In the Heights by John M. Chu
The Tribeca Film Festival has announced today the lineup for its 20th anniversary edition, taking place June 9-20 and including 56 world premieres, one international premiere, four North American premieres, one U.S. premiere, and four New York premieres. The features program will screen 66 films from 81 filmmakers from across 23 different countries, including several U.S. Latinx and Latin American films.
As previously announced, In the Heights, the film adaptation of the Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda directed by Jon M. Chu will have its world premiere as opening night of the film festival. Starring Anthony Ramos, Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Jimmy Smits, Miranda and Marc Anthony, the film tells the story of a bodega owner who has mixed feelings about closing his store and retiring to the Dominican Republic after inheriting his grandmother's fortune.
The documentary competition will host the world premiere of On the Divide, directed and written by Leah Galant and Maya Cueva, which chronicles the lives of three Latinx people in McAllen Texas, whose different beliefs end up coming to a head at the last abortion clinic in the US/Mexico border.
The Puerto Rican film Perfume de Gardenias directed by Macha Colón will have its world premiere in the Viewpoints section of the festival dedicated to narratives and documentaries that recognize distinct voices in independent filmmaking by creating a home for bold directorial visions and embracing distinct characters or points of view. Starring Luz María Rondón, Sharon Riley, and Katira Álvarez, the film tells the story of a grieving elderly woman who after the death of her husband is enlisted by a coterie of gossipy elderly women in her neighborhood to plan and create custom funerals—offering seniors a chance to plan in advance how they want their funerals to be presented, and how they want their lives to be celebrated.
The documentary film Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It by Puerto Rican director Mariem Pérez Riera will have its New York premiere in Tribeca Critics’ Week. From New York City kid to movie star and to women’s rights activist, the indomitable Rita Moreno has enjoyed a storied life in the spotlight. Here the dynamic icon shares the challenges of being a Latina in Hollywood and the triumphs of her incredible 70 year career.
499 by Rodrigo Reyes
Additionally, nine Latinx and Latin American films that were scheduled to premiere at last year’s canceled festival have been invited back for long awaited in-person premieres in 2021. The participating titles include the powerful hybrid documentary 499 examines Cortez’s legacy almost five centuries later through the eyes of a stranded conquistador traveling through Mexico. The film is a cinematic meditation on the violence that still vibrates through society.
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.
Tribeca alums Mariana Rondón and Marité Ugás (Bad Hair) return with Contactado, a captivating 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. Chronicling the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Cecilia Aldarondo’s Landfall is a sensitive and urgent portrait of the continued fraught relationship between the US and Puerto Rico, a land in mourning and resistance.
While the Bronx burned, Lorine claimed her place as queen of the NYC street gang The Savage Skulls. 40 years later, she examines her impact in the intervening years: as mother, spiritual advisor, activist, and keeper of a controversial legacy in Raquel Cepeda’s La Madrina: The [Savage] Life of Lorine Padilla.
Directed by Colombian-American filmmaker Jonathan Cuartas, the moody American indie feature debut My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell it to follows Dwight and his sister Jessie who reach a crossroads over what to do about their little brother Thomas, a sickly child with a mysterious affliction.
An affecting story of raw talent, passion and naivete, The Last Out 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. Through the Night by Loirla Limbal is a poignant and intimate documentary examines the emotional toll on families in pursuit of the American dream, told through the lens of a 24-hour daycare center in Westchester.
Based on true love, the decades spanning romance I Carry You With Me / Te llevo conmigo begins in Mexico between an aspiring chef (Armando Espitia) and a teacher (Christian Vázquez). Their lives restart in incredible ways as societal pressure propels them to embark on a treacherous journey to NYC with dreams, hopes, and memories in tow.
