Tribeca Film Festival 2016 Talking Movies

It is springtime in New York, and that means it is Tribeca. In

today's programme we look back at some of the highlights of the 12 day

Tribeca Film Festival. A blunder with a controversial film. Because

of all this controversy it is better not to have it in the festival. In

the lineup from Ghana, a story of a mother and son shines because the

child is alien. And the human cost of those intra and warfare. --

ailing. We need to let them know who they are. -- drone warfare. And a

story about stolen basketball shoes. And Cuban cinema making its

presence felt at Tribeca. All that and more in this special Tribeca

edition of Talking Movies. New York's landmark metropolitan

Museum of Art plays host to a movie First Monday In May. It is a

documentary behind the Met Gala and a big exhibition it helps to

support. It emphasises the influence of the metropolitan museum. This

film is about a great cultural institution with global reach but

still in the city of New York and it has a very important role to play.

The Tribeca Film Festival is now in its 15th year, beginning as a civic

restoration project to revive the neighbourhood here in lured SS

Manhattan in the wake of the World Trade Centre attacks. -- Lower

Manhattan. Now it is a respected film showcase the. You have

obligations to make sure we have all the facts. And now - CAPITALS a

movie called cover-up to Catastrophe has caused an uproar after it

claimed that vaccination caused autism. Because of all the

controversy it is in better mind to get rid of it if it will perceive

the festival in a negative way. What about the argument of freedom of

expression? I agree. We had some issues and we made a mistake and we

corrected it. We wish that film all the best but it wasn't for Tribeca.

More than 100 films were over this 12 day festival, including movies

with big-name stars like Tom Hanks and Kevin Spacey. There were also

high-profile talks about television. It is big on virtual reality

installations this year again. They are becoming increasingly routine in

the festivals around the world. Filmmakers are using VR. There is a

natural link between traditional film and VR. It has to be a part of

what film festivals show. It was also offering documentaries that

told incredible stories. Among them Keep Quiet, talking about a far

right Hungarian discovered to his amazement that he was Jewish. Now he

is undergoing a transformation to become an orthodox Jew. I want to

talk about the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe today. I think the story

gives us the ability to show that rise through these unique story. --

stories. Some of the shortest films at the festival were among the most

compelling. Deadringer talked about the almost extinct New York

telephone booth. For decades we handled all the drug deals... There

is a certain type of New York where the payphone has a grimy romance. It

is moving for people like that. It was also marking the 40th

anniversary of an iconic film, Taxi Driver, with Robert De Niro uttering

a well-known line. You talkin' to me? Now it is not among the giants

like Venice, it is a festival still in the making, but it has

established a permanent presence, getting a lot of attention in one of

the world's biggest media capitals, and that is no small feat. Ghana was

represented at Tribeca this year with a film that touches on a common

reality in that country, a mother who gives birth to an ailing child,

and finds she and her son are rejected by the community. Here is a

report. Set between the city of Acra in present-day Ghana, this is a

story about a mother giving birth to a sickly child from an extramarital

affair. A big suffers from cerebral palsy and a cleft lip. -- Her child.

She cannot afford to fix his lip and is often tricked by spiritual healer

is to try to heal it. The director, Priscilla, says this film reflects a

reality for many women with disabled children. It is a contemporary

issues. Yeah, it is about a child with a cleft lip which is a quick

fix worldwide, you know, in the West. It would probably be fixed in

the US before the baby comes home. But it is not such a quick fix in

some parts of the world, especially some areas in West Africa. No, it is

a big deal. From the beginning, we see her in desperation. Superstition

plays a big part of her conflict. Her community sees her as having a

dirty or curse womb because of her condition. This becomes something

she starts to believe about herself and makes it feel like her back is

up against the wall. We have good sides and bad side. I wanted a

rounded character. -- sides. I wanted a story about a mother with a

special child. We have often heard about a mother who has killed her

child because of this in Africa but I wanted to give some understanding

as to why someone would make such a horrible choice. She goes through

all these challenges and their really is no solution. -- there. I

wanted my audience to understand what could push you to make such a

choice. One of the biggest challenges she faced as a director

was finding a child to play the sun. Eventually she found a baby

girl called Jessica who plays the part of the boy in the film. -- son.

She had to be creative with the casting choices. I went to some

hospitals and talked to the mothers. Many said no, they did not want to

talk to me. So we continued the search. Finally a doctor sent me to

a foundation where they do free surgeries for children with

deformities. They said they had a list of children who were going to

get surgery so I can introduce you to the mothers and the parents. Some

of them said no but finally Jessica's mother said yes. And, I

mean, that was it. Even though Jessica had to be fed constantly to

keep her from crying, the girl was integral. She was a nice kid. The

mother and father were with us on that. When she was crying out the

mother was around. It was pretty cool. She cries a lot, though.

