New Highlights
Where to begin!?
First, let's talk Chanel. First, there was the women's filmmaker's luncheon (see an earlier post), but the big guns came out last night for the Chanel Tribeca Festival Artists Dinner at the ever-popular Balthazar restaurant in SoHo. Everyone was there! Check out Penelope Cruz, Andrew Garfield, and the very cute trio of Amandla Stenberg, Lucy Boyton, Rebecca Dayan. Of course, the correct outfit of choice was Chanel. (and all these images are thanks to Getty Images. Yay!)
Meanwhile, just a few blocks over, the premiere party for "Reinventing Mirazur" was held at the exclusive Carbone restaurant. Quite fitting for a documentary about the three-Michelin star restaurant, Mirazur. But what a scene to get into Carbone. The rule has to go: if you were invited and you can show your invitation, you can get in. Period. Luckily it was a warm night out for a bit of waiting that was due to that pesky thing known as, capacity limits. But once inside, the vibe was light, the food was amazing, the photo booth (GIFs!) fun, and the chatting energizing.
Being double-booked already, I gave my ticket to the premiere of "Roving Woman" to a fabulous filmmaker named Anna Fishbeyn who is also on the case as my eyes and ears. This piece will be updated shortly with her POV from this event. (and thanks, Mason, for the invite). *Updated - now in from Anna: The film was really interesting and deep, with a lot of sadness. It was about a woman alone, traveling on the road, meeting strangers looking for human contact and warmth. I stayed for the Q and A. During the exchange, the main actress Lena Grove spoke about the complexities of filming during Covid and filming in the car in L.A. with hidden cameras and many improvised scenes with real people that they met on the road. It was a Polish co-production. For the director of the film, it was the first time he had ever been to New York, it was his first feature, and it was his first festival. John Hawkes was not in attendance, but Lena and the director talked about how they eventually convinced John to create songs for the movie, and be part of the project. Also, almost the entire Polish crew team was in attendance at the festival. It was an extremely fascinating and informative Q and A.
Thanks, Anna!
Now, let's talk screenings! "Liquor Store Dreams" by first-time director So Yum Un is a killer docu that examines not only tensions between Korean liquor store owners and Black communities in which they sell, but also the intergenerational dynamic between the store owners and their children. It's powerful, and also gives a lot of hope for the future on both fronts.
With Juneteenth coming up, I feel like TF has outdone itself with films either representing or directed by Black people. From "The D.O.C" to "Untrapped: The Story Of Little Baby" to "Civil" to "Loudmouth" to "Beauty," "The Big Payback," and others, there is def inclusion. Will be seeing two of these in just a bit so stay tuned for my reaction.
Along these lines, the buzz is big on the Questlove promo for "The New York Times" new marketing push making its debut at TF. The Times is going after the film-going crowd and is collaborating with figures such as this Oscar winner to draw attention. Cool, however, I always think it's such a missed opportunity for such notables to ask about the number, say, of Black females in decision-making positions currently at The Times, number of programs to support media partnerships with media owners of color, and more as a condition of such contracts before jumping in head first to create value. Food for thought.
BTW, the Festival team inside the Immersive section is definitely repping for the sponsor. :-)
Ah, almost forgot! B.J. Novak made his feature film directorial debut with Vengeance starring Ashton Kutcher, Issa Rae, Dove Cameron and J. Smith-Cameron, at BMCC…with a surprise appearance by Mindy Kaling. Derek Jeter and his wife Hannah Jeter celebrated the premiere of the ESPN docu-series The Captain, along with teammate CC Sabathia, former manager Joe Torre, and the series’ executive producer, Spike Lee. Peep what you missed (as always, thanks Getty Images!)
Much more to come! Don't miss it...