More Tribeca: Shorts, Schools and Baseball

By S.T. VanAirsdale

The final batch of Tribeca '07 selections officially made the rounds today, featuring a total of 84 shorts in 13 programs. Among these, 62 are in competition, including world premieres by Bill Plympton (Shut-Eye Hotel) and Julia Stiles (Raving) and a few grizzled fest veterans like Jem Cohen's beautiful NYC Weights & Measures and Sophie Barthes' peripatetic Happiness. Follow the jump below for full program and selection information.

In other Tribeca news:

--I absolutely love stuff like this: In the tradition of NYC's established inner-city programs like Ghetto Film School and Reelworks in Brooklyn, the five-week Tribeca Teaches: Films in Motion program kicks off today with a Tribeca Institute-designed curriculum for students at Bronx Preparatory Charter School. Ninety middle-schoolers and 30 high schoolers will participate, with their films planned for editing and compiling for a program April 28 at Bronx Prep Community Day. Meanwhile, the festival itself expands into the Bronx with three yet-to-be-determined Tribeca selections screening at an in-school fest April 27. Check back with The Reeler's Tribeca coverage next month for more from these events.

--Remember all the gripes last year about the AMC Loews Lincoln Square being too far flung (not to mention nominally incongruous) to make sense as a Tribeca venue? Well, the festival staff listened -- sort of. Lincoln Square is gone, replaced by a pair of AMC Loews theaters on the East Side: Kips Bay and 72nd Street. Which is fine with me, as Reeler HQ is a 10-minute walk from the latter, but which reignites the contention that theaters sprawled around Manhattan defy the sense of community under which the festival was launched five years ago (but which, by definition, upholds its current mission). Whatever -- as long as Fred Durst does a Q&A on the UES, you won't hear complaints from me.

--Finally, the fest wants to know: What's the greatest baseball movie ever? Shout enough of your fellow sports wonks down, and you may see it screened May 5. To which I respond at 100 decibels: Bull Durham. Is there another baseball movie? And if Bang the Drum Slowly wins, I swear to God I'm charging the mound.

Follow the jump for shorts selections, and keep an eye here for The Reeler's continuing coverage of Tribeca '07.

2007 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL -- SHORTS SELECTIONS

The jurors for each of the shorts categories: narrative (N), documentary (D) and student (S) will be announced at a later date.

The following shorts will be shown before feature films as noted below:

· MEMORIES ABOUT SAYAT NOVA (Vospominania o Sayat Nove), directed by Levon Grigorian (Armenia/Italy) – North American Premiere. (D) with To Die A Little.

· WE WILL WIN, directed and written by Mahmoud Hojeij (Lebanon) – World Premiere. (N) with A Slim Peace.

· SHUT-EYE HOTEL, directed by Bill Plympton (U.S.A.) – World Premiere. (N) with The Last Jews of Libya.

· EDDEAA, directed by Saman Arbabi (Iran/Sweden) – International Premiere. (N) with Half Moon.

The thematic programs are:

Archiving Identity, a program of experimental shorts, which as a point of departure, all utilize previously filmed footage to address issues of personal and cultural identity.

· NYC WEIGHTS AND MEASURES, directed by Jem Cohen (U.S.A.). (D)

· A YEAR, directed by Mark Street (U.S.A.) – World Premiere. (D)

· WHO BY WATER, directed by Bill Morrison (U.S.A.) – North American Premiere. (D)

· LOSS, directed by Kristen Nutile (U.S.A.) – New York Premiere. (D)

· THE SMALL ONES, directed by Lynne Sachs (U.S.A.) – World Premiere. (D)

Balance Beam, the characters in these shorts try to maintain a foothold as they navigate the bumpy road of life.

· GREETINGS FROM EARTH, directed by Kim Jacobs (U.S.A.) – World Premiere. (N)

· I AM AN APARTMENT BUILDING, directed and written by Lara Azzopardi (Canada) –New York Premiere . (N)

· COUGH DROP, directed and written by Kristina Lear (U.S.A.) – World Premiere. (S)

· UNLOCKED, directed and written by Daryl Wein (U.S.A.). (N)

· RISE AND SHINE (Sabah Al Fol), directed by Sherif El-Bendary (Egypt.) – North American Premiere. (N)

· MENGED, directed and written by Daniel Taye Workou (Ethiopia) – New York Premiere. (N)

· LENS LOVE STORY, directed and written by Sonia Whiteman (Australia) – North American Premiere. (N)

Desperate Measures -- the characters in these diverse shorts look for a way out, a way in, or a way to make sense of it all.

