Firelight Media x Tribeca Festival 2021
Firelight Media is pleased to be co-hosting six film screenings at this year’s Tribeca Festival! The 2021 Festival program includes screenings of two Documentary Lab alumni films, as well as four films by Firelight Media-affiliated filmmakers.
Now in its 20th year, the Tribeca Festival will run from June 9–20, 2021. This year’s Festival includes the launch of a virtual hub, Tribeca At Home, an online platform to offer audiences, unable to attend the live, in-person events taking place across New York City this year, a flexible option to join in the fun from the comfort of their couch.
Read on for complete details about the Firelight Media co-hosted screenings, as well as select in-person screenings of Documentary Lab alumni films!
ASCENSION, directed by Jessica Kingdon, Documentary Lab Alum
Ascension examines the contemporary “Chinese Dream” through staggering observations of labor, consumerism and wealth. In cinematically exploring the aspiration that drives today’s People’s Republic of China, the film plunges into universal paradoxes of economic progress.
THE NEUTRAL GROUND, directed by CJ Hunt, Documentary Lab Alum
The Neutral Ground documents New Orleans’ fight over monuments and America’s troubled romance with the Lost Cause. In 2015, director CJ Hunt was filming the New Orleans City Council’s vote to remove four confederate monuments. But when that removal is halted by death threats, CJ sets out to understand why a losing army from 1865 still holds so much power in America.
AILEY, directed by Jamila Wignot, Artist Programs Mentor
A visionary artist who found salvation through dance, Alvin Ailey confronted a world that refused to embrace him and was determined to build one that would. Directed by Jamila Wignot, Ailey is a feature-length portrait of the life and work of this brilliant, enigmatic and tenacious man.
ALL THESE SONS, directed by Bing Liu, Artist Programs Mentor, and Joshua Altman
On Chicago’s South and West sides, guns and gangs are destroying countless lives. Two men dedicate their lives educating, empowering and healing young Black men at high risk for being victims-or perpetrators-of deadly gun-violence.
STATELESS, directed by Michèle Stephenson, Artist Programs Mentor
Director Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary follows families of those affected by the 2013 legislation stripping citizenship from Dominicans of Haitian descent, uncovering the complex history and present-day politics of Haiti and the Dominican Republic through the grassroots electoral campaign of a young attorney named Rosa Iris.
PRIMERA, directed by Vee Bravo, Beyond Resilience Panelist
Primera tells the raw and hopeful story of how courage and resilience led to a country’s story of victory. The voices of 80% of Chileans that screamed for a new constitution were heard, and Chile is currently in the process of voting for the authors of the new constitution. Primera highlight’s themes of women-led movements, social and structural change, and mutual aid.
IN-PERSON SCREENINGS FEATURING THE FIRELIGHT MEDIA COMMUNITY
The 2021 Tribeca Festival also includes a series of in-person film screenings featuring members of the Firelight Media community. Details of those screenings — some of which have already sold out — are below.
LANDFALL, directed by Cecilia Aldarondo, Documentary Lab Alum
A 2020 Official Selection for the Tribeca Festival, Landfall, directed by Documentary Lab Alum Cecilia Aldarondo will screen in a special in-person presentation at the 2021 Festival on Sunday, June 13 at 6:30pm at Rockaway Beach 30th Street Playground.
Through shard-like glimpses of everyday life in post-Hurricane María Puerto Rico, Landfall is a cautionary tale for our times. Set against the backdrop of protests that toppled the governor in 2019, the film offers a prismatic portrait of collective trauma and resistance as Puerto Ricans navigate dismantled social services and newcomers eager to profit.
ENEMIES OF THE STATE, directed by Sonia Kennebeck, Documentary Lab Alum
A 2020 Official Selection for the Tribeca Festival, Enemies of the State, directed by Documentary Lab Alum Sonia Kennebeck will screen at a special in-person presentation on Friday, June 18 at 8pm Brooklyn Commons at MetroTech.
An American family becomes entangled in a bizarre web of secrets and lies when their hacker son is targeted by the U.S. government, making them all ENEMIES OF THE STATE.
Note: This screening is currently sold out.
THE SIT IN: HARRY BELAFONTE HOSTS THE TONIGHT SHOW, directed by Yoruba Richen, Documentary Lab Alum
A 2020 Official Selection for the Tribeca Festival, The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts the Tonight Show, directed by Documentary Lab Alum Yoruba Richen, will screen at a special in-person presentation on Saturday, June 19 at 11am at Brooklyn Commons at MetroTech.
In 1968, entertainer and activist Harry Belafonte took over “The Tonight Show” for one historic week, introducing a fractured, changing country to itself alongside legendary guests like Aretha Franklin and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Note: This screening is currently sold out.
THROUGH THE NIGHT, directed by Loira Limbal, SVP for Programs
A 2020 Official Selection for the Tribeca Festival, Through the Night, directed by Firelight Media SVP for Programs Loira Limbal, will screen in a special presentation at the 2021 Festival on Sunday, June 20 at 11am at Brooklyn Commons at Metrotech.
THROUGH THE NIGHT is a cinema verité portrait of three working NY mothers whose lives intersect at a 24-hour daycare center: a mother working the overnight shift as an essential worker at a hospital; another holding down three jobs to support her family; and a woman who for over two decades has cared for the children of parents with nowhere else to turn.
Note: This screening is currently sold out.
To learn more about the 2021 Tribeca Festival, visit tribecafilm.com/festival.
To learn more about Firelight Media and its programs, visit firelightmedia.tv.
