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March 2007
2007 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL news

THE 2007 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES SELECTIONS FOR ITS COMPETITION AND SPOTLIGHT SECTIONS, continued

 

 

Restored/Rediscovered:


Continuing the Festival’s commitment to showcasing some of the most significant and amazing artistic achievements in the history of filmmaking, this section, co-curated by Martin Scorsese and Peter Scarlet, includes newly restored or preserved copies from some of the world’s leading film archives. 



·         Attica, directed by Cinda Firestone. (U.S.A., 1974) – World Premiere Revival.

In 1971, inmates at Attica State Prison seized control of D-yard and took 35 hostages after peaceful efforts for reforms failed. Attica investigates the rebellion and its bloody suppression, revealing institutionalized injustices, sanctioned dishonesty, and abuses of power. Attica provided courtesy of The New York Public Library, Donnell Media Center and New York Women In Film & Television. 


·         Autumn Days (Días de oto?o), directed by Roberto Gavaldón, written by Julio Alejandro, Emilio Carballido. (Mexico, 1962.) – North American Premiere Revival. Pina Pellicer, best known here for her role opposite Brando in One-Eyed Jacks, gives an unforgettably touching performance in this subtle melodrama as a naïve girl who finds work in the big city, then fashions an alternate reality in the wake of a disastrous love affair. Gabriel Figueroa¹s stunning b&w photography invigorates this new restoration from Mexico¹s Film Archive.


*        The Forty-first (Sorok pervyi), directed by Grigori Chukrai, written by Grigori Koltunov, (Russia, 1956.) – World Premiere Revival. One of the first major films of the post-Stalinist thaw and a 1957 Cannes award-winner, The Forty First’s remarkable power stems largely from the stunning camerawork of Sergei Urusevsky (The Cranes Are Flying, I Am Cuba), who creates a timeless landscape of sand, water and sky for an unexpected love story between a female Red Army sniper and a White Army officer.


·         The Letter Never Sent (Neotpravlennoe), directed by Mikhail Kalatozov, written by Valeriy Osipov, Viktor Rozov, Grigoriy Koltunov. (Russia, 1959) – World Premiere Revival. The third collaboration between the phenomenal director/cinematographer duo of Kalatozov and Sergey Urusevskiy (The Cranes Are Flying, I Am Cuba), this film traces four geologists' search for a diamond mine as they face natural disasters in the merciless Siberian wilderness, rendered in all its overwhelming power by an extraordinary, unhinged camera.


·         Night of the Hunchback (Shabe ghuzi) directed by Farokh Ghaffary, written by Jalal Moghaddam. (Iran, 1965.) – World Premiere Revival.  This dark comedy, a key masterwork of Iranian cinema, has long remained unseen in the West. Adapted from a story in 1001 Nights and set in a popular theatre troupe, the story follows the death of an actor in a farcical accident and the brilliantly elaborate gags and misunderstandings that abound in subsequent attempts to dispose of his body.


*        The Pelican (Le pélican), directed by Gérard Blain, written by Marie-Helene Bauret, Gérard Blain. (France, 1973) – North American Premiere Revival. Dubbed "the French James Dean," for his roles in films by Claude Chabrol (Le beau Serge, Les cousins) and Howard Hawks (Hatari), Gérard Blain’s work as director never surfaced in the U.S. This is his masterpiece, a moving account of parental love and obsession, filmed in a rigorous style that recalls Bresson or Dreyer-sans religion.


*        To Die A Little (Morir Un Poco),directed by Álvaro J. Covacevich. (Chile, 1966.) –  North American Premiere. Memories About Sayat Nova, directed by Levon Grigorian. (Armenia, 2006.) –  North American Premiere. Two Remarkable Rediscoveries: To Die A Little, an unknown jewel of Latin American filmmaking, lost for nearly 40 years until it was unearthed last year, features images recalling Cassavetes and Rouch. Memories About Sayat Nova reveals astonishingly beautiful, newly discovered scenes from Sergei Paradjanov’s masterwork Sayat Nova, which was censored by the Soviet government.


Midnight:


For those audiences in need of something left of center, the Midnight section offers the dark, the creative, the strange, and everything in between. From rat zombies and vampires to alien sex cults, a comedian’s criticism of critics to raunchy blokes doing unheard of stunts, this collection of films may be shocking, creepy, or gross but they’re always fun.


