Tribeca Film Festival has announced its 2021 lineup. Set to take place June 9-20 with a mix of live in-person events at outdoor venues, the fest is celebrating its 20th edition. Sixty percent of features in the program are directed by women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ filmmakers.
Women-directed titles screening in the U.S. Narrative Competition include Hannah Marks’ “Mark, Mary & Some Other People,” the story of young newlyweds who decide to open up their marriage to other sexual partners, and Nana Mensah’s “Queen of Glory,” a portrait of a Ghanaian-American woman whose plans to leave her Ivy League doctoral program and follow her married lover across the country are derailed following her mother’s sudden death.
Leah Galant and Maya Cueva’s “On the Divide” and Jessica Kingdon’s “Ascension” are among the films in the Documentary Competition slate. The former sees three Latinx people in McAllen, Texas with differing beliefs making their way to the last abortion clinic on the U.S./Mexico border, and the latter explores the contemporary “Chinese Dream.”
Set to screen in the International Narrative Competition, Elisabeth Vogler’s “Roaring 20’s” will give audiences the opportunity to travel to Paris and spend a day in the City of Light during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Geeta Malik’s “India Sweets and Spices,” a coming-of-age story about a college freshman who confronts her parents’ values for the sake of exploring her own identity, is featured in the Spotlight Narrative program, while Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine’s “LFG,” a look inside the U.S. women’s national soccer league and their continuing fight for equal pay, will screen in the Spotlight Documentary section.
“The Legend of the Underground,” Giselle Bailey’s investigation into discrimination in Nigeria, is part of the Viewpoints program.
The fest’s Midnight slate includes Samantha Aldana’s “Shapeless,” the story of a New Orleans lounge singer with an eating disorder whose inner demons are gaining strength.
“Despite the challenges our industry faced this past year, it did not stop filmmakers, artists, and storytellers from creating compelling, entertaining, and thought-provoking content,” said Paula Weinstein, chief content officer of Tribeca Enterprises. “The selections for each of these categories represent the tenacity and commitment of our creative community and we are so proud to include them as part of this year’s Festival and share them with our returning in-person audiences.”
