at the beautiful secluded spot, runs deeper. Iris and Catherine are obviously troubled. Sensitively written and directed by Liz W. Garcia, the town and its characters are so palpable, filled with realistic details. I felt like she intimately knew this world.
“I grew up in Ridgefield, Connecticut,” said Garcia, “and was haunted by events in that town. I wrote One Percent to get these characters out of their dilemma.”
The beauty of this indie is its slow reveal. Under Garcia’s direction, the camera zeros in on hints, telling the story through breadcrumb snippets. In one scene, the two actresses subtly convey a hint of sabatoging their well-being. Iris, chain-smoking, confides to Catherine that she’s having amazing sex.
But, instead of bubbly, she’s under pressure. The weight is knowing the affair is ill-advised. “I’m seeing my thesis advisor. I’m sleeping with him. He’s married.” Her professor is played by the magnetic Italian actor Alessandro Nivola.
In another scene we witness Catherine, drunk, in a bar, throwing herself at the brother of what we learn later is an important connection. But eventually, the viewer discovers he’s manipulating Catherine to garner information that will sink her.
Details of the girls’ shared grief boils to the surface, and we see that this is more than typical college-aged angst. They are wading into a torrential storm of self-destruction. Every action they take—pot, pills, alcohol, obsessive sex—is an attempt to feel better. They’re numbing themselves because they can find no absolution for guilt that rains down on them.
One Percent More Humid is one of the fine offerings by women directors this year. Through the storytelling, Garcia gifts us with what’s lacking in so many blockbusters: the woman’s perspective. Temple and Garner rise to the level of A-list performers; they’re effervescent and make it look effortless.

Showtimes:

Sun., April 23, 4:15pm, Cinepolis Chelsea 03
Mon., April 24, 7:45pm, Cinepolis Chelsea 01
Tues., April 25, 10pm, Regal Battery Park Theater 11
Drama, 98 min.

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Tribeca Film Festival 2017 Celebrates Women

dorriolds — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 00:25:45 +0000

The 2017 Tribeca Film Festival begins Wednesday, April 19 and runs through Sunday, April 30. This is the 16^th year of awe-inspiring offerings. Many thanks go to co-founders Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro for this long-standing celebration of New York City, movies, media, and activism.
The festival is known for its exquisite mix of pure entertainment and searing documentaries. Jane Rosenthal said, “You have to remember, the festival started as a way to help our community after 9/11 and to bring people together and to bring a community together. That kind of activism is the DNA of this festival, not just of us as individuals.”

TFF cofounder Jane Rosenthal. Photo by Dorri Olds.

Ever since its inception, Rosenthal has championed the power of women by showcasing their work. Not only are there 25 female jurors this year, but out of 98 festival selections, 32 are helmed by female filmmakers. There has never been a more important time for solidarity among women.

Highlights of 2017 TFF Feature Films Directed By Women

For showtimes click on film titles

One Percent More Humid Iris (Juno Temple) and Catherine (Julia Garner), are overwhelmed with grief after a shared tragedy. They turn to using sex like a drug to numb out and spin out into self-destruction. The movie was written and directed by Liz W. Garcia.
Flames Real-life couple, filmmaker Josephine Decker and artist Zefrey Throwell, filmed their romantic relationship over a five-year period. Movie viewers experience the pair during their giddy in love phase and high on their creative juices. Viewers watch the couple’s sexual encounters, knowing there is another woman in the room, she is off-screen but recording every intimate detail through her camera. It’s an eerie and fascinating concept to watch a relationship from its gleeful beginning to its soured end.

Blame This is 22-year-old writer-director Quinn Shephard’s feature debut. She also plays the starring role of emotionally unstable Abigail who lands the lead in class for Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Mean girl Melissa Bowman (Nadia Alexander) is pissed. The substitute drama teacher (Chris Messina) notices the hostile classroom environment and steps in to rally for vulnerable Abigail. The timing is tricky, though. The teacher’s marriage is strained, leaving him shaky, too.

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story Written and directed by Alexandra Dean, this is a new look at a Hollywood legend. Although known for her beauty, she had an incredible mind. Through the film we learn about her inventions, including a secret communication system for the Allies to beat the Nazis. She never received credit for her engineering innovations.

I Am Evidence Every year in America, thousands of rape kits containing DNA evidence are left untested by police. Over 175,000 kits have been uncovered. Only eight states (Georgia, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York) have passed laws requiring that rape kits be tested by police. As a result, decades worth of kits have been shelved, the cases are unsolved and the perps are free. Directed by Trish Adlesic and produced by Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order SVU’s Olivia Benson.
Warning: This Drug May Kill You This timely documentary by Perri Peltz takes an unflinching look at the devastating effects of addiction through the stories of four families whose lives have been decimated by addictions that began with prescriptions to pain meds.
To keep up TFF2017 highlights, follow @DorriOlds and #Tribeca2017.

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Tribeca Film Festival 2017 Celebrates the 45th Anniversary of The Godfather

dorriolds — Mon, 10 Apr 2017 13:08:02 +0000

Update: Tribeca Film Festival The Godfather Reunion was magical.

