The Tribeca Film Festival kicks off its 2016 edition Wednesday and we've got a few previews for you throughout the week. We start things off with what is undoubtedly the most notable change to this year's festival. The good folks at Tribeca have decided to split their 2016 narrative competition into two categories. Echoing Sundance, this year's fest will have separate US Narrative and International Narrative comps. If the program guide is any indication, it looks to have been a very smart decision as the US films on offer appear to be an excellent selection of domestic indie filmmaking talent with some great sounding films in the International section as well.
Here's a sampling of some of the films that caught our eye. We'll be back tomorrow to check out the documentaries both in and out of competition.
Live Cargo
This black and white drama stars Dree Hemingway (Starlet) and Keith Stanfield (Short Term 12) as husband and wife working through a painful episode when tragedy strikes in the Bahamas. It's directed by first timer Logan Sandler and is produced by Oren Moverman. - Ryland Aldrich
US Narrative Competition
Dreamland
Rooney frontman Robert Schwartzman's feature debut about a down-on-his-luck pianoman who meets a mysterious woman stars Johnny Simmons, Amy Landecker, Noël Wells, and Robert's brother Jason. - Ryland Aldrich
US Narrative Competition
Mother
This third feature by Estonian female director Kadri Kõusaar (Magnus) is a pretty funny sounding dark comedy about a mother who eaves drops on a group of friends as they confess their wrong doings to her comatose son. - Ryland Aldrich
International Narrative Competition
Folk Hero & Funny Guy
Even if our own Ryland Aldrich didn't produce it, the premise and the key cast members would catch our eye. Actor and filmmaker Alex Karpovky has perfected the art of comic exasperation on TV's Girls; here he plays an aspiring stand-up comic who's encouraged to take some time off and ends up road tripping with a childhood friend (rising star Wyatt Russell) and another musician (Meredith Hagner). Complications are sure to follow, and we hope they'll be both compelling and surprising. - Peter Martin
US Narrative Competition
AWOL
If you've seen Mistress America or watch Amazon's Mozart in the Jungle then you are probably a fan of up and coming thesp Lola Kirke. In Deb Shoval's debut feature, Kirke plays a young woman, who on the eve of her departure to the army, finds herself falling for a lonely housewife. - Ben Umstead
US Narrative Competition
Junction 48
The great value of the art form of hip-hop as a means of rebelling against oppressive political and social structures, as well as its truly global reach, is given vibrant and vital form here. The film follows aspiring Palestinian rapper Kareem (real life Arab rap star Tamer Nafar) as he copes with the daily struggles of living in the crime-ridden ghetto of Lyd, a mixed Jewish-Arab city just 20 minutes from Tel Aviv. - Christopher Bourne
International Narrative Competition
The Ticket
Dan Stevens, Malin Ackerman, Kerry Bishé, and Oliver Platt star in Ido Fluk's follow-up to Never Too Late and centers on a man struggling to improve his life after he miraculously regains his sight. - Ryland Aldrich
US Narrative Competition
Madly
An anthology film on the many forms love takes in our lives, Madly includes shorts from such world renowned directors as Sono Sion and Sebastian Silva, as well as directorial work by actor Mia Wasikowska and Bat for Lashes' Natasha Khan. - Ben Umstead
International Narrative Competition
Always Shine
Well known indie actress Sophia Takal (V/H/S, Gayby) impressed us all with her feature directing debut Green. Her Sophomore effort stars Mackenzie Davis and Caitlin Fitzgerald as two actresses who go on a road trip to explore their deteriorating friendship. - Ryland Aldrich
US Narrative Competition
Kicks
This feature debut from AFI Grad Justin Tipping tells the story of a poor dude from Oakland who will do anything for the freshest sneakers in town. It's produced by David Kaplan whose impressive credits include It Follows, Short Term 12, Obvious Child, and Drinking Buddies. - Ryland Aldrich
US Narrative Competition
Dean
Demetri Martin's directorial debut casts himself alongside Kevin Kline, Gillian Jacobs, Rory Scovel, Ginger Gonzaga, Reid Scott, and Mary Steenburgen. Expect to be tickled silly. - Ryland Aldrich
US Narrative Competition
Icaros: A Vision
Amazonian experimental drug dramas are all the rage right now (see: Embrace of the Serpent). This one takes place in Peru and is directed by South American visual artists Leonor Caraballo and Matteo Norzi. - Ryland Aldrich
International Narrative Competition
Parents
When their adult son moves out, a Danish couple begins to question their worth as well as their love in Christian Tafdrup's surreal coming-of-middle-age tale. - Ben Umstead
International Narrative Competition