The We Are One festival kicked off this past weekend, bringing 10 days of films and presentations, online, with the help of 21 film festivals from across the globe. The showcase is put on by Tribeca Enterprises, the foundation behind the Tribeca Film Festival, and participating partners include Sundance, TIFF, Cannes and more. The free festival is also helping to raise money for COVID-19 relief funds.
Streamed via YouTube, folks can see over 100 films from the schedule, including exclusive screenings and VR experiences, and get some necessary escapism in a timely fashion. You can set reminders for each of the screenings here. Most selections will be available on-demand for the remainder of the digital festival (until June 7). However, some films are one-time-only screenings, so you’ll have to catch it live.
We kicked off our viewing this weekend with Ricky Powell: The Individualist, which was a one-time-only screening. The film profiles the wild ride and work of the NYC street photographer whose portraits of uptown and downtown New York in the ’80s and ’90s were iconic in helping him cement his place in the fashion, hip-hop and art worlds. Powell got his start when David Hershkovits, co-founder of Paper magazine, asked him to snap photos for the magazine’s “Cultural Sushi” club section. And then the “one man time capsule” just kept going.
Hear more from Powell and filmmaker Josh Swade in this Q&A session.
We also made sure to catch one of our favourite French artists, Sébastien Tellier, sing on top of théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, which is exactly what we feel he should be doing during a pandemic. It’s a world premiere.
Premiering June 1 // curated by Cannes Film Festival
Le Grand Saut
22-year-old Alain Demaria is a risk taker who enjoys diving off the rocks at La Corniche in Marseille, France. Le Grand Sault (“big jump”) explains more about Demaria, who is the only person to jump headfirst into the water at this spot. We see his relationship and labour work and how the water, rocks and adrenaline are always in his sights. The short film is directed by Vanessa Dumont and Nicolas Davenel. It was a 2019 entry for Cannes.
Anna
Get stuck in the world of Anna, a single mother from the Ukraine, and her monotonous life of slicing meat. When news pops up about a party where American men will attend to find desired matches to bring back home, Anna signs up to attend. The story unfolds. Anna won the award for Best British Short at the 22nd British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) in 2019. This is Dekel Berenson‘s third short film.
Cerulia // curated by Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG)
Cerulia had an imaginary friend. Cerulia had grandparents. The home Cerulia lives in won’t sell. Now watch.
Premiering June 2 // curated by Cannes Film Festival
[Premiering at 14:52] Monster God (2019) captures a night where a power plant presents a godlike presence and cows are there to witness it. The film is directed by Augstina San Martin. This is a one-time-only screening.
[16:15] Beyond The Mountain // curated by Lleida Latin-American Film Festival
A typist that keeps to himself is faced with the death of his mother. He finds her on the floor with a letter in her hand directed to his father that abandoned them. He confronts the past.
Premiering June 3
[07:30] Lonely Encounter // curated by International Film Festival and Awards
Directed by Jenny Wan, this short follows a connection between a taxi driver and a foreign exchange student. It won Best Short Film at the 2019 International Film Festival and Awards.
[09:00] Kmêdeus // curated by International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR)
This short doubles as a contemporary dance piece and honours Kmêdeus, a homeless man and artist who mystified people and lived on the island of São Vicente, Cabo Verde.
Check out the trailer.
Premiering June 4
[17:00] The Epic of Everest // curated by BFI London Film Festival
The BFI has restored Captain Joel Noel’s great capture of the 1924 Everest expedition.
We’re also anticipating the release of multiple experimental pieces to be curated by the New York Film Festival. Eight videos are expected on June 4, and it kicks off early in the AM with 24 Frames Per Century, a homage to Jean-Luc Godard’s 1963 New Wave film, Contempt.
Premiering June 5
[10:15] Los Pasos Dobles // curated by San Sebastian Film Festival
This online international premiere is not to miss. It follows François Augiéras, an American-born painter and novelist who spent much time in an army bunker in the Sahara that he called “Sistine Chapel of the desert.”
[18:45] Tribeca Talks: Francis Ford Coppola with Steven Soderbergh
Taken from the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, this nearly 50-minute interview looks at Francis Ford Coppola’s staple film, Apocalypse Now, 40 years later, as well as Apocalypse Now: Final Cut.
Premiering June 6
[17:20] TIFF Talks: Viggo Mortensen & David Cronenberg discuss the film Crash.
VR
Alteration
Alexandro (Bill Skarsgård) volunteers for a dream study, but finds out his subconscious may soon be digitized in this 20-minute short.
Make sure to indulge in this selection of UK talent, curated by the BFI London Film Festival.
The first short is Over, which follows the scene of an accident where bagged items, including a flash light, cracked cell phone, jacket, a victim’s right and left ears, and so on, are presented. To learn what happened, you are guided through time stamps, watching the busying and quieting of the street. Over was written and directed by Jörn Threlfall.
Masterpiece follows a group of guys collectively trying to determine what their friend’s final art project represents, done so without hurting his feelings or sounding dumb. It is written and directed by Runyararo Mapfumo.
The final short, vertical shapes in a horizontal landscape, from Mark Jenkin, is a narration through the south coast of England. Everyday tasks and thoughts (like catching the last train at King’s Cross Station) soon spread out over five minutes, as signs, fields, objects, and sheep, tumble together to complete the walkabout.
Note: We’ve listed air times in 24-hour clock format to reflect the schedule online.
Main photo courtesy of Los Pasos Dobles / We Are One