2016 Tribeca Film Festival: NY Shorts Program

Of the many films the Tribeca Film Festival shows, one of the biggest categories that often gets overlooked is the shorts category. Shorts are most definitely much harder to make considering their limited screen time and the need to fit a whole story within that time. Taking that into consideration, the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival decided to split up its shorts submissions into various categories, including New York Now shorts program.

This array of shorts all contained some form of New York City within them, whether through history, character, story, or anything in between. There were seven shorts in the program, and they are as follows:

Mildred & The Dying Parlor: Directed by Alex Gayner, starring Zosia Mamet, Jane Krakowski, Steve Buscemi, and Evan Jonigkeit; about a family who runs a dying parlor out of their home until an unexpected visitor shows up.

Wannabe: Directed by Matthew Manson, starring Malcolm-Jamal Warner, David Bloom, and Chaize Macklin, about the racial tensions during the Crown Heights riots.

Curmudgeons: Directed by Danny DeVito, starring DeVito, David Marguilies, and Lucy DeVito; about two aging senior citizens who have a relationship that shocks both of their families.

Father’s Day: Directed by Kiki Lambden Stout, starring Elizabeth Canavan, Susan Aston, Michael Puzzo, and Tom Sherman; about a mother who abandons her family on Father’s Day.

The Mulberry Bush: Directed by Nick LaBute, starring Victor Slezak and JJ Kandel; about two men sitting in Central Park having a nice conversation that turns too personal.

You Can Go: Directed by Christine Turner, starring Charlie Tahan and S. Epatha Merkerson, about a troubled teen talking with a high school administrator.

A Subway Story: Directed by Eugene Kolb, starring Kolb and Clara Flaherty; about two people meeting on the subway.

We got the chance to interview a couple of the filmmakers including Manson, Slezak, Kandel, and Rhea Perlman. Check out their interviews below.

Rhea Perlman, on Curmudgeons:

Victor Slezak and JJ Kandek, on The Mulberry Bush:

Matthew Manson, on Wannabe: