Tribeca Film Festival Announces Short Films for the 2011 Festival

The Tribeca Film Festival recently send us over the list of short films that will be competing at their upcoming festival starting April 20th. The winning film will qualify for Oscar consideration.

Press Release:

The 2011 Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), presented by American Express, the founding sponsor of the Festival, recently announced its lineup of 60 short films, 22 of which are world premieres.

Also new this year, the recipient of the TFF Best Narrative Short award will qualify for consideration in the Short Films category of the annual Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run, provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy rules.

The short film program will be presented in eight thematic programs and a wide range of cultural perspectives. Drawn from 2,862 submissions, the program represents 21 countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Haiti, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, and the United States.

This year’s Festival shorts exemplify a broad spectrum of styles and storytelling, including an animated program and the always-popular New York shorts program. From zombies taking over Manhattan to the humanitarian effort in Haiti, these short films represent a range of genres and subjects. The program features performances by Campbell Scott, Anthony LaPaglia, Jean Reno, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Brendan Gleeson, Colin Quinn, Carmine Famiglietti and Eddie Marsan, and animated shorts featuring the voices of David Duchovny, Joseph Fiennes and Ian McKellan.

Returning TFF directors include Thomas Hefferon, Rider and Shiloh Strong, Barney Elliot, Rick Rodgers, Jay Rosenblatt, Brian Doyle, Scott Nyerges and Ken Jacobs.

“Each of our short film programs promises an entertaining journey, exposing an audience to filmmaking they may not have the opportunity to see otherwise,” said Sharon Badal, TFF head short film programmer. “Whether narrative, documentary, experimental or animation, these short films exhibit extraordinary talent. We’re thrilled to bring films from around the globe to our Festival, and with a large number of world premieres, to share many of them with an audience for the first time.”

The works in the 2011 TFF short film lineup are eligible to compete for combined cash and value-in-kind prizes totaling more than $15,000 for Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary Short and Student Visionary Award.

Following is a listing of the selected short films in the eight programs in which they will be presented:

2011 Tribeca Film Festival Short Film Program, sponsored by Bing

Off the Grid (Documentary)

Sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll are a few of the topics explored in these thought-provoking short documentaries. Two-man rock duo Crash&Burn is turned upside down when Burn decides to have transgender surgery. It’s San Francisco, sex, and the First Amendment in Smut Capital of America. A broken building trembles in a battle for space and souls in Caretaker for the Lord. In Guru a charismatic motivational speaker privately battles bipolar disorder. Incident in New Baghdad recounts a U.S. Army veteran’s personal experience in and out of the war zone.

Crash&Burn, (USA), World Premiere, directed and written by Rick Rodgers

Smut Capital of America, (USA), World Premiere, directed and written by Michael Stabile

Caretaker for the Lord, (Scotland), New York Premiere, directed by Jane McAllister

Guru, (USA), World Premiere, directed and written by Jonathan VanBallenberghe

Incident in New Baghdad, (USA), World Premiere, directed by James Spione


One For All (Documentary)

Positive thinking prevails in this group of inspiring short documentaries. In Summer Snapshot a group of friends reflects on a special sun-kissed day. It’s mind over matter, literally, for spiritual leader and peace advocate Sri Chinmoy in Challenging Impossibility. In the Spirit of Laxmi a hotel manager commits to raising and re-wilding an injured leopard cub. A community in Haiti rallies to build a movie theater in Sun City Picture House.

Summer Snapshot, (USA), New York Premiere, directed by Ian McCluskey

Challenging Impossibility, (USA), World Premiere, directed by Sanjay Rawal and Natabara Rollosson

In the Spirit of Laxmi, (Singapore, India, USA), New York Premiere, directed by Meghan Shea and Michael Rogers

Sun City Picture House, (Haiti), World Premiere, directed by David Darg

All You Can Eat (Narrative) Recommended for ages 14 and up

This tasty assortment of animated shorts will leave you hungry for more. A polar bear in Hollywood has trouble going with the “floe” in The Beaufort Diaries. Love isn’t what it’s cracked up to be in Not Over Easy. In Year Zero a sole survivor battles the zombie apocalypse in New York City. A lonely and bitter Easter Bunny hatches a plan to steal the spotlight from Santa in Preferably Blue. Follow the lives of seemingly random characters in Just That Sort of a Day. A man’s journey through grief is revealed in A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation. It’s a ravishing ride through an imaginary animated landscape in Harmonium Mountain.

