ADRIAN FLORIDO, HOST:
The Tribeca Film Festival wraps up today in Lower Manhattan. The celebration of independent films, founded by actor Robert De Niro and his producing partner, Jane Rosenthal, marked its 25th year. NPR's Mandalit del Barco reports on what stood out.
MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: Last night, the documentary "Alicia Keys: Girl From Hell's Kitchen" premiered at the festival. The singer/songwriter celebrated both her film and the Knicks winning the NBA championship by serenading her hometown.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ALICIA KEYS: (Singing) I'm in a New York state of mind.
DEL BARCO: Over the past two weeks, the festival screened more than 200 films from around the globe, including Questlove's documentary about the band, Earth, Wind & Fire.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "EARTH, WIND & FIRE (TO BE CELESTIAL VS. THAT'S THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD)")
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Hey. And then you hear, (vocalizing).
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Wow.
DEL BARCO: There were some star-studded films with actors Gal Gadot and Oscar Isaac, Aubrey Plaza, Will Ferrell and Alicia Vikander. And rapper and actor A$AP Rocky won the inaugural Tribeca X filmmaker of the year award. But many of the films had less familiar subjects.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "JAIL TIME RECORDS")
UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST: (Rapping) Hey. Hey. Hey.
DEL BARCO: The documentary "Jail Time Records" chronicles a recording studio for incarcerated musicians in Cameroon. Music producer and activist Steve Happi was once one of them and picked up two festival awards, along with his co-director Dione Roach. They filmed inside the overcrowded New Bell Prison.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "JAIL TIME RECORDS")
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: A prison built for 800 people, where you can find, now, like 6,000.
DEL BARCO: The winner of the festival's U.S. narrative competition was the debut feature from Daniel Blake Schwartz. "Cotton Fever" was based on his own experiences in Boston, struggling with addiction.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "COTTON FEVER")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) No, I'll just ask one of the guys if they can spot me till payday. I'll be fine.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) Really?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) Yeah.
DEL BARCO: The Canadian film "Labrador - Autopsy Of Silence" won the festival's top international prizes. It's a murder mystery based on a true crime that took place on a supply cargo ship. Christopher Angatookalook stars as a gay Inuk mechanic, considered the prime suspect.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LABRADOR - AUTOPSY OF SILENCE")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character) So the crew mentioned you were friends with the deceased.
CHRISTOPHER ANGATOOKALOOK: (As Alupa Tulugak) We worked together for five years.
DEL BARCO: "Summer Of Three," which won two festival awards, is a story about a 17-year-old who returns from LA to his native Puerto Rico.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SUMMER OF THREE")
KIKI MONTILLA: (As Kiki, speaking Spanish).
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MARCEL RUIZ: "Summer Of Three" is about friendship, love, family.
DEL BARCO: Marcel Ruiz, who played the son in the TV reboot of "One Day At A Time," stars in the film. He picked up the festival's award for best performance in a U.S. narrative. He also shared the best screenplay award with his father, Carlitos Ruiz Ruiz.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CARLITOS RUIZ RUIZ: Nineteen years ago, my first movie premiered in Tribeca, "Lovesickness." My son was a little kid running through the halls, and I just wrote a movie with him.
DEL BARCO: They also wrote the screenplay with filmmaker Mariana Belaval.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MARIANA BELAVAL: Puerto Rican cinema is coming, and it's coming really strong. Our culture, our words, our accent, our stories are really, really powerful (speaking Spanish).
DEL BARCO: A new award to celebrate the best short film capturing the texture, humor and spirit of New York went to "Insufficient Fare," a movie that is all of five minutes long. It's a comedic ode to the beloved MetroCard that was officially retired at the end of last year.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "INSUFFICIENT FARE")
LEMON ANDERSEN: (As MetroCard) You know, I always thought I'd go out with a little more dignity...
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #4: (As character, shouting) Hey.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #5: (As character) Damn.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #6: (As character) Get out of my face.
ANDERSEN: (As MetroCard) ...Busting my a** for 32 years.
DEL BARCO: The MetroCard was voiced by Brooklyn-born poet and actor Lemon Andersen. Another film, "In Memoriam," stars Marc Maron as an actor who has cancer. His dying wish is to get recognized in the Academy Awards obituary segment. Director Rob Burnett talked to NPR outside the Village East theater.
ROB BURNETT: To be here is surreal. It's a dream come true. And here's the thing - we had a director's lunch the other day, and I got a picture with Robert De Niro. So I won Tribeca. It's over. I got the picture. I landed the whale.
DEL BARCO: And after last night's game, he's one of millions in this city who each feel like a winner.
Mandalit del Barco, NPR News, New York.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EMPIRE STATE OF MIND")
KEYS: (Singing) Yeah, yeah. New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of. There's nothing you can't do now you're in New York. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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