The script is straightforward and even a bit obvious at times. The

weather, the film is supported by beautiful cinematography. --

However. The director hopes this will be a change of pace for those

at home that are accustomed to escapism. This film has issues that

ordinary people face every day. Do you hope this will have an effect on

the African reception of children with disabilities? --. For the most

part, I want women all over the world to understand it is not their

fault that sometimes they have a bit with deformities. -- babies. That is

my biggest message, it isn't your fault. Hollywood has not been shy

about incorporating drones into films and presenting the public with

these lethal weapons as big screen entertainment. This year there were

two quite sober films on drones focusing on the human cost for those

who work behind the scenes in drone warfare. National Bird looks beyond

the politics of drone warfare to look at the human cost, both the

harm inflicted and the emotional trauma felt by those who operate

them. Three whistleblowers speak out about the impact of drones on their

lives in the film. One of them is Lisa, who prefers not to reveal her

last name but felt obliged to speak out. We have to let people know who

we are and that we even exist, because, I mean, what many people

see on television is a drone. It is a glorified thing. I mean, there is

a lot more to get, it is more laid and complex than somebody with a

joystick on the other side of the world. -- layered. It is a secret

programme, so I can't just tell the public what it is and shout off the

rooftops. They believe themselves to be patriots, the directors, but

ironically, in making the film, two of them were pressured by the US

government to end the public criticism of the programme. One is

being investigated for espionage. I was cautious during the making of

the films. I think it was right to be very careful and work with

lawyers from the beginning. And, yeah, it is not a good time, you

know, in the US, right now, for whistleblowers and investigative

journalists. It is not the only film this year to deal with the topic.

Operator, a short Israeli film, follows a day in the life of a drone

operator who's tries to juggle the work with the duties as a single

mother. -- who. When she gets home to her child and has super trade her

mother role after killing for a living to support the family... --

to portray. This is the main conflict that I wanted to show.

ALARM. Drone warfare has been used in many big hit films. That includes

Eye in the Sky, which tackled the topic earlier this year. And Captain

America, for example, have drones in their simple plots as a shortcut to

relevant. But they usually rarely talk about it. They do the

government's work, sanitising drone warfare for the viewer. National

Bird and Operator hope to change the narrative. What do you say to

government officials not swayed by the issues? I absolutely agree that

there is a threat. There is this thing about drones that really

creates so much hatred and anger in the target countries that is

backfiring. And, that is why it is important to, you know, to have this

discussion. There needs to be conversation, there needs to be more

information, there needs to be... It needs to be common knowledge that we

aren't the only country that has drones, and it needs to be common

knowledge that there is damage on both ends.

As you are in no doubt aware, the relationship between Cuba and the

As you are in no doubt aware, the relationship between Cuba and the US

a growing warmer and with it the possibility of Americans being able

to access more Cuba and movies. What was on offer this year at Tribeca

Film Festival. Tribeca Film Festival. The Human Thing has the

magical realism of Cuba mixed in with American tradition. It is the

story of a burglar who steals a short story from a very important

human right and decides to submit it. A legendary actor from Cuban

cinema plays a mobster. TRANSLATION: Are prepared this character

following the directors instructions. He loaned me the

Sopranos series and told me to create a character with a Cuban

twist. Is this a sign of how Cuba is telling stories that will appeal

internationally? It is now going to be more cost to see Cuban films in

the US. The interest is there. American people love it. If you come

to our screenings, they are full because they want to watch Cuban

films but they could not get the access to those pills but I think

now it is going to happen. More distributors again to buy them. You

are going to have more platforms to watch them in. However, the director

points out, in Cuba that has never been a lack of films from the

outside world. Despite the fact we have had not had normal relations

with the US, we have not been isolated in terms of film shown an

the Cuban cinema has shown films from north America. Relations are

getting better, how will that effect your industry? No one knows what is

going to happen but I think it is good. So far it was impossible for

an American company to shoot the film in Cuba and now it is possible

and I think they shot a chapter of house of clouds in her Varna and now

they are shooting at a fast and furious feel. With relations warming

up, it looks like the Cuban film industry in relation to the US may

be on a former and more optimistic footing. Tribeca had a significant

film that evolved around basketball shoes. Just in keeping, from the Bay

area in California, these shoes are called Kix and that is the name of

his films. Kicks open the narrative competition at Tribeca Film

Festival. It follows a couple of men. One of whom has his prized

sneakers stolen. They tried to recover the shoes. You have to watch

out for yourself. Csolley what this movie is about for you? The shoe

thing is based on a personal experience. -- tell me. I remember

my brother told me, you are a man now. At the same time, I was really

proud of that but at the same time I just reacted and thought how does

that make the man? I took a beating. Even the kids who jumped me are

probably going through something in their lives. I wanted to tell that

kind of story. He looks to Italian neorealism. The bicycle Feith... How

can an entire family been ruined in this epic drama surrounding a father

losing a bike. It had a lasting impact on me as a genre. A newcomer

plays the leading role. My character at is a shy, poor kid from the hood.

He says his money to get these shoes and when he gets and he feels like

he is on top of the world stop sniko culture has invaded media stream

media. It has been a stable and the big screen for years. From do the

right thing. All you can say is excuse me extra --! To Forest Gump.

He was really able to tap into something really truthful about life

in the Bay area. About young men who find themselves... Who define

themselves through things they wear. If you are not wearing the right

shoes, clothes, you are not relevant. This is into that. This

happened about shoes, it could have been about any other object. When

you are on Wall Street, you tried to drive the best cloud. It is specific

to communities. -- the best car. We hope you enjoyed the programme. You

can always reaches online. And find us on Facebook as well. From me and

the production crew, here in New York, it is goodbye as we leave you

with eight Madonna video. From the documentary strike a pose.