Baddest and Blackest Hot Tickets at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival

3. NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE – For Ahkeem, documentary directed by Jeremy S. Levine and Landon Van Soest (USA)

A year before Michael Brown was shot down dead in the streets in the suburb of my hometown STL -Ferguson, Mo., his peer, 17-year-old Daje Shelton, was coming into her own in neighboring North St. Louis.   Daje falls in love, gets into disagreements with her friends and what teen doesn’t think she knows more than her mom. Yet as with so many black teenage girls,  the stakes are so much higher and the safety net so much smaller.

4.  WORLD PREMIERE – Whitney. “Can I Be Me,” documentary directed by Nick Broomfield and Rudi Dolezal, written by Nick Broomfield (U.K.)

“The Voice”.  A Jersey girl who became America’s most beloved, most awarded female recording artist of all time, Miss Whitney Houston. Featuring largely never-before-seen footage, Whitney breaks down the story behind the angelic. five-octave voice and the freefall that no one could prevent. Soon to be seen on Showtime

5. WORLD PREMIERE – The People’s House, virtual reality project creators: Félix Lajeunesse, Paul Raphaël (Felix & Paul Studios) (Canada)

Who doesn’t miss the Obamas? With every passing day Barack, Michelle, Sasha and Malia are feel and look  like the best thing that ever happen to America since The Clinton’s and The Kennedy’s.  Don’t worry…I got you!  if you didn’t make it to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue over the last eight years, no through the transportive power of VR, you can get a personalized tour from the Obamas through the West Wing and its  private residences.

7. WORLD PREMIERE – FEATURE DOCUMENTARY – Wasted!  The Story of Food Waste; directed by Anna Chai and Nari Kye

Every year 80% of the world’s water, 40% of the world’s land, and 10% of the world’s energy is dedicated to growing the food we eat, yet in the same year 1.3 billion tons of food is thrown out. That’s a third of all food grown around the world being wasted before it even reaches a plate. WASTED! The Story of Food Waste sheds a light on the pressing issue of food waste. Executive Produced by author and chef Anthony Bourdain, the film doesn’t simply focus on the problem, but offers solutions like reorienting consumer perspectives on the food that is normally cast aside, and what changes we can make to our food production chain to create a more sustainable food system.

7. WORLD PREMIERE – FEATURE NARRATIVE – A Thousand Junkies; directed by Tommy Swerdlow

With a sensitive eye and no loss of comic skill from his days as a screenwriter for ’90s family favorites like Cool Runnings and Little Giants, Tommy Swerdlow crafts a comedy balanced on the fine line between reliance and dependence — not just the drugs his anti-heroes seek but the faulty relationships that have enabled or resisted their habits over time. As the film edges closer to the absurd, driven by the hyperbole natural to desperate men (see: the film’s title), it delivers both the inevitable and the wholly unexpected: a drug movie that struggles to find any drugs, and a road movie that drives in circles.

8. TRIBECA TALKS:  STORYTELLERS – Common with Nelson George

My boyfriend (lol), Chicago Native, Academy Award®, Golden Globe®, and three-time Grammy® winner Common has crafted an impressive career as a renowned hip-hop artist and notable actor. Director/screenwriter  (“A Ballerina’s Tale” and Netflix’s “The Get Down”) Nelson George joins Common to discuss the power of the combination of film and music.

After the Movie: This conversation will begin with a screening of a never-before-seen extended version of Letter to the Free (Directed by Bradford Young), followed by a conversation with Nelson George and a live performance by Common.

8. WORLD PREMIERE – FEATURE DOCUMENTARY:  BOMBSHELL – The Hedy Lamarr Story; directed by Alexandra Dean

Startlet. Screen Siren. The Most Beautiful Woman in the World. All phrases used to describe 1940’s Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr. Alexandra Dean’s illuminating documentary adds Inventor to the list.   An Austrian Jew who acted by day and drew mechanical and electronic inventions by night, Lamarr came up with a “secret communication system” to help the Allies to beat the Nazis. Weaving in Lamarr’s own voice from archival recordings, Dean reveals how Lamarr gave her patent to the Navy, received no credit for her contributions, and wound up impoverished in her latter years. Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story is a film for lovers of history, Hollywood and science.  Being a classic film lover, y’all know I am all over this one!

9. WORLD PREMIERE – FEATURE DOCUMENTARY:  LA 92; directed by Dan Lindsay and TJ Martin

10. GALA:  THE GODFATHER AND THE GODFATHER:  PART II; directed Francis Ford Coppola