Six TFI Alumni Will Screen At 2013 Tribeca Film Festival

The Tribeca Film Festival announced the films selected for their World Narrative and Documentary competition sections as well as their out-of-competition Viewpoints category for its 2013 edition. The fest runs April 17-28. See complete lineup. Six TFI alumni are among the chosen, including the world premieres of Rachel Boynton's Big Men (pictured above), which will be the opening night film from the World Documentary competition, Rob Meyer's A Birder's Guide to Everything, Banker White and Anna Fitch's The Genius of Marian and Matt Wolf's Teenage. The six TFI titles going to TFF are... Alias Ruby Blade: A Story of Love and Revolution (Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund), directed by Alex Meillier, written by Tanya Ager Meillier and Meillier. (USA) – North American Premiere. Kirsty Sword Gusmão went to Timor-Leste to document injustice in an area closed to Western journalists. Over the next decade, she became the lynchpin that sustained the nation’s harrowing struggle for independence and met the man who would redefine the cause for which she was fighting. Using astonishing footage of the years-long resistance, director Alex Meillier presents a highly personal account of the courage needed to create a new democracy in modern times. [WORLD DOCUMENTARY] Big Men (Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund), directed by Rachel Boynton, written by Rachel Boynton. (USA) – World Premiere. For her latest industrial exposé, Rachel Boynton (Our Brand Is Crisis) gained unprecedented access to Africa's oil companies. The result is a gripping account of the costly personal tolls levied when American corporate interests pursue oil in places like Ghana and the Niger River Delta. Executive produced by Steven Shainberg and Brad Pitt, Big Men investigates the caustic blend of ambition, corruption and greed that threatens to exacerbate Africa’s resource curse. In English, Other, Twi with subtitles. [WORLD DOCUMENTARY] A Birder's Guide to Everything (TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund), directed by Rob Meyer, written by Luke Matheny and Meyer. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. On the eve of his widowed father’s second wedding, fifteen-year-old David Portnoy (Kodi Smit-McPhee) leads the stalwart members of his local Young Birders Society on rollicking, interstate search for an extremely rare duck. Marvelous supporting performances by Ben Kingsley and James LeGros color Rob Meyer's feature film debut, a poignant, funny and ultimately winning look at the moments that change even the most intensely focused lives. [VIEWPOINTS] Cutie and the Boxer (TFI Documentary Fund), directed by Zachary Heinzerling. (USA) – New York Premiere, Documentary. Once a rising if unruly star in the ’70s art scene, eighty-year-old “boxing” painter Ushio Shinohara now struggles to establish his artistic legacy. His wife Noriko is now widely renowned for her “Cutie” drawings, depicting their chaotic, forty-year marriage. Under Zachary Heinzerling’s guidance, this candid New York story about troubled lives united by a dedication to art becomes a touching portrait on the eternal themes of love, sacrifice, disappointment and aging. A RADiUS release. [VIEWPOINTS] The Genius of Marian (TFI Documentary Fund), directed by Banker White and Anna Fitch. (USA) – World Premiere. Weaving past into present, filmmakers Banker White (Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars) and Anna Fitch immerse the audience in the daily life of White’s mother, Pam. Her Alzheimer’s threatens to wipe out the memory of her own mother, Marian, a celebrated artist who died of the same disease. Beautifully edited, The Genius of Marian retraces both women’s lives to paint a complex and powerful contemporary portrait of motherhood, chronic illness and legacy. [WORLD DOCUMENTARY] Teenage (TFI Documentary Fund), directed by Matt Wolf, written by Jon Savage and Wolf. (USA) – World Premiere. Teenagers did not exist before the 20th century. Not until the early 1950s did the term gain widespread recognition, but with Teenage, Matt Wolf offers compelling evidence that “teenagers” had a tumultuous effect on the previous half-decade. Narrated by actors Jena Malone, Ben Whishaw, Julia Hummer and Jesse Usher, this fascinating documentary repositions the historical origin of teenagers and shows why those years are more than just a stepping-stone to adulthood. In English, German with subtitles. [WORLD DOCUMENTARY]