The Beaufort Diaries, (USA) New York Premiere, directed by Alex Petrowsky, written by T Cooper

Not Over Easy, (Canada), New York Premiere, directed by Jordan Canning, written by Jody Richardson and Jordan Canning

Year Zero, (USA), World Premiere, directed and written by Richard Cunningham III

Preferably Blue, (New Zealand), New York Premiere, directed by Alan Dickson, written by Wayne Ching

Just That Sort of a Day, (India), New York Premiere, directed and written by Abhay Kumar

A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation, (Germany), New York Premiere, directed by Martin Wallner and Stefan Leuchtenberg, written by Martin Wallner

Harmonium Mountain, (USA), New York Premiere, directed by Clifford Ross

Open 24 Hours (Narrative)

From the city that never sleeps, these New York shorts show there’s no place like home. Twelve-year-old Rodney tries to regain the love of his wayward dad in Down This Road. Two Manhattan teenagers make an unexpected connection in Nightlife. Brothers Caleb and Aaron are at odds over their religious beliefs in Storm Up The Sky. It’s all about the gravity of the situation in Brink. Luck finally comes his way for the man in The Ignorant Bliss of Sun and Moon. A 1924 high school autograph book bridges the generation gap in Grandpa Looked Like William Powell. It’s a Brooklyn tale about Jimmy, his senile landlord, and the ice cream that brings them together in Loose Change. Three friends are on a mission to pull off the perfect score in Cheat.

Down This Road, (USA, Switzerland), New York Premiere, directed by Vinz Feller, written by Paul Leo

Nightlife, (USA), World Premiere, directed and written by Shandor Garrison
Storm Up The Sky, (USA), New York Premiere, directed and written by Jon Kauffman

Brink, (USA), New York Premiere, directed and written by Shawn Christensen

The Ignorant Bliss of Sun and Moon, (USA), New York Premiere, directed by John Hyams, written by Bill Gullo

Grandpa Looked Like William Powell, (USA), New York Premiere, directed and written by David B. Levy

Loose Change, (USA), World Premiere, directed and written by Philip Botti

Cheat, (USA), World Premiere, directed by Joe DeRosa, written by Joe DeRosa, Robert Kelly and Bill Burr

Take As Directed (Narrative)

You’ll receive just the right dose of drama and comedy in this short narrative program. A nine-year-old boy enlists the help of his best friend to get his Bunny back. A successful man abandons his worldly possessions for a purpose in The Philosopher. Marissa and Jeremy finally share their feelings as Christian summer camp comes to an end in All In All. An ironic twist of fate foils Cesar’s desperate plan in Last Resort. An exhausted mother brings her terrified child to the hospital in Cold Blood. In Man and Boy a father takes justice into his own hands when he thinks his son has been sexually assaulted. Ting misses her mom, Jie misses his wife, and a kitten becomes a catalyst in Braid. Two years after a traumatic car accident that leaves a girl in a vegetative state, the man responsible attempts to atone in Switch.

Bunny, (USA), World Premiere, directed by Robert Snow, written by Robert Snow and Ryan Demler

The Philosopher, (France), New York Premiere, directed and written by Abdulla Alkaabi

All In All, (USA), World Premiere, directed and written by Charlie Reff and Jacki Sextro

Last Resort, (Peru), New York Premiere, directed by Barney Elliott, written by Barney Elliott and Silvana Aguirre

Cold Blood, (Canada), International Premiere, directed and written by Martin Thibaudeau

Man and Boy, (UK), New York Premiere, directed by David Leon and Marcus McSweeney, written by Rashid Razaq and David Leon

Braid, (Taiwan ROC), World Premiere, directed and written by Chun-Yi Hsieh

Switch, (Ireland), World Premiere, directed by Thomas Hefferon, written by TJ Hundtofte and Thomas Hefferon

Mix Tape (Narrative)

Sit back, relax, and take a rhythmic ride around the world with these narrative shorts. Fueled by alcohol and hormones, Aimee and Steph take a swim on a hot summer night in The Kiss. A student accepts a lift from a stranger but The Ride leads to unexpected consequences. Joel has finally made up his mind, or so he thinks, in Coming Out. A hotel housekeeper dreams of home in Rooms. The little girl in Hauraki gives the grown-ups a lesson in compassion. Experience the awesome adventures of a man and his mustache in Mr. Stache. Shane and his friends thought it would be fun to recapture their geeky youth until The Dungeon Master arrived. Two cops discover a dead body in a cottage and get more than they bargained for in Noreen.

