15th Annual Tribeca Film Festival Announces Short Film Selections

By: Caryn Robbins Mar. 10, 2016

The 15th annual Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), presented by AT&T, today announced its lineup of 72 selected short films, 45 are world premieres and 53 are in competition at the Festival. The selected shorts were curated from a record number of 3553 submissions and will be presented in eleven programs made up of six narrative, four documentary, and one animation curated by longtime Festival supporter Whoopi Goldberg. The 2016 Tribeca Film Festival will take place April 13 - 24.

"Short-form storytelling has always been an integral part of Tribeca's programming," said Sharon Badal, Vice President of Filmmaker Relations and Shorts Programming. "Short films are where new talent is discovered and new ways of telling stories emerge. Creative content and consumer viewing habits are changing and short films are perfect for this growing audience. We're thrilled to be able to champion these films, and equally excited to provide an opportunity for audiences to see them at the festival."

A special evening of short films with a musical performance will serve as the Festival HUB film program opener on April 15 where Michael Rapaport will debut his short documentary Hard Lovin' Woman which explores the sacrifices acclaimed actress, Juliette Lewis, makes to pursue her first love, music. The rock band, Juliette and the Licks, will perform following the screening. It will be preceded by the short on artist Bradley Theodore, Becoming: Bradley Theodore, directed by Matt Pizzano.

TFF has several first-time short programs this year: a music-driven documentary selection (Rock and a Hard Place), Sci-Fi (Warped Speed), and a program of stories from the west coast (California Dreaming).
A program celebrating powerful sports stories (Sports Shorts) has also been created as a new addition to the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival sponsored by Mohegan Sun. These new sections join the traditional programs from years past including global truths (First Impressions), profound life lessons from the US and abroad (Learning Curve), documentary shorts addressing historical and timely issues (Past Imperfect), and international studies (Pressure Points). The popular New York shorts return in two programs - one documentary (New York Then) and one narrative (New York Now) both of which are comprised entirely of world premieres.

Rounding out the programming, Whoopi Goldberg, a friend of TFF since its inception 15 years ago who has served as a member of the esteemed jury for the Festival, curates an animated shorts programs aptly titled Whoopi's Shorts. These animated gems are directed by both established and emerging talent from around the world. These shorts, showcasing imaginative storytelling and captivating craft, will all screen at the Tribeca Festival HUB on April 17.

Several TFF Alumni directors return as part of the short film program including Dan Krauss (Oscar Nominated for his last Tribeca Short The Death of Kevin Carter and winner of Tribeca Best Documentary for The Kill Team) premieres the short Extremis, André Øvredal (2010 mockumentary Trollhunter) brings The Tunnel and writer/director Neil LaBute (2013 feature film Some Velvet Morning and short BFF) this year brings his short The Mulberry Bush. Other alumni include Jason Bergh, Daniel Cloud Campos, Patrick Creadon, Reinaldo Marcus Green, Tim Harris, Parker Hill, Claudia Huezo, Evan Ari Kelman, Ralph Laucella, Tobias Louie, Matthew Manson, Jonas Odell, Dana O'Keefe, Bill Plympton, Adam Rackoff, Michael D. Ratner, Christina Shane, David Shane and Paul Stone.

This year's selection features exceptional talent on both sides of the camera. Meryl Streep narrated the short documentary, Auschwitz. Danny DeVito directs his daughter Lucy in the short Curmudgeons produced by his son Jake. Matthew Modine, also a TFF Alumni, directs his daughter Ruby, Ed Asner, Kevin Nealon and Elizabeth Perkins in the short Super Sex. The short Starring Austin Pendleton directed by Gene Gallerano and David H. Holmes features Austin Pendleton, Meryl Streep, Olympia Dukakis, Ethan Hawke, and Natalie Portman. Sandra Oh stars in The Scarecrow, Michael Cera and Andrea Riseborough star in That Dog, and Zosia Mamet, Jane Krakowski and Steve Buscemi star in Mildred and The Dying Parlor. Director Patrick Osborne, who won the 2015 Oscar for Best Animated Short Feast, will make his Festival debut this year with his short Pearl.

This year's shorts program represents work from 23 countries, including Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Kosovo Mexico, The Netherlands, Nepal, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Venezuela and the United States.

Recipients of the Tribeca Film Festival's Best Narrative Short and Best Documentary Short Awards will qualify for consideration in the Short Films category of the Annual Academy Awards® provided the film complies with the Academy rules. Since 2004 (with the exception of 2007) the Tribeca Film Festival invited a short that went on to nomination and/or win in one of these two categories. Last year's Festival winner for Best Documentary Short, Body Team 12, qualified it for nomination, and was one of the five nominees for this year's Academy Award® for the Best Documentary Short.