· FIRST FLUSH (Ynglinge), directed and written by Mikkel Munch-Fals (Denmark). (N)

· A MOMENT TO BREATHE (Un Attimo Di Respiro), directed and written by Sara Colangelo (Italy/USA) – New York Premiere. (S)

· RED & BLUE (Azraa Wa Ahmar) directed and written by Mahmood Soliman (Egypt) –North American Premiere . (N)

· THE SHADE (Sayeh), directed and written by Mohammad Gorjestani (Canada) –
North American Premiere . (S)

· GOOD LUCK NEDIM (Sretan Put Nedime), directed by Marko Santic, written by Goran Vojnovic (Slovenia) – North American Premiere. (S)

· CLEAR CUT, SIMPLE (Khayen) , directed by Vineet Dewan (U.S.A.) – New York Premiere. (S)

· REFUGE CITY (Miasto Ucieczki) , directed by Wojciech Kasperski (Poland) – North American Premiere. (S)

Express Stops Only our New York, New York Program rides the express train with a fast-moving selection of big city shorts.

· SAY YOU CAN SEE, directed and written by Tony Caio (U.S.A.) – World Premiere. (N)

· RED SHOES, directed and written by Li-Anne Huang (U.S.A.) – World Premiere. (S)

· LOCK, directed by Ming Kai Leung (U.S.A.) – World Premiere. (S)

· A NICK IN TIME, directed by Bé Garrett (U.S.A.) – New York Premiere. (N)

· SUPER POWERS, directed by J. Anderson Mitchell and Jeremy Kipp Walker, written by J. Anderson Mitchell (U.S.A.). (N)

· RAVING, directed and written by Julia Stiles (U.S.A.) – World Premiere. (N)

· HAPPINESS, directed and written by Sophie Barthes (U.S.A.) – New York Premiere. (N)

· IN VIVID DETAIL, directed by Dara Bratt, written by Dara Bratt, Kieran Dick (Canada/U.S.A.) – World Premiere. (S)

Family Legacy, the past melds seamlessly with the present as these documentary shorts explore the heart and soul of places called "home."

· A SON'S SACRIFICE, directed by Yoni Brook (U.S.A.) – North America Premiere. (D)

· SALIM BABA, directed by Tim Sternberg (India/U.S.A.) – North American Premiere. (D)

· ANDERMAN, directed by Jaap van Heusden (Netherlands) – International Premiere. (D)

· GOING HOME, directed by Hung P. Nguyen (U.S.A.) – New York Premiere. (S)

· DISPLACED, directed by Andrew Berends and Michiel Pilgram (U.S.A.) – World Premiere. (S)

· SOMEONE ELSE'S WAR, directed by Lee Wang (U.S.A./Philippines) – World Premiere. (S)

Life Support, four very different worlds with four very different stories that challenge perceptions of morality and mortality.

· TOWER BLOCK (Hochhaus), directed and written by Nikias Chryssos (Germany) – New York Premiere. (N)

· THE LAST DOG IN RWANDA (Den sista hunden i Rwanda), directed and written by Jens Assur (Sweden) – New York Premiere. (N)

· THREE TOWERS, directed by Yoni Bentovim and Emily Harris, written by Etgar Keret, Shira Geffen (UK, Italy) – U.S. Premiere. (N)

· ILLEGAL, d irected and written by Andrew Oh (U.S.A.) – World Premiere. (N)

Mood Enhancer, a group of unusual and very imaginative short films.

· ONION UNDERWATER, directed and written by Paul Yates (U.S.A.) – World Premiere. (S)

· THE WATER AND THE MILK (La leche y el agua), directed and written by Celso García (Mexico). (N)

· HEART OF WHISTLER, directed by Ken Hegan, written by John Meadows, Ken Hegan (Canada) – U.S. Premiere. (N)

· LAWRENCE, directed and written by Gregory Mitnick (U.S.A.) – New York Premiere. (S)

· TELL IT TO THE FISHES, directed and written by William Sinclair (U.K.) – New York Premiere. (N)

· COLOR ME OLSEN, directed and written by Darren Stein (U.S.A.) – World Premiere. (N)

· I AM BOB, directed and written by Donald Rice (U.K.) – World Premiere. (N)

Portraits of Women, this program of experimental shorts brings together diverse stylistic ways in which filmmakers portray the image of women in society. All five short films will precede So, a feature documentary by Aimee Jennings.

· MANUELLE LABOR, directed by Marie Losier (U.S.A.) – New York Premiere. (N)

· I JUST WANTED TO BE SOMEBODY, directed by Jay Rosenblatt (U.S.A.) - New York Premiere. (D)

· HER HEART IS WASHED IN WATER AND THEN WEIGHED, directed by Sasha Waters (U.S.A.) – New York Premiere. (D)

· LUCIA AND THINGS, A FILM IN NINE FRAMES (Lucía y las cosas), directed and written by Andrés Riva and Paula Abramovich Gullco (Argentina) – U.S. Premiere.

