Biz Markie, Alicia Keys, and Tierra Whack have all been announced as documentary subjects at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.
Slated to kick off on June 7 in New York City, the official festival website revealed there’s a wide spate of documentaries, feature films, and short stories all set to launch in a variety of theaters, with more diversity amongst its director pool than ever before.
According to Billboard, the roster features “43 first-time directors with 41% of all feature films directed by women and, in a first, more than half of competition films directed by women (68%), as well as 36% of feature films directed by BIPOC filmmakers.”
First up is All Up in the Biz, which is director Sacha Jenkins’ feature-length documentary about the former Juice Crew member and influential Hip Hop pioneer.
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Featuring rare clips, celebrity interviews, and funny re-enactments, the documentary also features Nick Cannon, Fat Joe, Darryl “DMC” McDaniel, and many others. The film is part of the Expressions of Black Freedom programming, sponsored by Indeed.
Then, in Uncharted, filmmaker Beth Aala goes behind the scenes at Alicia Keys’ “She is the Music” songwriting camp, which is for Black and brown girls looking to make their way in the entertainment industry. Actor-turned-Atlantic Records producer Ebonie Smith also stars in the film.
Finally, Cypher is director Chris Moukarbel’s “mock-umentary” of alt-rap performer Tierra Whack, and the teaser promises that the viewer will “question everything they see” in the film.
The Tribeca Film Festival has become just as much of a part of the fabric of New York City as the Statue of Liberty, the dirty water hot dog, and the NY Yankees.
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Originally designed as an intimate celebration of art-house style films for New York’s avant-garde filmmakers in 2002, today’s Tribeca Film Festival is a multi-day, multi-genre event that features documentaries, narrative features, and shorts, as well as a program of family-friendly films alongside virtual reality offerings, guest panels featuring A-list celebrities and directors, and an ASCAP-produced music lounge featuring hot up-and-coming musicians.
Since Hip Hop is just as much a part of the fabric of New York City as the festival itself, it also shows up and shows out over the course of the festival — and this year’s lineup is certainly no different.
