Columbia Filmmakers Head to Tribeca Film Festival 2020

By
Felix van Kann
March 24, 2020

Disclaimer: In light of the current COVID-19 situation, the Tribeca Film Festival has been postponed. A new date for the festival has not yet been announced. A statement from the organizers can be found here

The Tribeca Film Festival, originally scheduled to take place from April 15 to April 26 2020, is a familiar playground for Columbia filmmakers. In 2017, alumna and faculty member Rachel Israel ’13 took home the top prizes for Best US Narrative Feature and Best New Narrative Feature Director for her film Keep the Change. This year, nine Columbia affiliates have been chosen to participate in the 19th edition of the festival, bringing a total of four films to lower Manhattan.

The complete list of accepted films and filmmakers is below:

Category: Narrative Feature Competition

Materna
David Gutnik ’12, Writer and Director
Brusi Olason ’20, Editor

Four women whose lives are separated by race, culture, and class but connected by the complexities of motherhood become inextricably bound together by an incident on the New York City subway. 

Category: Documentary Competition

A baseball player.

The Last Out
Sami Khan ’09, Director 

An affecting story of raw talent, passion and naivete, The Last Out follows three Cuban baseball players with Major League dreams who face difficult choices and embark on radically different paths when those dreams don’t pan out. 

Category: Viewpoints

A group of youngsters drink at a construction site.

I’m No Longer Here
Luis Fernando Frias de la Parra ’15, Writer and Director
Gerald Joon Kim ’11, Producer
Belkis Esra Saydam ’11, Casting Director
Thais Drassinower ’18, Casting

17 year old Ulises loves to dance. But when the local cartel mistakenly targets him, he’s forced to flee his home in Mexico, landing alone in the wilds of Queens.

Category: Don’t Look Back Short Film Selection

A woman in front of a mirror being looked at by a man.

The Catch
Thais Drassinower ’18, Director
Camila Zavala ’19, Writer

The trust between two married trapeze artists (Oscar Meza and Vania Accinelli) is threatened before the most important performance of their career. 

The Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, brings visionaries and diverse audiences together to celebrate storytelling in all its forms, including film, TV, VR, gaming, music, and online work. With strong roots in independent film, Tribeca is a platform for creative expression and immersive entertainment. The Festival champions emerging and established voices; discovers award-winning filmmakers and creators; curates innovative experiences; and introduces new technology and ideas through premieres, exhibitions, talks, and live performances. The Festival was founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in 2001 to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of lower Manhattan following the attacks on the World Trade Center. Now in its 19th year, the Festival has evolved into a destination for creativity that reimagines the cinematic experience and explores how art can unite communities.