The Kiss, (Australia), North American Premiere, directed and written by Ashlee Page

The Ride, (UK), World Premiere, directed and written by Marion Pilowsky

Coming Out, (Sweden), World Premiere, directed and written by Jerry Carlsson

Rooms, (USA), World Premiere, directed by Joanna Jurewicz, written by Joanna Jurewicz and Adam Walsh

Hauraki, (New Zealand), World Premiere, directed by Kirsten Green, written by Dianne Taylor

Mr. Stache, (USA), World Premiere, directed by Jac Schaeffer

The Dungeon Master, (USA), New York Premiere, directed and written by Rider Strong and Shiloh Strong

Noreen, (Ireland), New York Premiere, directed and written by Domhnall Gleeson

Exit Strategies (Narrative)

Sticky situations and surprises create the perfect escape in this program of narrative shorts. When altar boy Damian receives a priestly pep talk he has a decision to make in Pentecost. Roger hit a cat but it’s not quite dead, so he and his friends have to finish the job in Dead Cat. Gravity is about friendship, love, space aliens, cocaine, and handicaps, not necessarily in that order. In Each Moment Is the Universe a boy is reborn with memories of his previous lives and tries to fix the mistakes of the past. A father and son face off in The Terms. It’s the story of a woman, a man, and a mysterious box in Love, Lots of It. An aspiring actress has trouble after the shooting stops in Eva – Working Title. A restful day turns tense for the family in Picnic.

Pentecost, (Ireland), International Premiere, directed by Peter Macdonald

Dead Cat, (USA), World Premiere, directed by Jay Reiss, written by Daniel Milder

Gravity, (Iceland), International Premiere, directed and written by Logi Hilmarsson

Each Moment Is the Universe, (Thailand), North American Premiere, directed by Bruce Thierry Cheung, written by Jeremy Cheung

The Terms, (UK), New York Premiere, directed and written by Jason LaMotte

Love, Lots of It, (USA), World Premiere, directed and written by Rob Feld

Eva - Working Title, (Israel), International Premiere, directed and written by Dor Fadlon

Picnic, (Spain), US Premiere, directed and written by Gerardo Herrero

Impressions of Memory (Narrative/Documentary)

These talented artists address, in both thematically and stylistically distinct ways, the manner in which images evoke memory. This is achieved through the use of text, the presence of previously filmed “found” footage, a scenic train ride bleeding into digital pixels, single frame printing devices, evocations of 9/11, a tribute to a deceased filmmaker, peripheral vision, recall of sleep via animation, seascape imagery folding back on itself in time, and bittersweet remembrances of now-extinct Kodachrome film stock.

One Over Wanderlust, (USA), New York Premiere, directed and written by Brendon Kingsbury

The D Train, (USA), New York Premiere, directed by Jay Rosenblatt

After the Fire, (France), North American Premiere, directed by Jacques Perconte

Garden Roll Bounce Parking Lot, (USA), New York Premiere, directed by Melissa Friedling

Current (Reprise), (USA), New York Premiere, directed and written by Brian Doyle

One Day I Forgot and Used My Hands, (Singapore), US Premiere, directed by Charles Lim

Sleep, (Switzerland), US Premiere, directed by Claudius Gentinetta and Frank Braun, written by Claudius Gentinetta

Strips, (Canada), New York Premiere, directed by Félix Dufour-Laperrière

Paper, (UK), World Premiere, directed and written by Egill Kristbjornsson

Filmpiece for Bartlett, (USA), New York Premiere, directed by Scott Nyerges

The Green Wave, (USA), New York Premiere, directed by Ken Jacobs

Bye Bye Super 8, (Netherlands), US Premiere, directed by Johan Kramer

The film guide is now live on www.tribecafilm.com. The screening schedule will be live on Monday March 21, 2011.

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