499 by Rodrigo Reyes
Tribeca Film Festival has announced the lineup for its 2020, which will take place April 15 - 26 in New York City and includes several Latin American titles from Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Trinidad and Tobago, and the U.S., most of them in their world premiere.
The Documentary Competition will host the world premiere of Rodrigo Reyes’ 499, a powerful hybrid documentary that examines Hernan Cortez’s legacy almost five centuries later through the eyes of a stranded conquistador traveling through Mexico; and Cecilia Aldarondo’s Landfall, which chronicles the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, and is a sensitive and urgent portrait of the continued fraught relationship between the US and Puerto Rico, a land in mourning and resistance. Reyes and Aldarondo’s films will be competing for Best Documentary Feature, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing.
Also having its world premiere in the Documentary Competition is The Last Out, directed by Sami Khan. An affecting story of raw talent, passion and naivete, the film follows three Cuban baseball players with Major League dreams who, facing difficult choices, embark on radically different paths when those dreams don’t pan out.
The International Narrative Competition will host the world premiere of four Latin American films from Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago. Tribeca alums Mariana Rondón and Marité Ugás (Bad Hair) return with Contactado, a captivating Peruvian drama about an aging self-proclaimed prophet who revisits his past as a spiritual guru after an eager young follower entices him to return to preaching.
I’m No Longer Here by Fernando Frías
Kokoloko, starring Alejandra Herrera, Noé Hernández and Eduardo Mendizábal, is the most recent film by Mexican director Gerardo Naranjo (Miss Bala). In a tropical seaside village, Marisol pursues personal freedom while navigating between the two men in her life – her lover and her violent cousin who is keeping her captive.
The Chilean film Nobody Knows I’m Here / Nadie sabe que estoy aquí by Gaspar Antillo and produced by Juan de Dios Larraín and Pablo Larraín follows Memo, who lives on a remote Chilean sheep farm, hiding a beautiful singing voice from the outside world. A recluse with a glittery flair, he can’t stop dwelling on the past, but what will happen once someone finally listens?. In Maya Cozier’s She Paradise, when naïve teenager Sparkle joins a dance crew of confident older girls, she encounters an alluring but unsettling new world of sex and money in this snapshot of sisterhood in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Viewpoints section of the festival, which includes narratives and documentaries and recognizes distinct voices in independent filmmaking by creating a home for bold directorial visions and embracing distinct characters or points of view, will host the U.S. premiere of Fernando Frías’ I’m No Longer Here / Ya no estoy aquí. The film follows 17 year-old Ulises who loves to dance. But when the local cartel mistakenly targets him, he’s forced to flee his home in Mexico, landing alone in the wilds of Queens.
In Jayro Bustamante’s La Llorona, as the patriarch of a privileged family stands trial accused of genocide, a new housemaid comes to the house. Her presence unleashes something– is it the pent-up tensions of a family at the breaking point, or does she bring something more sinister with her from the depths of Guatemalan folklore?
La Llorona by Jayro Bustamante
Winner of the top prize for Best Film at the San Sebastian Film Festival, Pacified / Pacificado by Paxton Winters will have its U.S. premiere in Viewpoints. Following the violent clean-up and occupation of Brazilian favelas for the Rio Summer Olympics, timid teenager Tati is drawn to the father she’s never met in this layered, vivid portrayal of a world where loyalty to your neighbors comes above all else.
In 2013, the Dominican Republic stripped the citizenship of anyone with Haitian parents, rendering over 200,000 people without nationality, identity or homeland. Michèle Stephenson’s documentary film Stateless / Apátrida explores this complex history and politics through one young woman’s fight to protect the right to citizenship for all people.
The Tribeca Critics’ Week will host the New York premiere of I Carry You With Me, the narrative debut by acclaimed documentarian Heidi Ewing’s, which is a cross-border romantic drama about a gay New York chef reflecting back on his experiences coming of age in Mexico; and Lux Aeterna, by Argentine-born French director Gaspar Noé.
And lastly, the Spotlight Documentary section of the festival will host the world premiere of the music documentary Hydration by U.S. Latina director Mimi Valdés. The film takes audiences backstage and behind the scenes of Pharrell Williams’ ground-breaking Something in the Water festival, using music to bring together his divided hometown of Virginia Beach. Featuring exhilarating live performances by legendary music artists Jay Z, Missy Elliot, Gwen Stefani and others.