*        Black Sheep, directed and written by Jonathan King. (New Zealand) – New York Premiere. An entrepreneurial farm owner wants to revolutionize the industry with genetically engineered sheep. But when environmental activists try to stop him, they accidentally unleash his baaaad experiment into the world. And this sheep likes blood. In a country where sheep outnumber humans, the last thing you should ever do is piss them off.  An IFC First Take Release. 


*        Dirty Sanchez, directed by Jim Hickey. (U.K.) – North American Premiere. Think Jackass on crack and you've got the boys of Dirty Sanchez-Great Britain's troupe of raunchy madmen on a world tour of depravity. With wicked nasty stunts such as liposuction drinking games, beer enema shotguns, things that shouldn't be done with male genitalia, and more, Dirty Sanchez should be viewed with a cast-iron stomach and a twisted sense of humor. Mature audiences only.


*        Heckler, directed by Michael Addis. (U.S.A.) – World Premiere.  Comedian Jamie Kennedy confronts hecklers and heckled alike in this wry, spirited documentary. With appearances from limelight veterans like Rob Zombie, Mike Ditka, George Lucas and Bill Maher, Heckler illuminates the often contentious relationship between those in the spotlight and the critics in the crowd.


*        In the Land of Merry Misfits, directed and written by Keven Undergaro. (U.S.A.) – World Premiere.  A wrong turn lands a young college graduate in a colorful realm of seriously twisted fairytales and wacky ne'er-do-wells on noble quests. To escape and win back his girlfriend, this unlikely hero must help a whimsical group of madcap misfits thwart the accepted social order and capture "The Grail of Popularity."


*        The Matrimony, directed by Teng Huatao, written by Zhang Jialu, Yang Qianling.  (China) – North American Premiere. In 1920's Shanghai, wealthy Junchu loses his fiancée in a freak accident and is coerced by his mother into marrying Sansan, a near stranger. Soon afterward, Sansan's body is inhabited by the devious ghost of Junchu's dead lover, sending her on a downward spiral of madness and murder in this captivating gothic horror. In Mandarin.


*        Mulberry Street, directed by Jim Mickle, written by Nick Damici, Jim Mickle.

         (U.S.A.) – New York Premiere. One sweltering summer day in Manhattan, the streets explode into chaos as a rat-borne virus breaks out. With every bite, city dwellers turn into bloodthirsty, rodent-like creatures that violently attack other residents. Seven recently evicted tenants fight through the night for survival as the city quickly spirals out of control.


*        The Poughkeepsie Tapes, directed and written by John Erick Dowdle. (U.S.A) - World Premiere. When hundreds of videotapes showing torture, murder and dismemberment  are found in an abandoned house, they reveal a serial killer's decade-long reign of terror and become the most disturbing collection of evidence homicide detectives have ever seen. Brutal and engrossing, actual footage from these tapes mixed with interviews with FBI profiles and victims’ families begin to expose the many layers to this mystery.


*        Rise: Blood Hunter, directed and written by Sebastian Gutierrez. (U.S.A) - World Premiere. Reporter Sadie Blake (Lucy Liu) awakens in a morgue and realizes she is no  longer human. Trying to resist the thirst for blood, she vows to hunt down the sect responsible for her situation, and kill the vampire that changed her. Chalk fill of action, this slayer flick is sure to thrill. With Michael Chiklis. A Destination Films/Samuel Goldwyn Release.


*        Scott Walker – 30th Century Man, directed by Stephen Kijak. (U.S.A./U.K.) –  New York Premiere. Scott Walker is one of rock music's most enigmatic figures. This astonishing look at the reclusive artist features exclusive footage of Walker recording his latest critically acclaimed album, The Drift, as well as interviews with the man himself, famous fans and collaborators such as David Bowie, Radiohead, Brian Eno and Jarvis Cocker.


*        Unearthed, directed and written by Matthew Leutwyler. (U.S.A.) –World Premiere 

        When an archeologist obsessed with the mysterious disappearance of an ancient Native American people uncovers a subterranean lair in the New Mexico desert, a blood-thirsty creature is unleashed on a small town. In the wake of the carnage, the people's only hope is a quick-thinking rogue sheriff and the ritual medicine of the lost tribe.


*        The Workshop, directed and written by Jamie Morgan. (U.K.) – World Premiere. A spiritual search for answers leads the filmmaker to a California workshop run by a guru who promotes sexual adventure-and the existence of aliens. In this amusing and emotional film, Jamie and his friends shed their clothes and inhibitions for a wild ride of sex, fear, love, anger, betrayal and joy. Mature audiences only.


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