The films that won the top awards at the 25th annual Tribeca Festival include an indigenous gay murder mystery aboard a ship near the Arctic Circle; a short about an awkward father in Egypt; a drama about an interconnected community of addicts near Boston; and documentaries about a jail full of aspiring recording artists in Cameroon and a village full of aspiring young filmmakers in Nigeria.  I screened all six of them: My take below.

Beneath the title of each movie, which is linked to its Tribeca Festival page, I list its award(s)

Cotton Fever

Founders Award for Best U.S. Narrative Feature
Best Cinematography in a U.S. Narrative Feature, Tom Acton Fitzgerald

Inspired by director Daniel Blake Schwartz’s personal experiences, this feature film presents the interrelated stories of people in the Boston suburb of  Chelsea, Massachusetts struggling with addiction: low-level drug dealer James and his pregnant girlfriend Dina (Kyle Gallner and Sosie Bacon), who are both trying to get straight for the sake of the baby; queer couple Sam and Manny (Chabely Ponce and Ari Mora) who live on the streets and at one point violently rob James when they’ve run out of money;  Akil (Ronald Emile), an outreach worker who tries to reach his addict brother Sean (Melvin Lee Douglas);  teenager Harley (Colton Osorio) who by the end of the film is the only character who suggests the possibility of a hopeful future.

These are raw, grim stories of regular people trying their best, but self-aware that their best effort is not enough. This is a familiar story, with Gallner more low-key than Frank Sinatra in “The Man with the Golden Arm’ in 1955 or Al Pacino in “Panic in Needle Park” in 1971 (Al Pacino); it reminded me of the 2000 bummer of a movie, “Requiem for a Dream.”

Labrador – Autopsy of Silence

Best International Narrative Feature
Best Performance in an International Narrative Feature: Christopher Angatookalook
Best Cinematography in an International Narrative Feature: Mathieu Laverdière 

“Labrador” is a murder mystery, but the murder is not what’s most mysterious , or alluring, about this eerie film, which begins with Christopher Angatookalook as Alupa Tulugak hunting for seal in a hole in the ice. This first scene lingers: We see Alupa shooting into the hole, extracting the seal, using his knife expertly to skin the animal, separate the blubber from the meat, and cut a piece of the meat to share with Alex (Alexandre Landry) before he then gives Alex a ride on his snowmobile over the icy terrain. It takes a while for the viewer to realize that this is a scene taken out of sequence; it occurs after the main event of the film, a shipboard murder, which is inspired by a true story.   Alex, the ship’s cook, was the murder victim. Alupa, the ship’s mechanic, was his secret lover. Alupa is simply imagining (hallucinating?) the dead Alex as his companion during the seal hunt.  Although the who-done-it is not explicitly revealed until near the end of the film, it’s not hard to figure it out much earlier: First Officer Michelle Comeau (Gabrielle Poulin B.) was demanding sex from Alex, her subordinate. What’s most mysterious is Alupa’s silence in the face of accusations, Angatookalook mesmerizing in his subtle depiction of isolation and alienation. This is by far my favorite of the winning films.

Jail Time Records

Best Documentary Feature
Best Cinematography in a Documentary Feature: Dione Roach, Urberto Rapisardi, and Steve Happi
Albert Maysles Award for Best New Documentary Director, Dione Roach and Steve Happi 

In The New Bell Prison in Cameroon, which was built for 800 but currently holds 6,000, some of the prisoners have become recording artists, composing and performing songs in a recording studio right in the prison. The film focuses on three, each of whom goes by a nickname – Stone, Emperor, and Transporter. 

“There are sequences throughout the film that seem nearly impossible to have captured, providing a rich palette that matches the incredible energy and creativity of its subjects,” the judges write in their citation. I agree, but it’s one of the reasons I wonder whether this was really a documentary; if what happens in it is spontaneous. What was not clear to me from the film itself is that the film’s directors, Dione Roach and Steve Happi, are also the founders of the music label Jail Time Records and the recording studio, physically building it inside the prison. “Jail Time Records” is a film they directed to document their own six-year project.

I wonder also about the ethics of some of the scenes they recorded: We see Emperor intimidating and physically assaulting some of the other inmates

Still, there is no denying the power and warmth of some of the scenes, and not just the musical performances. Stone talking on the phone with the daughter he has not seen in ages, and crying when she sings to him over the phone. 

Crocodile

Viewpoint winner

In the city of Kaduna, Nigeria, nine children make a sci-fi movie full of impressive special effects using nothing by a single cell phone. They start calling themselves The Critics, and their hobby gains them a measure of fame, first locally then internationally, It turns serious when they film the government crackdown on a protest rally. This film about budding filmmakers turns into a coming-of-age story, filmed over thirteen  years. The judges write: “This film beautifully captures both the courage and perseverance required to be an artist, illuminating the risks, sacrifices, and unwavering belief it takes to pursue one’s dreams.”

32B

Best Narrative Short

A widowed father (Mohamed Mamdouh) is told by a woman acquaintance that his daughter needs to start wearing a bra. This is one joke turned into an eighteen-minute film, but Mamdouh makes his character’s awkwardness entertaining, as he first rehearses how he should talk to her about it, then attempts just to go buy one for her 

 Insufficient Fare, 

Best New York Short

I’ve already written about my favorite of films about New York, but it’s worth cited its acknowledgment in a new award category: ““The jury’s selection for the inaugural Best New York Short captures the texture, humor, and spirit of New York City through an object that has quietly witnessed generations of city life. Both funny and nostalgic, the film celebrates the beloved MetroCard while acknowledging a city that is constantly evolving. ”