The first of Dispatches From the Tribeca Film Festival 2019. Two returning filmmakers, friends of the podcast, appear on this episode: Davy Rothbart who was last on Episode 174 with his film “Medora”; and Marshall Curry appeared on Episodes 6 and 254 with different documentary projects. This time Curry has a narrative short film, his first, that he directed.
First up, Davy Rothbart has a new documentary which he has been working on for the past 20 years. It’s called “17 Blocks” and it just enjoyed its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. This synopsis is from Tribeca’s website: Nine year old Emmanuel began filming himself and his family with a home video camera in 1999, capturing his Washington D.C. neighborhood through the eyes of an innocent child. Growing up just 17 blocks from the U.S. Capitol, however, proved more difficult than expected. Filmmaker, journalist, and frequent This American Life contributor Davy Rothbart befriended the Sanford family as they continued to document their daily life over a 20-year period in a city plagued by poverty, addiction, and gun violence. What resulted from this uniquely collaborative effort between Rothbart and the family is a transcendent portrait of the unwavering strength of familial bonds. The film follows the characters through periods of joy and sadness, all captured on tape with stunning intimacy. This incredibly touching non-fiction odyssey offers a remarkable look into the lives of one family who was brave enough to share their story with the world.
Marshall Curry has made a number of documentary feature films over the past 20 years. With this new project, “The Neighbor’s Window”, Marshall tries his hand at making a narrative film, and pulls it off quite successfully I might add. This synopsis is from the Tribeca Film Festival website: “The Neighbors’ Window” tells the true story of a middle aged woman (Maria Dizzia) with small children whose life is shaken up when two free-spirited twenty-somethings (Juliana Canfield and Bret Lada) move in across the street.
