The 12 films selected in this year’s World Documentary competition showcase some of the most important international issues including reconciling homosexuality and religion (Memoirs of a Penitent Heart), financial crime (Betting on Zero), militarisation of the Police (Do Not Resist), and America’s broken criminal judicial system (The Return, Untouchable).
From edible insect hunters and conflicting religious beliefs to seeking out the cause of happiness, these truth-telling stories will have you enraptured by their human perspectives.
“We’re excited to share with audiences how the world of independent documentary filmmaking is thriving”.
Here are the films selected in the World Documentary Competition:
St.Vincent in CONTEMPORARY COLOR. Photo by: Jarred Alterman and Wyatt Garfield
Contemporary Colour
Bill Ross and Turner Ross (USA) – World Premiere
In the summer of 2015, legendary musician David Byrne staged an unprecedented event at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center to celebrate the art of color guard—synchronized dance involving flags, rifles, and sabers—by pairing regional color guard teams with performers, including St. Vincent, Nelly Furtado, and Ad-Rock. More than a concert film, Contemporary Color is a cinematic interpretation of a one-of-a-kind live event, courtesy of visionary filmmakers Bill and Turner Ross.
After a big argument with her family over her lack of direction, GINGER visits her
favorite place in New York City, the Coney Island waterfront. From the film ALL THIS PANIC.
Photographer: Jenny Gage
All This Panic
Jenny Gage (USA) – World Premiere
What is it like to come of age in New York City? First-time director Jenny Gage follows vivacious sisters, Ginger and Dusty, and their high school friends over the course of their crucial teen years. In this sensitive and cinematic documentary, Gage captures all the urgency, drama, and bittersweetness of girlhood as her subjects grapple with love, friendship, and what their futures hold.
Bill Ackman, CEO of Pershing Square Capital, from the film Betting On Zero. Ackman photo courtesy Bloomberg. Composite by Ryan Loeffler.
Betting on Zero
Ted Braun (USA) – World Premiere
Allegations of corporate criminality and high-stakes Wall Street vendettas swirl throughout this riveting financial docu-thriller. Controversial hedge fund titan Bill Ackman is on a crusade to expose global nutritional giant Herbalife as the largest pyramid scheme in history while Herbalife execs claim Ackman is a market manipulator out to bankrupt them and make a killing off his billion dollar short.
Ben Reade holding two palm weevil larvae in BUGS. Photographer: Andreas Johnsen
BUGS
Andreas Johnsen (Denmark) – World Premiere
Head Chef Ben Reade and Lead Researcher Josh Evans from Nordic Food Lab are on a mission to investigate the next big trend in food: edible insects. Filmmaker Andreas Johnsen follows the duo on a globe-trotting tour as they put their own haute-cuisine spin on local insect delicacies (bee larva ceviche, anyone?) in the pursuit of food diversity and deliciousness.
An analyst inspects several video feeds of a wide-scale surveillance system that has been developed for police forces to help reduce crime in DO NOT RESIST.
Film Still by Craig Atkinson
Do Not Resist
Craig Atkinson (USA) – World Premiere
In Do Not Resist, director Craig Atkinson, through keen and thoughtful observances, presents a startling and powerful exploration into the rapid militarization of police forces in the United States. Filmed over two years, in 11 states, Do Not Resist reveals a rare and surprising look into the increasingly disturbing realities of American police culture.
Still from the title sequence of the film (featuring a well-trained goose). One of several typographic components of the documentary.
Image Credit: Karim Charlebois-Zariffa
The Happy Film: a Graphic Design Experiment
Stefan Sagmeister, Ben Nabors and Hillman Curtis (USA) – World Premiere
Designer Stefan Sagmeister takes us on a personal journey to find out what causes happiness. Experimenting with three different approaches—meditation, therapy, and drugs—Sagmeister embarks on an entertaining and introspective quest, accented with a whimsical panoply of graphics, charts, and proverbs. The Happy Film may not make you happier, but it will surely move you to reexamine your own pursuit of happiness.
