Film fans, the wait is over. The 14th edition of the Tribeca Film Festival is underway. An accessible festival that strives to offer a little something for everyone, Tribeca’s jam-packed schedule, multiple venues, and expansive film slate can be a bit daunting. This year, over 100 features and 60 shorts are set to screen. Fest-goers are likely to discover some exciting fresh voices in cinema, as one-third of the feature film slate is directed by first-time filmmakers. You’ll also be among the first to set eyes on some of these films since over half are world premieres. It is also important to note that since less than 20% have distribution deals in place, there is likely to be some industry wheeling and dealing taking place behind the scenes.

Tribeca consistently delivers a strong documentary offering. Its narrative slate is usually a tad thinner, but the 2015 slate seems promising. We’ve sifted through the lot and present you with our picks.

NARRATIVES

The Adderall Diaries

A film adaptation of Stephen Elliott’s bestselling memoir The Adderall Diaries has been a glimmer in James Franco’s eye since he optioned the book for a small sum back in 2010. Originally intending to write and direct it himself, Franco instead enlisted NYU grad-school pal Pamela Romanowsky (who he also worked with on Color of Time) to take the reigns. Under her management, the story is cast in New York (in the book it’s San Francisco) and finds Franco playing the drug-addled author who is suffering from a terrible case of writer’s block. In hopes of jumpstarting his writing, he immerses himself in a murder trial that ultimately finds him ruminating of his own past and struggles with his father. It’s kind of like the dream role for Franco, who is buoyed by a supporting cast that includes Amber Heard, Ed Harris, Christian Slater and Cynthia Nixon.

Good Kill

According to news stories, drone pilots are a miserable lot. Filmmaker Andrew Niccol takes on their plight in his latest film, Good Kill. Starring Ethan Hawke as Major Tommy Egan, the film looks at the psychological effects of taking a veteran combat pilot and transferring him to drone duty. January Jones and Zoe Kravitz also star in this film which marks the third collaboration between Hawke and Niccol. Their past projects together include Gattaca and Lord of War.

Grandma

Paul Weitz’s Grandma, which comes to Tribeca following its much buzzed about premiere at Sundance, was tailor-made for the comedic stylings of Lily Tomlin. Being referred to as the “abortion comedy,” Tomlin’s character embarks on a daylong fundraising mission with her granddaughter Sage, played by Julia Garner. Adding to the film’s pedigree is a notable supporting cast that includes Sam Elliott and Marcia Gay Harden. And if you aren’t familiar with Weitz’s other work, he’s behind American Pie, and About a Boy, which incidentally opened the first Tribeca Film Festival back in 2002.  

Slow West

The buddy western genre gets a refreshing reboot in Slow West. The feature debut of John Maclean, the 19th century-set story centers around a Scottish-born teenager (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who is heading west in search of the woman he loves. Along the way, he encounters Silas (Michael Fassbender), an apparent loner who offers to help him navigate the wild west for a tidy sum. Likely a fan of Quentin Tarrantino, Wes Anderson, and the Coen Brothers, Maclean’s film displays an endearing quirkiness and exquisite attention to detail. The appearance of the brilliant Ben Mendelsohn (Animal Kingdom) as an absinthe-bearing outlaw locks Slow West down as being not only one of our favorite films of the festival, but likely of the year.

The Survivalist

The Survivalist is an entry in the currently crowded dystopian fiction genre. The fruit of Irish director Stephen Fingleton’s labors, the film follows a resilient young man who lives alone in a barricaded cabin in the forest where he spends his days tending to his meager crops and fending off intruders. One day, two women in the throws of starvation appear at his doorstep hoping to barter for food. Fingleton’s riveting drama subsists on minimal dialogue, outstanding performances and incredible sound design.

Virgin Mountain

A new take on the 40-year-old virgin, Dagur Kari’s Virgin Mountain will absolutely tug on your heart strings. An Icelandic/Danish production, the finely acted feature lands the viewer in the world of Fusi. A burly, gentle giant, Fusi is a milk-drinking virgin who lives with his mother, works at the airport, listens to heavy metal, and plays old-fashioned war games with models in his spare time. When his mother’s new boyfriend, an eight-year-old girl and some jerky coworkers encroach on his stable existence, Fusi realizes it may be time for this man child to grow some hair. It’s hard not to fall in love with this one.

