Some 2019 Tribeca Film Festival Pre-Screening Embargoed Films I’m Considering Checking Out
[April 12 Update– Had been planning to screen XY CHELSEA tonight but received this message from Tribeca Film Festiva: ***THE PRE-FESTIVAL SCREENING OF XY CHELSEA HAS BEEN CANCELED BUT WILL PLAY IN THE FESTIVAL AS SCHEDULED. It probably has to do with the arrest of Julian Assange. What Lawyers Say.]
I’m thinking about seeing 17 BLOCKS tonight, April 11. It sounds like a killer! A review is embargoed until April 27, 3:30 p.m. Violate the embargo and I can kiss my Tribeca Film Festival Press Credential Arse goodbye. So, this isn’t a review.
But I can write the following I got from TFF Publicity written by Oren Hammonds. Nine-year-old Emmanuel began filming himself and his family and his Washington, D.C. neighborhood with a home video camera in 1999. He lived about 17 blocks from the U.S. Capitol. Filmmaker, journalist, and frequent This American Life contributor Davy Rothbart befriended the Sanford family. A 20-year documentation of their daily life in a city plagued by poverty, addiction and gun violence.
WOW!
A World Premier in the Documentary Competition, directed by Davy Rothbart, written by Jennifer Tiexiera. And produced by Alex Turtletaub, Michael B. Clark, Marc Turtletaub, Rachel Dengiz, and Davy Rothbart.
Friday’s, April 12 pre-screenings look like killers too, especially XY CHELSEA, about Chelsea Manning, especially because of the news reports going bonkers-viral about the arrest of Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange. Washington Post headline, ASSANGE ACCUSED OF CONSPIRING WITH CHELSEA MANNING IN 2010 WIKILEAKS RELEASE, SAYS UNSEALED U.S. INDICTMENT.
Ecuador, which granted him asylum seven years ago in its embassy in London, rescinded it and the British police swooped in and grabbed him. One news report said that Eucador changed its mind because Assange allegedly engaged in violations, which weren’t described in the news report. [Here is an update from Robert Mackey of The Intercept.]
A review of XY CHELSEA is embargoed until May 1, but I can report this: Directed by Tim Travers Hawkins, written by Mark Monroe. Produced by Julia Nottingham, Lucas Ochoa, Thomas Benski, Isabel Davis. (UK) — World Premiere, Feature Documentary. Following the shock commutation of her sentence, whistleblower and trans woman Chelsea Manning prepares to leave an all-male military prison in Kansas and transition to living life for the first time as a free woman. With Chelsea Manning, Nancy Hollander, Vince Ward, Chase Strange.
From TFF Publicity by Felix Endara: How did a war in Iraq founded on deception end up with the court marshall of the truth teller? This question frames XY CHELSEA, a documentary set in the aftermath of the release from prison of Chelsea Manning, a former U.S. Army soldier and intelligence analyst convicted of violating the Espionage Act in 2013, after leaking classified U.S. documents to WikiLeaks. Manning’s information revealed illegal practices — such as torture and abuse of detainees and the unreported deaths of over 15,000 civilians — engaged by the U.S. military.
One has to wonder what’s going through the filmmakers’ minds because of the breaking news about the arrest of Assange.
Also, regarding Friday pre-screenings on my list: FRAMING JOHN DELOREAN
Directed by Don Argott & Sheena M. Joyce, written by Dan Greeney & Alexandra Orton for Narrative Scenes. Produced by Tamir Ardon, Nick Spicer, Don Argott, Sheena.
(USA) — World Premiere. The success of infamous auto executive/playboy made his name synonymous with his iconic design. But he and his company crashed in the ’80s: Mismanagement, corruption, and a controversial coke bust. With Alec Baldwin, Josh Charles, Morena Baccarin, Dean Winters, Michael Rispoli, Jason Jones.
TFF Publicity by Brian Gordon also says: If the story of John DeLorean, whose car nowadays is mainly associated with the Back to the Future star, has faded since the cameras, gossip, and intrigue swirled around him in the 80s, his triumphs and downfall, ego, and consequences remain relevant today. DeLorean’s rise at GM began with the immediate success of the GTO but he ticked off the suits with his flamboyant style and attitude that eventually forced him out.
He was free to develop and build his titular dream car, which debuted in 1981. Amid an economic recession, poor business decisions, mismanagement, and his air of invincibility, the company flopped, which led to his infamous coke bust and the revelations of theft.
And that’s it for now.
