Rising star Sean Wang has written and directed a very real, very raw account of boyhood through the eyes of Chris “Wang-Wang,” captured by an equally believable and joyous young actor Izaac Wang. Didi refreshes the coming-of-age-genre on multiple levels. It’s specific in time, place and culture, yet remains universal. It’s painfully honest, and therefore more fully human. It shares details that we don’t often see.

Filmmaker Kyle Vorbach spent the past year living his dreams: he moved to LA; published a book; produced a podcast; released a solo album; put on an art show; presented a Ted Talk; was interviewed on TV and more. Thing is, he faked it all. Hence the title of his uproarious social-experiment-turned-documentary: How I Faked My Life with AI.

However: knowing the ‘how’ only raises more questions.

Were Vorbach’s dreams ever real to begin with? Is his life better or worse thanks to AI? Or, better yet, forget Vorbach. What should WE do with this life-changing tech?

At Tribeca Festival 2024, one programming “first” drew unprecedented attention:  the “Sora Shorts” showcase, featuring five original short films all produced using OpenAI’s text-to-video AI model, aka Sora. 

Why does this matter? 

Storytelling as we know it may never be the same. 

Story Ave—described by writer/director Aristotle Torres as a “Film by the Bronx”—premiered as part of SXSW’s Narrative Feature Competition and won two awards. Painterly, poignant, this impressive first feature surprises despite its depiction of predictable hardship ... and reminds us to look in instead of away.

Filmmaker Edson Oda lights up when he’s talking Magic. Not the Magical Realism of his award-winning first feature, Nine Days. Not the sleight-of-hand in a twelve-year-old’s parlor tricks. Instead, he’s discussing the addictively competitive trading card game, Magic: The Gathering.

Natalie Metzger, Spirit Award-nominated producer and Vanishing Angle’s VP of Development and Production, is a name to watch—that is, if you aren’t watching already. Known for producing festival favorites like Thunder Road (2018) and Greener Grass (2019), Metzger—and Vanishing Angle—are staples on the indie circuit, returning to major fests every year with exciting new projects.

Songs About Fucking—the ballad of bathrobe-clad musician/performance artist Marc Rebillet, directed by James Gallagher—premiered to cheering crowds at Tribeca 2023. While best not to overanalyze—Songs transcends its ostensible purpose and becomes something deeper … laced with rich streaks of genuine fun.

First-time director Jane M. Wagner just won an award at Tribeca 2023 for breaking the rules.  Her astonishing screenlife doc, Break the Game, confronts timely subjects—gaming, social media, mental health, trans visibility—all through a focus on a single gamer.

In collaboration with lead actors Mia Maestro and Leonor Varela, Chilean writer/director Francisca Alegria paints a visually rich, emotionally layered fable about motherhood—where two troubled humans symbolize Mother Earth and the threats posed by our species. In UK and Irish theaters March 24th.

In October of 2017, I interviewed Ruben Östlund during the New York Film Festival for IONCINEMA. We talked about how his latest film The Square is—or now, aguably was—Östlund’s most ambitious attack on humanity yet … with a compellingly affectionate touch.

You may already know RJ Cyler from the 2015 Sundance double-award winner Me, Earl and the Dying Girl, Netflix’s recent all-black western hit The Harder They Fall, or Showtime’s Scream: Resurrection. Surprise is this actor’s M.O: besides zeal for his craft, skateboarding and video games, he holds more in reserve. In his collaborations with Carey Williams—both 2022’s award-winning Emergency and R#J, a Gen-Z reimagination of Romeo and Juliet—he merrily paints himself one way, then sneaks up with emotional heft. Undeniably funny and self-aware, he often steals the screen—including in our interview, linked below.

In 2017, I had the privilege of spending time with the legendary 88-year old Belgian-born filmmaker Agnès Varda. She was in New York for the premiere of her latest opus, Visages Villages; I was covering NYFF (the 55th New York Film Festival) as a journalist. After our interview, I brashly asked if she’d allow a selfie. Varda agreed—but after observing my initial attempts, all hopelessly blown out by an overhead light fixture, she proclaimed “C’est nul!” (“That sucks!”) and led me firmly across the room. Suddenly, I was getting tutored in the Art of the Selfie by a New Wave Pioneer.

Back in 2008, YouTubers Dave McCary and Kyle Mooney caught the attention of Steven Spielberg. After his daughter showed him one of their videos—a parody of Spielberg’s own Hook—he sent them an encouraging note that Mooney kept in his wallet for years. They also sent a response to the filmmaker: “Steven, seems like you’re on the right track too. Keep making videos.” He took their advice.