The Tribeca Film Festival: 22 Most Must-Watch Movies

The Tribeca Film Festival has always felt as if it were continually gaining its footing. Falling in between behemoths such as Cannes, Sundance and SXSW, it’s held the air of the scrappy underdog, despite one of its founders being Robert De Niro. Over the years it’s quietly assumed its voice, becoming a showcase for new and rising talents, innovative documentary filmmaking and a place where great television has come to be as celebrated as the films surrounding it. With an eye for all things innovative – such as whole demonstrations of Virtual Reality technology – there’s a hodge podge nature to the festival but if you know where to look there are definite gems.

This year we’ll see festival favorites such as “The Miseducation of Cameron Post,” “Disobedience” and “Mary Shelley” swing through along with the staple Tribeca talks that include Bradley Cooper, De Niro and Sarah Jessica Parker along with a 35 year anniversary screening of “Scarface.” In the lineup you’ll find indie stars being given leading roles, small name directors who blew us away first time around returning to the spotlight, a focus on female filmmakers and anything from an intimate look at sex and love to a story about companionship as the undead. It’s eclectic and every year there’s a film such as “Love After Love,” “Always Shine,” “Zero Motivation”or “The Survivalist” to unearth.

“Duck Butter”
Director: Miguel Arteta
Cast: Alia Shawkat, Laia Costa, Hong Chau, Kate Berlant
Synopsis: Two women, jaded by dishonest and broken relationships, make a pact to spend 24 uninterrupted hours together, having sex on the hour. Their romantic experiment intends to create a new form of intimacy, but it doesn’t quite go as planned.

“Cargo”
Director: Ben Howling, Yolanda Ramke
Cast: Martin Freeman
Synopsis: An infected father navigates a zombie-riddled Australian Outback with his infant daughter. Fortunately, he’s found an Aboriginal community that may hold the disease’s cure. Unfortunately, he has only 48 hours to live.

“Little Woods”
Director: Nia DaCosta
Cast:  Tessa Thompson, Lily James, James Badge Dale
Synopsis: In this dramatic thriller set in the fracking boomtown of Little Woods, North Dakota, two estranged sisters are driven to extremes when their mother dies, leaving them with one week to pay back her mortgage.

“Maine”
Director: Matthew Brown
Cast: Laia Costa, Thomas Mann
Synopsis: A married woman’s journey of self-discovery and introspection while solo-hiking the Appalachian Trail ends up sidetracked when she encounters a lone hiker.