DOCUMENTARIES

Autism in Love

Be warned, Autism in Love is a tear jerker. Weaving together the stories of four individuals with autism, Matt Fuller’s affecting feature-length documentary debut sheds light on what it’s like to be an adult living on the spectrum. It’s obvious Fuller invested a great deal of time earning the trust of his subjects and their families; most are able to speak candidly about their struggles and desire to connect with others.

Among the Believers

Among the Believers is an excellent primer on the state of affairs in Pakistan. The filmmakers, who both have ties to the region, were given unprecedented access to Pakistani cleric and ISIS supporter Abdul Aziz Ghazi. Going inside Aziz’s Red Mosque network of Islamic seminaries, the documentary shows how his students are being trained to take part in jihad. In addition to presenting Aziz’s side of things, the filmmakers also provide the viewpoints of two student-age Pakistani children, and have preeminent physicist and educational activist Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, who openly opposes Aziz, weigh in on the situation.

The Birth of Sake

Erik Shirai documents the ancient art of sake production in his beautiful and intoxicating documentary The Birth of Sake. Focusing on the Tedorigawa brewery in northern Japan, the film introduces us to a fraternity of men who leave their families every year to work, eat and sleep together during the six-month sake production season. Led by Toji, a 68-year-old brewmaster who began working in the brewery when he was 19, the group’s day starts at 5am and goes until after 8pm. The process is meticulous and the work can be grueling, but the group also shares some genial moments, especially after the sake is flowing. Yachan, the heir to the family-owned brewery, is a member of Togi’s crew and is trying to learn all facets of the business. But, the longterm fate of Tedorigawa seems in question, as it has become increasingly more difficult to recruit young people into the fold. The Birth of Sake is Shirai’s debut documentary feature and it was completed with help from a Kickstarter campaign.

Palio

Palio should make Tribeca’s World Documentary Competition a real horse race. Directed by Cosima Spender, the film is about one of the world’s oldest and most corrupt sporting events. Taking place twice a year (July and August) in Siena, Italy, Palio finds jockeys dressed in medieval-like costumes riding bareback around a dirt track in the Piazza del Campo. Each jockey competes for a different city ward, and is expected to do whatever it takes to win. Pretty much anything goes, from bribery to hitting an opponents horse mid-race. The documentary details the history of the unorthodox event while also painting its villains and would-be heroes. The race scenes are particularly epic, and are sure to have you on the edge of your seat. Also worth mentioning, is that the film’s co-producer also worked Exit Through the Gift Shop, Senna, and the much anticipated Amy Winehouse documentary, Amy.  

Prescription Thugs

Filmmaker Chris Bell is back behind and in front of the camera questioning what the doctor ordered in his new documentary Prescription Thugs. Enjoying its world premiere at Tribeca, the film is basically a sequel to his steroid expose, Bigger, Stronger, Faster, which picked up the Audience Award at Sundance in 2008. Bell begins by asking how did America got hooked on drugs and then reveals that his pro-wrestler brother, who figured prominently in his other film, died of a prescription drug overdose in 2008. From there, Bell interviews a cast of characters, from former pro-wrestlers to an ex-pharma rep and even a state senator. His style can be compared to that of Michael Moore or Morgan Spurlock and may be off-putting at first. However, if you stick with this one, you’ll be rewarded with some humorous moments and an interesting twist (or, at least we didn’t see it coming). 

Uncertain

A film that received a Sundance Documentary Film Grant and also went through their documentary edit and story lab, it was surprising that Anna Sandilands and Ewan McNicol’s Uncertain didn’t have its premiere in Park City. But Sundance’s loss is Tribeca’s gain, as this documentary about a tiny town named Uncertain on the Texas/Louisiana border is a real charmer. A place where “you have to be lost to find it,” Uncertain is a swamp town with a population of 94. The filmmakers rely the town’s colorful and quirky residents to explain the pros and cons of life in Uncertain. We come to know a now sober ex-con with a pig fetish, a diabetic young man who’s plotting his escape, and an elder fishing guide with a dark past. We also come to learn that due to an environmental foe, the town’s future is in question. Beautifully shot, this tender and humorous doc is essentially a story of perseverance and hope. We predict a bright future for the filmmakers, who were both included in Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film” in 2013.