- 7 Days – A hilarious yet warm rom-com about two people finding love with each other after recently experiencing heartbreak with others. And while there was plenty to love about the neon-lit charmer, much of its appeal hinged on the undeniable charisma and screen presence of star Geraldine Viswanathan
- AS OF YET – To some, the idea of a “pandemic film” in 2021 may seem gauche. After all, despite many cities across the United States reopening, the pandemic is still very much ravaging other parts of the world. But if a case needed to be made for how a pandemic film could be made with grace, I can’t think of a better example than as of yet.
- BITCHIN’: THE SOUND AND FURY OF RICK JAMES – “He was interested in being a rock star,” says one talking head in Bitchin’: The Sound and Fury of Rick James, a new documentary about the titular late musician. A sprawling retrospective, which tracks James’ life from his birth in 1948 to his untimely death in 2004, Bitchin’ tells an immersive story about one of music’s most enigmatic figures.
- THE GOD COMMITTEE – Who gets to play God? That’s the question at the heart of The God Committee, a holdover from the 2020 Tribeca Festival lineup (before it was canceled), which finally got its premiere this year. Boasting a star-studded cast that includes Frasier’s Kelsey Grammar, Save the Last Dance’s Julia Stiles, Euphoria’s Colman Domingo, and The Usual Suspect’s Dan Hedaya, The God Committee takes its name from the group of people charged with selecting who, out of a list of eligible patients, will be the lucky person to receive an organ transplant when one becomes available.
- MARK, MARY & SOME OTHER PEOPLE – a delightful comedy that upends expectations at every turn. Directed by After Everything’s Hannah Marks, Mark, Mary & Some Other People rushes through its weird-boy-meets-cute-girl-in-a-convenience-store meet-cute stage, quickly sending Mark (Mrs. America’s Ben Rosenfield) and Mary (Riverdale’s Hayley Law) to the altar so it can get to its real beginning: when Mary, following the advice of her best friend Tori, asks Mark if they can open up their loving marriage.
- QUEEN OF GLORY – A common thread across this year’s Tribeca film lineup was narratives that centered diverse perspectives. Take Queen of Glory, the directorial debut of Nana Mensah, which stars the writer-director as Sarah, an intelligent Ghanaian-American Columbia University doctoral student. Preparing to follow her married boyfriend across the country, from her New York hometown to Ohio, Sarah finds her world upended after the sudden death of her mother, who leaves Sarah with the responsibility of their Bronx-based family Christian book store.