· LOST: IN MEMORIAM, directed by Anita Thacher (U.S.A.) – World Premiere. (D)

Taken To Extremes, these documentary shorts illuminate personal passions, diverse dedications and occasional obsessions.

· PIECE BY PIECE, directed by Sachi Schuricht (U.S.A.) – New York Premiere. (S)

· ALOHA NEW YORK, directed by Carolina Cruz Santiago (U.S.A.) – World Premiere. (S)

· SAND DANCER, directed by Valerie Reid (New Zealand) – International Premiere. (D)

· THE COMMON SENSE FARM, directed by Kathleen Russell (U.S.A.) – New York Premiere. (S)

· A WARM, COMFORTING HOME, directed by Annette Apitz (U.S.A.) – New York Premiere. (D)

· MISS CHINATOWN, U.S.A., directed by Kathy Huang (U.S.A.) – World Premiere. (S)

Ulterior Motives, a group of emotional short films about trust, betrayal, and the complexity of relationships.

· FOOL ME ONCE, directed and written by Paco Farias (U.S.A.) – New York Premiere. (N)

· RED ANGEL, directed by Matthew Ross (U.S.A.) – World Premiere. (N)

· PRETEND (Nagpapanggap), directed and written by Debbie Formoso (U.S.A./Philippines) – World Premiere. (S)

· TRUE COLOURS, directed by Barney Elliot (U.K). (N)

· BREATHE, directed and written by Juliet Porter (Australia) – New York Premiere. (S)

· WHEN THE TIDE TURNS, directed by Campbell Maynes, written by David A. Fellows (Australia) – International Premiere. (N)

· VARTAN LLP, directed and written by Myles Price (U.S.A.) – New York Premiere. (S)

We are Here: New Shorts from Lebanon

Presented in collaboration with ArteEast, Ashkal Alwan (Beirut) and the Kevorkian Center at NYU.

· WINDOW, directed by Rana Salem - International Premiere.

· NO CONNECTION, directed by Myriam Sassine - International Premiere.

· BREAKING NEWS, directed by Hisham Jaber - International Premiere.

· TANK YOU, directed by Ziad Antar - International Premiere.

· TO THE LEBANESE CITIZENS, directed by Ali Cherry - International Premiere.

· LEBANON/WAR: SHORT VIDEOS, directed by Rania Stephan - International Premiere.

· LEBANON/WAR: DAILIES OF THE WAR, directed by Rania Stephan - International Premiere.

· JULY TRIP, directed by Wael Noureddine - International Premiere.

Family Film Shorts Programs

Show and Tell

Determined young cowboys, magical fish, marbles, dumplings, wild and fanciful dreams and more come alive in this youthful and entertaining shorts compilation for children 8+.

· AMARELINHA, directed and written by François Choquet (U.S.A.) – World Premiere.

· CHINESE DUMPLINGS, directed by Michelle Hung (U.S.A.) – North American Premiere.

· DORME (SLEEP), directed and written by Sylvia Binsfeld (U.S.A.) – World Premiere.

· THE FISH MIRACLE SKY (WHEN FISHES CRY, THE MIRACLE, CLOSER TO THE SKY), directed and written by George Racz (U.S.A.) – World Premiere.

· FOR ALL THE MARBLES, directed by Kris Booth, written by Brian Hartigan (Canada) – North American Premiere.

· THE MELANCHOLY PUFF MACHINE, directed by Jennifer Oxley, Nicholas Oxley (U.S.A.) – World Premiere.

· TOMMY THE KID, directed and written by Stuart Clegg (Australia) – North American Premiere.

Short Attention Span

Nostalgic about those teenage years? Take a trip down memory lane and remind yourself that life after 18 isn't bad after all. Laughter, sadness and vivacity – it's all part of growing up. 16+

· DEAR LEMON LIMA, directed and written by Suzi Yoonessi (U.S.A.) – World Premiere.

· EXPLODING BUDS (Knospen Wollen Explodieren), directed by Petra Schröder (Germany).

· LINES, directed and written by Sonja Jasansky (U.S.A.) – World Premiere.

· LOOK BOTH WAYS, directed by Daniel Oron, written by Daniel Oron and Jeffrey K Rohrs (Canada) – New York Premiere.

· THORNDIKE, directed and written by Chris Teague (U.S.A.) – New York Premiere.

· WOODEN SOUL, directed by Rehana Rose Khan (U.K.) – New York Premiere.

· YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU (Do Mundo Nao Se Leva Nada), directed and written by Charly Braun (Brazil) – International Premiere.

Posted at March 19, 2007 4:56 PM