Rabbi Boruch Oberlander & Csanad Szegedi in a Jewish in Miskolc Jewish cemetary, Hungary. From the film KEEP QUIET. Photo by: Márton Vizkelety
Keep Quiet
Joseph Martin and Sam Blair (UK, Hungary) – World Premiere
Passionate in his anti-Semitic beliefs, Csanád Szegedi was the rising star of Hungary’s far-right party until he discovers his family’s secret—his maternal grandparents were Jewish. The revelation prompts an improbable but seemingly heartfelt conversion from anti-Semite to Orthodox Jew. This captivating and confrontational film explores the complex and contradictory character of Szegedi, prompting deep questions about Szegedi’s supposed epiphany. In English, Hungarian with subtitles.
Blake & Young Blake in LoveTrue. Photographer: Alma Har’el
LoveTrue
Alma Har’el (USA) – World Premiere
Alma Har’el, director and cinematographer of the 2011 TFF Best Documentary Feature Bombay Beach, returns with LoveTrue, a genre-bending documentary, demystifying the fantasy of true love. From an Alaskan strip club, a Hawaiian island, and the streets of NYC—revelatory stories emerge about a deeper definition of love. Set to a hypnotising score by Flying Lotus and executive produced by Shia LaBeouf.
These two Polaroidsóone showing Miguel Dieppa with his partner Aquin, the other with his mother Carmenówere taken in the late 1980s when Miguel was hospitalized at Columbia Presbyterian in New York. A generation later, director Cecilia Aldarondo discovered them 3,000 miles apart from one another. From the film MEMORIES OF A PENITENT HEART. Photo Credit: Jorge Dieppa
Memories of a Penitent Heart
Cecilia Aldarondo (USA, Puerto Rico) – World Premiere
Like many gay men in the 1980s, Miguel moved from Puerto Rico to New York City; he found a career in theater and a rewarding relationship. Yet, on his deathbed he grappled to reconcile his homosexuality with his Catholic upbringing. Now, decades after his death, his niece Cecilia locates Miguel’s estranged lover to understand the truth, and in the process opens up long-dormant family secrets. In English, Spanish with subtitles.
Kenneth Anderson in THE RETURN. Cinematographer: Emily Topper
The Return
Kelly Duane de la Vega and Katie Galloway (USA) – World Premiere
How does one reintegrate into society after making peace with a life sentence? California’s controversial and notoriously harsh three-strikes law was repealed in 2012, consequently releasing large numbers of convicts back into society. The Return presents an unbiased observation of the many issues with re-entry through the varied experiences of recently freed lifers.
Bassem
Youssef and daughter Nadia at home in Cairo, Egypt. From the film TICKLING GIANTS. Photo by Sarkasmos
Productions LLC
Tickling Giants
Sara Taksler (USA) – World Premiere
Charting Bassem Youssef’s rise as Egypt’s foremost on-screen satirist, Tickling Giants offers a rousing celebration of free speech and a showcase for the power of satire to speak for the people against a repressive government. Where this story differs from the familiar success of Youssef’s idol, Jon Stewart: Bassem’s jokes come with serious, dangerous, and at times revolutionary consequences. In Arabic, English with subtitles.
A convicted sex offender drives at night through Oklahoma City. From the film UNTOUCHABLE. Photographer: Nadia Hallgren
Untouchable
David Feige (USA) – World Premiere
When a powerful Florida lobbyist discovered his daughter was sexually abused, he launched a crusade to pass some of the strictest sex offender laws in the country. Today, 800,000 people are listed in the sex offender registry, yet the cycles of abuse continue. David Feige’s enlightening documentary argues for a new understanding of how we think about and legislate sexual abuse.
Having showcased legendary filmmakers, discovered directors and Oscar nominees in its 15-year history, this year’s selection looks set to continue its reputation for cutting edge documentaries.
If you are interested in attending the Festival, passes and ticket packages are currently on sale here, with single ticket sales available for purchase from 29th March 2016.
Make sure to join the conversation with THN at Tribeca ’16.
Frank
Apr 17, 2016 at 1:47 pm
Hello Sacha,
In the beginning of your story the film title is Memories of a Penitent Heart , not Memoirs.
Is it possible to get that corrected?