Okayplayer.com brings you the skinny on our favorite flicks from the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, sponsored in part by The Lincoln Motor Company. These recommendations represent the best of our time spent at the festival from the red carpet to the theater and offer a sneak peek at a bit of what's to come on the silver screen. After sitting in on a host of awesome music documentaries and feature films our crew had some awesome things to say about One9 and Erik Parker's Time Is Illmatic, Alan Hicks and Quincy Jones' Keep On Keepin On, Lucky Them from Emily Wachtel and Megan Griffiths, Ian Cheney's The Search For General Tso, Gia Coppola's Palo Alto and The Untitled James Brown Documentary from director Alex Gibney. We also take a look at director Duncan Wolfe's Alethea - a film about self-discovery and the creative process, presented with the help of Lincoln Motor Company - and give a few shout to a couple of festival films we were not able to catch. Click through to get lowdown on each of the aforementioned flicks ahead of their impending arrival in theaters. Stay tuned for more from the Tribeca Film Festival.
1. Time is Illmatic
Okayplayer was on hand for the debut of Erik Parker and One9's Time Is Illmatic documentary about Nasir Jones and his seminal Illmatic LP. This was quite a big night. Tribeca founders Jane Rosenthal and Robert DeNiro kicked the party off as he uttered the sentence, "Tribeca is a festival made for New York and about New Yorkers. Time is Illmatic is a testament to that..."
The film did a good job documenting Nas' world from his cerebral perspective, which guided and characterized his seminal Illmatic LP - arguably the greatest hip-hop album of all time. The doc paid special attention to the positive guidance and strength that he drew from his late Mother Ann Jones, brother Jungle and father Olu Dara, who was in attendance.
At the conclusion of the film with the screen rising, Alicia Keys made a cameo with a short piano ballad, leading into DJ Green Lantern starting off what seemed like Nas homecoming recital to his friends, family and Tribeca attendees. You could see the joy and happiness in Nas as he went through each track shouting out his friends in the crowd; "Large Professor - you remember this one!" and "Wale, what are you doing here?" stand out as memorable quotes of the night. The evening concluded with Nas' brother Jungle and his two children joining him on stage. The momentous occasion was a great kickoff to the festival. Check the trailer above for a preview of Time Is Illmatic. Stay tuned for more.
2. Keep On Keepin' On
Quincy Jones Productions brought an inspiring and wonderful story about the bond and camaraderie between Jazz Great Clark Terry - one of the greatest living musicians and rising pianist Justin Kauflin to the screen. The wholesome family affair marked the first appearance at the festival for director Alan Hicks - also a student of Terry's. This beautiful film, which picked up the Heineken Audience Award for Best Documentary, is impossible not to love. Our friend Natalie Hernandez from Quincy Jones Productions says that films like these show "the connection between greats like Quincy Jones and the power of mentorship to continue this art." The Music moves on through that love for the art and person to person connections.
The performance following the film found some of the greatest musicians in the world sharing the stage, with Kauflin, Diane Reeves, Herbie Hancock, Roy Hargrove and many others hitting together. The brilliant film was an absolute highlight of the festival.
3. Untitled James Brown Doc
Soul man James Brown's story has simply never been told in as comprehensive and compelling a manner as Alex Gibney's untitled project conveys it. The film follows the Brown from the cradle to the stage, essentially chronicling the entire legacy of funk's proliferation through one man’s embattled journey. Compiling rare concert footage, interviews and testimonies from virtually all of the living members of the JBs throughout all of the group's incarnations, Gibney’s untitled, unfinished project roars from beginning to end. The documentary covers not only the man’s legendary band and musical impact, but his cultural impact and complicated disposition when it came to politics and his role as an activist in the fight for civil rights. Hopefully this film gets picked up quickly for distribution, as JB’s story is one that is much too important to go unheard. Check this film out when it comes to a theater near you. Let Alex Gibney show you that everything is on the one.
4. Lucky Them
Okayplayer had the opportunity to cover the red carpet for Lucky Them - a cute film about a down on her luck music journalist tasked with writing the story of her life while in the process of searching for her long-missing enigmatic rock star former boyfriend played by Johnny Depp. The film--starring Academy Award-nominated actress Toni Collete and Thomas Haden Church--yielded some strong performances highlighted by Church's undeniable comedic talents. While the film does little to dramatize the relationship between music journalists and the real drama of chasing rockstars, the film - a labor of love for Megan Griffiths,Emily Wachtel and the family of the late Paul Newman - is a tale of self-discovery and reinvention that is definitely worth a look.
5. Palo Alto
Gia Coppola's Directorial Debut proves that the Coppola lineage continues to successfully churn out good films with a recognizable yet unique aesthetic. Palo Alto seeks to capture what Coppola calls "those things we all grow up going through." Boosted by a stellar performance from James Franco, the film was a solid effort for the first-time director. It also benefited from the contributions of music supervisor Dev Hynes, who created several new tracks that fit extremely well with the film. Teenage angst is a theme that books and films have attempted to convey throughout time. This film does a more than decent job of portraying it through several capable actors with solid performances from stars Emma Roberts and Jack Kilmer, who Coppola noted she used to babysit. The film - a big draw at the festival - drew an interesting crowd of young hopefuls and Hollywood elite. Check the trailer above for a taste of the film.
6. The Search For General Tso
This little gem of a documentary tells the story of the origins of the Americanized Chinese dish General Tso's chicken. The documentary from Ian Cheney (Peabody winning director of King Corn) follows meticulous research into the subject of the unique story about the popular dish and how it came to be named after a historical Chinese General known for fiercely battling Western imperialism. The more interesting point may be how that historical figure's story managed to stray so far into American culture. The documentary filmmakers travel far and wide to Shanghai, Hunan, Taipei, New York, San Francisco, New Mexico, the midwest and elsewhere in the country to chronicle the Chinese immigrant diaspora. In addition, they pay homage to struggles also faced by these groups as a result of the American bigotry and racism affecting this society. While shedding light on the impact of racist laws like The Chinese Exclusion Act, the film never quite reaches soapbox-level preachiness, allowing it to remain accessible and effective. The story develops flawlessly, revealing all of the unique processes that can happen in a country as unique as America where Chinese restaurants exist all over. It should be interesting for everyone to see how that process happens, Chinese or not. This film would be a hit on television food channels and an awesome thing for families to watch together. Check the trailer and look for the documentary to hit a screen near you.
7. Alethea
The Tribeca Film Festival closed this year with the short film Alethea from director Duncan Wolfe. The film about the creative process stars NYC actress Else Carette on a journey of self discovery. Wolfe and Global Lincoln Director Matt VanDyke commented on the film in a recent article from RMN Stars:
“This project appealed to me because we weren’t required to know the final destination until we arrived,” Wolfe said. “The freedom to film in one expressive act – guided by intuition and a commanding sense of place – was very appealing.”“Alethea” unfolds before the viewer without dialogue, using stylized camera work and evocative lighting. The film was developed from start to finish in less than 30 days.
“Much like our collaborations with Beck and Aloe Blacc, working with Duncan presents us with a unique opportunity to reach a new audience in an engaging way,” said Matt VanDyke, Director, Global Lincoln, which underwrote his film.
Honorable mention shouts go to IVERSON - a documentary feature on the highs and lows of basketball great Allen Iverson - from director Zatella Beatty and Bjork: Biophilia Live from Pulse Films. Check the trailer below to preview the forthcoming film about Allen Iverson.
