Tribeca Film Festival has announced its 2020 slate. Of 114 features set to screen, 44 are directed or co-directed by a woman, amounting to about 39 percent of the slate. The fest’s 18th edition includes offerings from familiar names such as as Julie Delpy and Jamie Babbit as well as fresh voices like Cecilia Aldarondo.
Delpy’s “My Zoe” and Babbit’s “The Stand-In” are part of the Spotlight Narrative section. The former is described as a “hybrid of drama and science fiction” and explores the tie of parent and child, and the latter is comedy about a Hollywood actress who swaps places with her stand-in so she can enjoy anonymity.
Aldarondo’s “Landfall,” a portrait of the relationship between the U.S. and Puerto Rico that chronicles the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, will screen in the Documentary Competition. Also included in this program are “Jacinta,” Jessica Earnshaw’s exploration of the hereditary nature of trauma, and “Pray Away,” Kristine Stolakis’ exposé of gay conversion programs.
Alice Wu’s “The Half of It” and Brea Grant’s “12 Hour Shift” are among the titles in the U.S. Narrative Competition. “The Half Of It” finds a shy, overachieving Chinese-American student helping a jock woo the girl they both love. “12 Hour Shift” follows a nurse struggling to make it through her double shift alive.
The International Narrative Competition includes Maya Cozier’s “She Paradise,” a portrait of a teen who joins a dance crew of older girls and is ushered into a new world of sex and money.
Featured in the Spotlight Documentary slate are “Athlete A,” Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk’s look inside the world of elite competitive gymnastics — and the toxic culture within that enabled decades of sexual abuse to occur — and Mimi Valdés’ “Hydration,” which offers behind-the-scenes access to Pharrell’s Something in the Water festival in Virginia Beach.
Raquel Cepeda’s “La Madrina: The Savage Life of Lorine Padilla,” a documentary that sees a spiritual advisor and activist reflecting on her past as Queen of an NYC street gang, will screen in the Viewpoints program.
The Midnight section is composed of five titles, and all of them are directed by men — unfortunately, film fests have a long history of omitting women-helmed offerings in genre programs.
Tribeca Film Festival will run from April 15-26. Check out the complete lineup over at the fest’s website.
