The 2018 edition of the Tribeca Film Festival is just whizzing by. A festival with so much to chew on, we’ve been slowly chipping away at the slate. At this halfway point, we’d like to provide you with a few films to put at the top of your watch list. Included in the list are comedies, documentaries, international entries and more. Try ‘em, we think you’ll like ‘em.

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Song of Back and Neck
(US Narrative Competition)

Paul Lieberstein hits all the right notes with his big screen directorial debut Song of Back and Neck. Lieberstein, who you may know from his work on The Office, stars as Fred, an unremarkable middle age paralegal who suffers from chronic back pain. When a new client at the law firm (played by the bewitching Rosemarie Dewitt) suggests he try her acupuncturist, things start to look up for Fred. He embarks on an affair and discovers he has a unique hidden talent. He also begins to question what’s causing his crippling pain. Inspired by Lieberstein’s real-life back troubles, Song of Back and Neck is a clever and off-beat romp that’s boosted by a stellar cast and well-crafted script.

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The Elephant and The Butterfly (Drôle de père)
(Viewpoints)

The key to Amélie van Elmbt’s exquisite second feature, The Elephant and the Butterfly, is the scene-stealing performance she’s able to coax out of her daughter, Lina Doillon. Lina plays Elsa, a carefree and creative five year old who is being raised by her mom Chloé. When Chloé has to go on a business trip and Elsa’s babysitter hasn’t arrived yet, she makes the rash decision to leave Elsa with Antoine, a man Elsa has never met before. Antoine, who had randomly showed up on Chloé’s doorstep that morning, turns out to be Elsa’s biological father, but has clearly been out of Chloé’s life since before Elsa was born. In order to conjure authentic performances, the filmmaker employed a few tricks, like not allowing Lina to meet Thomas Blanchard, the actor who plays Antoine, until the camera started rolling on the scene in which their characters meet. Van Elmbt also shot chronologically, so the pair’s familiarity built over time. The film, which is a Dardenne brothers production and executive produced by Martin Scorsese, is also beautifully lensed by Eric Gautier. Gautier’s other credits include The Motorcycle Diaries and Into the Wild.

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To Dust
(Special Screenings)

Okay, so a film about death, Orthodox Judaism, and science might not sound that appealing, but we implore you to give this one a shot. To Dust casts Matthew Broderick as Albert, an awkward biology professor who gets mixed up with a grieving Hasidic cantor who can’t get over the death of his wife. The pair find themselves bonding over a fascination with what happens after you die and their quasi-friendship leads to a number of comical adventurous. The first feature effort from Shawn Snyder, who does double duty as director and co-writer, To Dust is a smart and unconventional buddy comedy that is worth digging into.

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United Skates
(Documentary Competition)

Photo credit: Christopher Vanderwall

United Skates spotlights a vital underground American subculture on the brink of extinction. First-time filmmakers Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown travel across the country to visit with the men and women who are trying to keep the African-American roller-skating community alive. Featuring a thumping soundtrack, the film touches on many important subjects, from segregation and gang violence to the challenges facing family-owned businesses in today’s economy. Plus, the film features Salt-N-Pepa, Coolio and Naughty by Nature, and is executive produced John Legend.

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General Magic
(Spotlight Documentary)

Talk about being ahead of their time. Back in 1990, a group of Apple Computer’s brightest stars spun off to work on a visionary new product, a handheld wireless communications device that had the capabilities of both a personal computer and a phone. A creation such as this might not seem like a big deal today, but back then people were still slaves to snail mail and landlines. In their enlightening documentary, Sarah Kerruish and Matt Maude revisit the rise and fall of General Magic, the company formed by Marc Porat, that counted Andy Hertzfeld, Megan Smith, Joanna Hoffman, Kevin Lynch and Tony Fadell as employees, a veritable Silicon Valley dream team. The filmmakers weave together footage shot by Kerruish and others during the company’s formation with present-day interviews with Porat, Fadell, John Sculley and more. It’s eerie how much they got right, it’s unfortunate that the world wasn’t quite ready for it yet.

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When Lions Become Lambs
(Documentary Competition)

Jon Kasbe, the director of When Lambs Become Lions, must be incredibly patient and affable, because what he is able to capture on film is quite remarkable. When Lambs Become Lions is a cinema vérité-shot documentary that presents a nuanced portrait of a group of rangers and poachers that live in a Kenyan town that borders on a wildlife preserve. The film introduces “X”, a two-bit ivory dealer who is running up against a crackdown on poachers. His cousin, Asan, is on the other side of the law, working as a ranger and fending off trespassers. However, the rangers in this community are underpaid, and Asan has a growing family to support. The good guys and the bad guys seem to be interchangeable in this engrossing documentary, which, not surprisingly, is executive produced by Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land).

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Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda
(Spotlight Documentary)

A film for those enamored of the creative process, Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda offers a glimpse into the world of the great Japanese composer. Sakamoto is behind such iconic soundtracks as Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, The Last Emperor, and The Revenant. He is also an activist and is committed to the anti-nuclear movement in Japan. Filmmaker Stephen Nomura Schible’s eloquent film revisits several of Sakamoto’s monumental works, exploring the artist’s motivations. Also included are private moments with Sakamoto in his home, and during a trip the composer took to Fukushima where he encounters the infamous “tsunami piano”.