Every June, some 150,000 film buffs fan out around New York for the Tribeca Film Festival. This year’s festival featured more than 200 screenings, as well as a story-telling summit, pitch competition and gaming showcase. One film entrant, “Dreams of Violets,” a feature-length documentary about the civil resistance of Iranians, was entirely generated by AI. Other films challenged viewers to think about social issues such as disability inclusion, women’s rights and aging.
“These artists remind us that powerful stories do more than entertain; they deepen our empathy, broaden our perspective, and bring us closer together,” notes Cara Cusumano, Tribeca senior vice president of programming.
ImpactAlpha contributing editor Dmitriy Ioselevich was onsite in New York City for this year’s festival to see and hear what’s driving the zeitgeist on important social and environmental issues.
Disability inclusion
The World Health Organization estimates that about 1.3 billion people, or 16% of the global population, live life with a significant disability. One out of every three adults will experience a long-term disability before they reach retirement age.
The rare Hollywood narratives about people with disabilities tend to focus on the tragedy (what caused the disability?) or the redemption/perseverance of the disabled character (how did they overcome the disability?).
Two films that premiered at Tribeca this year turn those narratives on their head by focusing on how characters lead meaningful lives with a disability, rather than despite a disability.
“Stand Up,” directed by Mari Sanders, is a coming-of-age story about a young woman who learns to adapt to life in a wheelchair after losing her leg in a car accident. While it takes time for her to adjust to the shock of her new life, she still finds ways to make friends, get a job, and even experience love.
“Kids Like Me,” directed by Cynthia Lowen and Jon Cohrs, is a charming documentary about a young boy’s quest to direct and star in his own murder mystery, featuring a cast of his family, friends and the boy’s favorite actor Tony Shalhoub, who starred as the title character in “Monk,” a TV series that, ironically, was assailed for its portrayal of Monk’s disability (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). Along the way, there is joy and laughter but also some drama and tears – just like with any other boy trying to find his place in the world.
The lesson from both films is that people with disabilities deserve a chance to lead a normal life. Yes, they will need help at times, but most importantly they need people to treat them with love and kindness rather than as someone in need of saving.
Gender smart
This year’s Festival comes at a time of historic rollbacks in women’s rights. We are just four years removed from the controversial reversal of the Roe v. Wade decision and less than a decade into the online “Me Too” movement, yet the implications are only growing more stark by the day. Documentaries centered on women are an important reminder of how far we’ve come, and also how far we still have to go.
“Hollywood Does Abortion,” directed by Barbara Attie, Janet Goldwater and Mike Attie, takes viewers on a cinematic history lesson to show how TV and film representations of abortion – from “Maude” and “Dirty Dancing” to “Jane the Virgin” and “Juno” – often leaned into dangerous stereotypes and even misinformation, like that abortions are dangerous, shameful and rare. But the facts are that less than 0.25% of abortions in the US result in a major complication, and one in four women will have an abortion by the time they are 45 years old.
“We think of Hollywood as being very progressive, yet we went through a pretty big era where abortion was severely stigmatized,” said co-director Barbara Attie. Rachel Bloom, an executive producer on the film and the co-creator and star of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” said she understands the appeal of abortion as a dramatic device, but thinks writers “have a responsibility to be accurate.”
“Miss Representation: Rise Up,” directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who is married to California governor and presidential candidate Gavin Newsom, examines the cultural and political backlash against women through archival footage and interviews with influential women leaders, including journalist Katie Couric, actor Jameela Jamil, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, and Senator Amy Klobuchar. “Rise Up” builds on Newsom’s 2011 documentary “Miss Representation,” which was produced by The Representation Project, a nonprofit organization that Newsom transformation started in 2011 to use film, media, and education as catalysts for cultural transformation.
In the new film, Newsom shows how, over the past 15 years, growing attacks on women’s rights and bodily autonomy – often via online harassment and now AI-generated deepfakes – have led to record levels of suicide and mental illness among teenage girls. But the film also shows how women are also fighting back by running for office, starting businesses, and building movements.
In addition to the direct attacks on women’s rights, Newsom is concerned about the impact of AI: “Technology is the new obstacle in the path towards girls and women’s progress.”
Valuing aging
Around the world, aging populations have become a critical social, political, and economic issue. As people live longer and birth rates drop, there are fewer workers in the labor force to support the rising costs of caring for the elderly, whose potential life spans are being extended by breakthroughs in medicine. Two films at Tribeca deal with the challenges aging poses—one is about the effort to extend lifespans, and another looks at the implications of having so many dead bodies to deal with.
“The A-Word: The Future of Aging,” directed by Greg Kohs, is a complex and immersive documentary about the rise of longevity medicine. Once regarded as the domain of hucksters and snake-oil salesmen, extending human life spans past 100 or even 120 years is now the subject of serious science. Biogerontologists and longevity researchers like Cynthia Kenyon and Celine Halioua, who are featured in “The A-Word,” have made important advances, including developing the first FDA-approved longevity drug for dogs. While the science is still unproven in humans, this film challenges viewers to think about what a longer lifespan would mean for society, including questions about access, cost and political power. Is an older society compatible with a sustainable one?
“Death Boom,” directed by Jessica Chandler, is a captivating documentary on the environmental impacts of the “death care” industry. With Baby Boomers threatening to overwhelm the funeral industry in the coming years, narrator and producer Eli Roth challenges viewers to think about the trade-offs of different burial and disposal methods. Cremation is by far the most popular approach in the U.S., representing 60% of all U.S. burials today and could account for 80% by 2030. But each cremation releases up to roughly 535 pounds (243 kg) of carbon dioxide emissions – about the equivalent of a 600-mile drive in an average car – and other harmful toxins into the atmosphere. The formaldehydes used for embalming for burial can leach into the soil and eventually the water and food supply.
Motivated to find greener solutions, Chandler and Roth take viewers on a journey through all the innovative ways in which death and disposal can be transformed into regeneration and rebirth. From natural burials and tree pods to human composting and water cremation, there is no shortage of ways to return human nutrients to the biosphere. The challenge is not just increasing awareness of these options, but also pushing back entrenched interests, like the Catholic Church, that have turned cemeteries and crematoriums into such big business.
As Roth put it: “We aimed to present clear solutions that already exist but are blocked by those invested in maintaining the current system for profit.”
