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| Frédéric Boyer on Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn’s Official Competition, starring Penelope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, and Oscar Martínez: “Extraordinary! It’s like a Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn type of slapstick” Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze |
In the second installment with Tribeca Film Festival Artistic Director Frédéric Boyer we discuss Joachim Back’s Corner Office (a satire with Jon Hamm, based on the novel by Jonas Karlsson), John Michael McDonagh’s The Forgiven (Ralph Fiennes, Jessica Chastain), David Frankel’s Jerry and Marge Go Large (Bryan Cranston, Annette Bening), Paul Dektor’s American Dreamer (Peter Dinklage, Shirley MacLaine, Matt Dillon, also in Shirin Neshat and Shoja Azari’s Land Of Dreams), Andrew Bujalski’s There, There (Jason Schwartzman, Lili Taylor), Annette K Olesen’s A Matter Of Trust (Trine Dyrholm, Morten Hee Andersen of Charlotte Sieling’s Margrete: Queen Of The North), Kyra Sedgwick’s Space Oddity (Alexandra Shipp, Kyle Allen), Katie Holmes’s Alone Together (Jim Sturgess, Zosia Mamet, Melissa Leo, Holmes), Peter Hengl’s Family Dinner, Clara Stern’s Breaking The Ice, and Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn’s Official Competition (Penelope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Oscar Martínez) and some more of the films that we look forward to in the 21st edition of the Tribeca Film Festival.
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| Frédéric Boyer with Anne-Katrin Titze on Headfirst director and Dreaming Walls co-director Amélie van Elmbt: “Oh! She has talent!” |
Documentaries include Matt Tyrnauer’s Victoria’s Secret: Angel’s And Demons, Amélie van Elmbt and Maya Duverdier’s Dreaming Walls, Ben Vérane Frédiani and Franck Ribière’s Reinventing Mirazur (on chef Mauro Colagreco), Ben Chace’s Music Pictures: New Orleans, Kristy Guevara-Flanagan’s Body Parts, and Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s Endangered.
From Paris, Frédéric Boyer joined me on Zoom for an in-depth conversation on the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival.
Anne-Katrin Titze: In Spotlight Narrative you always have some films with names. There’s Corner Office, a satire with Jon Hamm. The Forgiven with Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain. Another one called Jerry and Marge Go Large with Bryan Cranston and Annette Bening.
Frédéric Boyer: They’re watchable. And there’s one with Peter Dinklage and I love Peter Dinklage.
AKT: What about Official Competition with Penelope Cruz and Banderas?
FB: Extraordinary! It’s a little bit too long and repetitive but you don’t care, seriously, because it’s like a Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn type of slapstick. She is extremely funny and he is great. It’s cool. It was in San Sebastian.
AKT: That sounds good, any film that reminds you of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy! I noticed that two actresses have films they directed - Katie Holmes’s Alone Together…
FB: I didn’t see it.
AKT: And Kyra Sedgwick’s Space Oddity.
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| Jessica Chastain and Ralph Fiennes star in John Michael McDonagh’s The Forgiven Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze |
FB: There’s another one that’s quite interesting. It was in Berlin, but very few people saw the film. Most people are watching Competition or Generation and this one was in Panorama. It’s called Dreaming Walls. Magnolia is going to release the film. It’s a film not about the Chelsea Hotel, but about the people living in the Chelsea Hotel during the renovation.
They are between 75 and 100 years old and have had their rooms for 50, 60 years. They are absolutely not rock ’n’ roll or they were but they’re old. You have the workers doing a luxury hotel, but they don’t move. And it’s not, oh remember Andy Warhol and Lou Reed, no, it’s not about namedropping. It’s very human. It’s from Belgium.
AKT: The director is Amélie van Elmbt, right?
FB: Exactly!
AKT: I remember her. I was on the jury for First Time Fest where her first film Headfirst premiered in New York and we gave her the directing award.
FB: Oh! She has talent!
AKT: I also saw that you have two films from Austria this year.
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| Anthony Rapp congratulates producer Frédéric de Goldschmidt and director Amélie van Elmbt at the First Time Fest Awards Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze |
FB: Yes, this is the biggest year for Austria. Put aside Haneke and Seidl. We have a focus on Austria at Les Arcs. It’s really fantastic. We have Breaking the Ice, which is a film about a love story in hockey.
And there is another film on Midnight, which I think is very interesting, it should not be Midnight. It’s called Family Dinner and is extremely interesting. It looks a little bit like the film made by the wife of Ulrich Seidl [Veronika Franz with Severin Fiala] about the mother changing her face [Goodnight Mommy].
AKT: Yes, I remember it.
FB: It’s an elegant psychological thriller, Austrian way. It’s very European, it’s very smart.
AKT: I noticed some actors I like in other films. Jason Schwartzman is in There, There.
FB: Yes, okay.
AKT: And one of my favourite actresses in a film from Denmark, Trine Dyrholm.
FB: Trine Dyrholm, fantastique! She’s not only a good actress but also a friend. I hope you’re going to meet her, she’s one of the most delicious persons ever.
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| Trine Dyrholm stars in Annette K Olesen’s A Matter Of Trust Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze |
AKT: I interviewed her twice before! She’s great.
FB: She’s great and the film is really good. It’s bizarre, it’s not an omnibus, it’s in parts and it’s only about trust. The fact that they are Protestant is very interesting because for the Catholics it’s all about guilt, but trust is very important for the Danes. It’s really exceptionally well filmed. Annette K. Olesen, it’s her second film, she’s in it and it’s great. You know what to see!
AKT: I just look through your program and see what interests me.
FB: I cannot control all the films but if I remember there may be a few other films that are interesting in Spotlight. There’s one that’s going to be a fantastic show. Try to see this, it’s called Music Pictures: New Orleans.
It’s in the section Movie Plus, it’s about the New Orleans jazz, blues, and soul scene. It’s the best musical doc we have. And we have on stage all musicians from New Orleans coming. I love the music and it’s not a stupid TV movie doc.
AKT: I also saw that you have Matt Tyrnauer’s new series on Victoria’s Secret, called Angels and Demons.
FB: Yes, exactly, it’s good too.
AKT: I like his documentaries very much. I like his touch, it’s totally original.
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| Annette Bening and Bryan Cranston star in David Frankel’s Jerry And Marge Go Large Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze |
FB: And we have a really good film about food. The chef’s name is Mauro Colagreco, he is coming. He has a restaurant called Mirazur restaurant in Menton next to Nice in the South of France. He arrived in France - no star. First year - two stars. Third year - three stars. Fourth year - best restaurant in the world.
And he closed last year because of the lockdown. He came from very poor origins in Argentina. It’s a portrait of him and also a little bit different food film, not just food, it’s human. I think it’s a fantastic portrait but you need to be connected to that type of culture, otherwise it’s … You need to have an interest.
AKT: Last year at Tribeca there were some great discoveries for me in the festival.
FB: Yes, as you said, Brighton 4th [directed by Levan Koguashvili] and the Pan Nalin [Last Film Show], I agree with you.
AKT: Even in the shorts. I really liked [Elvira Lind’s] The Letter Room and I loved [Britt Lower’s] Circus People.
FB: It’s interesting that you talk about Fashion Reimagined, which is really good. Two or three other docs maybe interesting for you, I’ll send you a note when I remember something.
AKT: Endangered and Body Parts seem to tackle bullying in different ways, no?
FB: Yes, I have a good memory of those.
Read what Frédéric Boyer had to say on the success of the 20th anniversary edition and more of the 2022 highlights.
The Tribeca Film Festival runs from June 8 through June 19.
