Tribeca Film Festival, Shorts & TV Shows Round up: Big Stories, Little Packages

With the large variety available at Tribeca this year, I did a taste test of the short films and shows. With my choices I attempted to sample different genres, to provide me with a fantastic palette of what Tribeca had to offer. In this, I succeeded. Some will make you laugh, some cry, and others might just creep the hell out of you. What I’ve concluded about this year’s Tribeca Film Festival shorts and series, is that I’m hard-pressed to be disappointed. Let’s begin, shall we?

Short Narrative, Into the Void: Laboratory Conditions (USA)

Directed by Jocelyn Stamat

Laboratory Conditions might just be my favorite short that I’ve viewed. Marisa Tomei plays the lead, a doctor whose patient suddenly gets misplaced. When she sees a strange ambulance outside she decides to follow it, but what she comes across is the last thing she’d expect. Within a local college campus an experiment is going on involving a room with basically every kind of sensor imaginable, and a nearly dead patient. The goal? To observe and sense a person’s soul.

She’s convinced to stick around by researchers Paulo Costanzo and Minnie Driver, to see what happens. The short brings about more questions than answers, and it will undoubtedly be divisive among viewers, as to what really happens.

The result is unexpected, for everyone involved, which concludes with a cliffhanger.  As the credits started I desperately wanted to know what happened, a sign of measurable suspense. With the great cast and interesting horror/sci-fi premise, this narrative short already had me at hello, but the creativity and eerie visuals had me hating goodbye.

For more information on the Tribeca Film Festival website, click here.

Short Narrative, Into the Void: Let Them Die Like Lovers (USA)

Directed by Jesse Atlas

Another stunning addition to Into the void lineup was Let Them Die Like Lovers. This short follows a soldier Alexa (Angela Lewis) who jumps into different bodies, carrying out assassinations for the government. Each victim poses a threat to national security in some way, and this experiment works as a counter-terrorism operation. As the main character repeats her mantra “This is not my body” we see her murder, all from inside another’s unknowing vessel. It’s an intense narrative, but there’s more to it than the science fiction façade.

What’s incredibly potent is the dramatic element of Let Them Die Like Lovers, conveyed with a purposeful script and terrific performance by Lewis. This puts an immense pressure on her,  and why shouldn’t it?

That’s the real pull of this short, with the mirage of duty weighing heavily. Over time, as she continues to execute her missions, morality and perhaps even her sanity, is tested. As the short progresses, we’re never given an explanation for how this works (something about a bathtub and numbers), nor are we given her backstory, but that’s okay. Every few minutes this short film reels you back in, making the 15 minutes feel like a cool and affecting breeze.

For more information on the Tribeca Film Festival website, click here.

Short Narrative, Magic Act: How Tommy Lemenchick Became a Grade 7 Legend (Canada)

Directed by Bastien Alexandre

This is a movie that transports you, laden with nostalgia of both classic video games (even has its chapters separated in levels) and childhood, specifically your first kiss. Ophelia, portrayed by Charli Birdgenaw and with narration that has delightful humor, has a process used to choose the recipient of her first kiss. Since she’s twelve, she’s concerned when a boy reminds her of her cat, or when another’s name means something unsavory in a different language. Ahh, the challenges of youth.

Tommy Lemenchick (Sam Ashe Arnold) however, seems a fitting choice. His interest in a certain video game, that Ophelia’s brother had just gotten, provides her opening for an invitation that he accepts. The short dives into the mind of a young girl effectively, using humor as a way to articulate Ophelia’s monumental experience. It also captures the collective pressures of school life. Tommy doesn’t keep their time together a secret, but what makes him a legend? You’ll have to watch to find out. Hint: it’s not what you expect.

For more information on the Tribeca Film Festival website, click here.

Short Narrative, Animation: Two Balloons (USA)

Directed by Mark C. Smith

This stop-motion animation beauty is a reminder of how a simple story, especially when endowed with love, can be meaningful. These two lemurs, from inside their own ships carried by balloons, admire one another from a distance. They are set to meet up in a designated spot, and between them is the bird that passes their messages, or origami- like creations. Will they find another, or is it meant to be just out of reach?

The gentle, hopeful score by composer Peter Broderick delicately conveys what words don’t, as there is nothing spoken throughout this short film. The animation is terrific. I’ve always been a fan of stop motion, which to me, always adds a quality of wonder, and at times dream-like. This is no exception. It is a majestic viewing experience. Two Balloons lends itself to being cute, without losing the emotional depth embedded within these adorable creatures.

For more information on the Tribeca Film Festival website, click here.

Short Narrative, Lighten Up: Black Label (Spain)

Directed by David Vergés

This was one that did leave something to be desired for me, but very little. Don’t misunderstand my beginning here, because I still enjoyed it.

Lonely gas station attendant, played by Marcel Borrà, flirts with a frequent customer, seems bored with the chatty security guard, and is  pretty indifferent about his employment. The guard, on this night, has him cover so that he can secure a great deal on melons. Yes, melons, black label melons. Which, strangely enough, isn’t the weirdest thing to happen to Borrà on this night.

Women appear, dressed in full glam and glitter, wearing masks (straight out of The Strangers). The three of them dance, in sync, before pulling out their weapons. As he soon realizes, one of the robbers is the girl he’s been crushing on, and in one heated moment, right before she’s gone, its realized that she might just be into him too. There’s a great dance sequence with a perfect choice in music, and I liked the mix of simplicity (in its quick plot) and obscurity (in the details).

In my opinion his smile at the end, as cop blues soar in the background, secured Black Label as a memorable addition.

For information on the Tribeca Film Festival website click here.

Short Narrative, Make or Break: Time Traveller (Ireland)

Directed by Steve Kenny

A bit of whimsy, a bit of reality, and the lingering power of film. Martin is a young boy building a DeLorean Time Machine. A huge fan of Back to the Future, his dream of completing his creation is halted when his family is told they have to vacate the site they live on.

Though his father, John Paul (Barry Ward) is initially frustrated with his son’s obsession, eventually they come together to finish construction. This plays out in a wonderful bonding sequence, that really ties the story together. What makes Time Traveller so great is that it strings together a love of cinema with an example of a child coping when they don’t quite understand why things are happening.

For information on the Tribeca Film Festival website click here.

Short Narrative, Lighten Up: Love-40 (USA)

Directed by Harry Israelson

A couple is playing tennis, and the girlfriend Alice (Lola Kirke) is getting flustered. Her boyfriend (Jack Henry Robbins) continuously interrupts their play. When she ventures for a lost tennis ball amid the sprawling outdoors, she comes across something else: a rattlesnake. When Love-40 begins there’s a quirky quality, with the combination of the music and color schemes. Then, suddenly, she’s bit by a rattlesnake. Is there a danger? Not really the point of the short.

Instead, it’s about a relationship, whittled down to eight minutes, successfully exposing its flaws. The conversation turns to a question of, what would you do for love? Suck the venom out of your significant other’s hand?

Jack Henry Robbins is comically neurotic, which makes the scene even funnier because of how calm Alice is. The snakebite is really just a jumping off point for their break-up, and the script, also written by Harry Israelson, makes it an amusing end.

For more information on the Tribeca Film Festival website, click here.

Tribeca N.O.W Showcase: Driver Ed (USA) 

Directed by Jacob A. Ware

Driver Ed is an online episodic series, and the first three episodes had their premiere at Tribeca. It’s a story about a young man who is forced to take driving lessons to maintain a lie he had provided to his online girlfriend, for who he’s told he was a race car driver. It’s an odd story, with its main character Ed played by Jacob A. Ware (who also has a screenwriting credit and is co-project creator) being especially peculiar, in a way that doesn’t quite meet its charming intentions.

Some of the deadpan humor doesn’t connect either. Over the first three short episodes (totaling 10 minutes), he meets with his instructor Sweet Jody (Eddie Diaz) and a curious attraction begins. This alludes to a future relationship, showing that this chance meet is the precipice for a significant change in Eds life. There’s merit to elements, I just wished the show had gripped me more.
I feel it’s something that will grow into itself as the story progresses, at least I hope. With its limited length, it’s tough to know how to feel entirely. Curiosity though, is inevitable.

For information on the Tribeca Film Festival website click here. All three first episodes available now. Check them out here.

Tribeca Indie Pilots block: Fabled (USA)

Directed by Jennifer Morrison

Refinery29’s newest produced venture, Fabled, premiered as part of Tribeca Film Festivals Indie pilots block. With fairy tale pro Jennifer Morrison at the helm of the first episode, Anodyne, this anthology series starts off in good hands. The series hopes to transcend what we currently know of fairy tale associations and create a platform for strong female roles. Anodyne follows Allie and Dee (also known as Alice and Dorothy) played by Zosia Mamet (who also co-wrote the screenplay with Evan Jonigkeit) and Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

The two creative women meet in a mental health facility, and they’re both looking to get out, and back – presumably – to their real worlds. Of course, here, this is perceived as fictional. There’s a wonderful mix of animated visuals with grounded set pieces. Both actresses, in their limited share screening time, are engaging. As the first entry, and really an opening to the series, I was fascinated to see where it goes. Refinery29 hopes to change the cultural norms associated with these fairy tale characters, and I love that. More, please.

For more information on the Tribeca Film Festival website click here. For more on Refinery29, which has a plethora of great articles and other projects click here.

Stay tuned for more of my Tribeca 2018 coverage coming up!