Diane Keaton, James Caan, Francis Ford Coppola, Al Pacino, Talia Shire, Robert Duvall and Robert De Niro reunited at Radio City Music Hall, NYC

Tribeca Film Festival in the 16th year of the annual cultural movie marathon festival, announced the program’s big closer. On Saturday, April 29, movie lovers will be treated to a celebration of the 45th anniversary since The Godfather hit theaters. There will be back-to-back screenings of the The Godfather and The Godfather Part II at Radio City Music Hall. An all-star panel will follow the screenings. The discussion will include Hollywood gold including director Academy Award®-winning director Francis Ford Coppola and A-list actors Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, and Robert De Niro. Beyond our wildest dreams for us cinephiles.
Following this once-in-a-lifetime cast reunion at the Tribeca Film Festival in celebration of the 45th anniversary of The Godfather, Paramount will release all three films in the epic crime saga on Blu-ray^™, DVD and Digital HD May 9th.
The discs include hours of bonus content, including commentary by Francis Ford Coppola on all three films, as well as fascinating behind-the-scenes features on the unlikely events, intrigue, allegiances and luck that put together the unknown director with the “unwanted” cast. The special features also explore the film’s enduring influence on popular culture, the impact of the locations and music, interviews with the filmmakers and cast, a Corleone family tree and historical timeline, photo galleries, storyboards and much, much more.

PANELISTS

Al Pacino

Actor and director Al Pacino was born in East Harlem and grew up in New York City’s South Bronx. He attended the School of Performing Arts until he moved on to study acting at the Herbert Berghof Studio with Charles Laughton, and later, at the Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg. His first leading part in a feature film was in the 1971 drama Panic in Needle Park. The following year, Francis Ford Coppola selected him to take on the breakthrough role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award®.

Robert Duvall

A leading man since the 1960s, Robert Duvall has specialized in driven characters of all types. Respected by his peers and adored by audiences worldwide, he has earned numerous Oscar® nominations for his performances in The Judge, The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, The Great Santini and The Apostle. Duvall won the Academy Award® and a Golden Globe® as Best Actor for his role in Tender Mercies. In addition, he has received Golden Globe® Awards for his performances in the title role of HBO’s Stalin as well as for his memorable turns in Apocalypse Now and Lonesome Dove.

Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro launched his motion picture career in Brian De Palma’s The Wedding Party in 1969. In 1974, De Niro won the Academy Award® for Best Supporting Actor for The Godfather, Part II. In 1980 he won his second Oscar®, as Best Actor, for Raging Bull. De Niro has also received five Academy Award nominations for his work including Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, and Silver Linings Playbook. In 2009, De Niro was the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors. De Niro takes pride in his production company, Tribeca Productions, the Tribeca Film Center, (which he founded with Jane Rosenthal in 1988,) and in the Tribeca Film Festival, which he founded with Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff. Tribeca’s A Bronx Tale in 1993 marked De Niro’s directorial debut and in 2016 he directed Tribeca’s The Good Shepherd.

James Caan

One of the most versatile actors in film, James Caan is best known for his Academy Award® nominated performance as Sonny Corleone in The Godfather and for his Emmy®-nominated portrayal of football star Brian Piccalo in Brian’s Song. Appearing in more than 50 movies, Caan also earned great recognition starring in Rob Reiner’s critically acclaimed film Misery; and For The Boys, co-starring Bette Midler. He was equally praised for his performance as a brain damaged football star in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Rain People. Caan made his directorial debut and starred in the critically acclaimed film Hide In Plain Sight.

Francis Ford Coppola

Francis Ford Coppola was born in Detroit and grew up in Queens, NY. After graduating from Hofstra and UCLA, he worked as screenwriter, film director, and producer. He is a five-time Academy Award® winner. His film credits include Patton, The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, The Conversation, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Francis has also been producing wine for over 35 years at his Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley wineries. His other business interests include luxury resorts in Central America, Argentina, and Italy, and an award-winning short story magazine, Zoetrope: All-Story. Francis’s current interest is in a new from of entertainment he calls Live Cinema, being a combination of theater, film, and television. He is presently working on a long-form screenplay he hopes to produce in this new medium.

Taylor Hackford

Taylor Hackford was the director of the Academy Award® winning films Ray and An Officer and a Gentleman. In addition, he helmed the beloved features Against All Odds, The Devil’s Advocate, Dolores Claiborne, and Blood In, Blood Out. Hackford most recently directed Robert De Niro in The Comedian. His feature documentary work is equally acclaimed, with Chuck Berry: Hail!, Hail! Rock n’ Roll and When We Were Kings, a behind-the-scenes look at the legendary 1974 bout between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, which won for Best Documentary Feature. He has served two terms as president of the Directors Guild of America.

Talia Shire

Talia Shire comes from a family of artists. The Yale drama school alum has appeared in over fifty movies and television shows, received two Academy Award® nominations, and won the NY Film Critics Award for her performance in Rocky (1976). She and her husband Jack Schwartzman independently financed and produced several movies among them Never Say Never Again (1983) and Rad (1986) whose sequel is currently in development. In 1994 she directed One Night Stand. In 1994 Jack Schwartzman died. In 1997 she was one of several producers on the Tony nominated play “Golden Child.” Family is at the center of her life. Talia’s children continue on in the same tradition of theatre and film. Her two step children John Schwartzman (Cinematographer) and Stephanie Schwartzman (Artist), her son Matthew Shire (Writer/Producer), Jason Schwartzman (Actor/Musician/Writer/Director/Producer), & Robert Schwartzman (Actor/Musician/Director/Producer).

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