By Harold Goldberg

It’s on! Hideo Kojima will speak with Geoff Keighley about his long-awaited “Death Stranding” game for Sony’s PlayStation. The discussion will take place during the Tribeca Film Festival (TFF) on April 25 at 6 p.m. at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers Street.Joining the two will be lead actor Norman Reedus. You can find tickets here at the TFF festival guide.

Kojima, one of the most recognizable creators within the videogame industry, has had a long relationship with Keighley, the hard-working founder of The Game Awards. In fact, they’re friends. So expect a smooth, thoughtful conversation bolstered by years of knowledge and trust. Hopefully, attendees will get some more information on what so far has been a fascinating game steeped in secrecy and mystery.

But it’s no secret that the games portion of the Tribeca Film Festival has undergone a number of changes over the years. Right now, it looks like less is more as far the number of panels is concerned. Beyond Hideo Kojima, I’d expect one more panel to be revealed soon. But that’s just my guess. Last year, TFF produced a God of War panel with director Cory Barlog and another with the makers of last year’s Tomb Raider game.

The Tribeca Talks portion of the festival includes the likes of Rashida Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Sarah Silverman, Martin Scorcese, Questlove, Queen Latifah, Robert De Niro and Guillermo Del Toro. Here’s a list of almost all of the talks and discussions:

TRIBECA TALKS: DIRECTORS SERIES

Today’s most groundbreaking filmmakers discuss their careers and highlights.

Tribeca Talks: Directors Series – Martin Scorsese with Robert De Niro

Martin Scorsese is an Academy Award®-winning director and one of the most influential and celebrated filmmakers working today. He has directed some of the mostly highly-regarded, critically acclaimed films, including Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York, The Departed, The Wolf of Wall Street and Silence. He will sit down with the Academy Award®-winning actor and frequent collaborator Robert De Niro, who he has directed in nine feature films, including his Academy Award®-winning performance as boxer Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull. Scorsese has directed documentaries including the Peabody Award-winning No Direction Home: Bob Dylan and the Emmy Award®-winning George Harrison: Living in the Material World. He was the executive producer on the HBO series, Boardwalk Empire, winning an Emmy Award® and DGA Award for directing the pilot episode. This legendary duo will come together at the Beacon Theatre to reflect upon their illustrious decades of collaboration from Mean Streets to their upcoming film, The Irishman.

• Event time: Sunday, April 28 at 2:00 PM, Beacon Theatre

Tribeca Talks: Directors Series – Guillermo del Toro

Among the most creative and visionary artists working today, Guillermo del Toro will discuss his prolific career turning horror, fairy tales, and the supernatural into world-class filmmaking. Del Toro earned widespread acclaim and multiple Academy Award® wins for 2006 fantasy drama, Pan’s Labyrinth. His 2018 film, The Shape of Water, won four Academy Awards® including Best Director and Best Picture. His other work includes beloved genre films such as Cronos, Mimic, The Devil’s Backbone, Hellboy, Pacific Rim, and Crimson Peak. In this conversation, the auteur will give audiences an exclusive look into his creative process.

• Event time:  Thursday, April 25 at 8:00 PM, BMCC

Tribeca Talks: Directors Series – David O. Russell with Jennifer Lawrence

David O. Russell is an acclaimed Oscar®-nominated film writer, director, and producer known for his cinema of intense, tragi-comedic characters and worlds. Russell has earned immense acclaim and recognition throughout his career, most notably for his Academy Award® and Golden Globe® winning films The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook, and American Hustle. Russell will be joined in conversation by Academy-Award® winning actor and frequent collaborator Jennifer Lawrence, who he has directed to three Golden Globe® wins and three of her four Oscar® nominations, including a Best Actress win for her role in Silver Linings Playbook. This iconic duo will come together for an extraordinary, one-on-one conversation covering their remarkable creative relationship.

• Event time: Saturday, April 27 at 6:00 PM, BMCC

TRIBECA TALKS: STORYTELLERS

This series celebrates the illustrious careers of today’s most innovative creators, who have broken from traditional roles and pioneered their own forms of storytelling.

Tribeca Talks: Storytellers – Questlove

Questlove is an iconic drummer, DJ, producer, culinary entrepreneur, New York Times best-selling author, and, as a member of The Roots, the unmistakable heartbeat of Philadelphia’s most influential hip-hop group. He is the Musical Director for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where his Roots crew serves as house band. Beyond that, this five-time Grammy Award®-winning musician’s indisputable reputation has landed him musical directing positions with everyone from D’Angelo and Eminem to Jay-Z. Join Questlove in conversation for a celebration of his boundless and eclectic career.

• Event time: Tuesday, April 30 at 8:30 PM, Tribeca Festival Hub

Tribeca Talks: Storytellers – Sarah Silverman with Mike Birbiglia

Sarah Silverman is a force in stand-up comedy, but this two-time Emmy Award® winner works across a variety of mediums and has cemented herself as one of the most versatile talents working today. Silverman’s many credits include the Emmy®-nominated Hulu talk series I Love You, America and the acclaimed films I Smile Back and Battle of the Sexes. She has lent her voice to the Emmy Award®-winning animated series Bob’s Burgers and the Wreck it Ralph films, and received widespread praise for her 2017 Netflix stand-up special A Speck of Dust. Silverman will be joined in conversation by fellow comedian, actor, and filmmaker Mike Birbiglia, best known for his indie breakout films Sleepwalk with Me and Don’t Think Twice – for which he was the writer, director and star – as well as his guest role as Oscar Langstraat on the hit series Billions, and his celebrated solo Broadway play The New One. Silverman and Birbiglia share a unique gift for transforming the deeply personal into the universal and will come together to discuss their creative processes as comedians, storytellers and performers.

• Event time: Monday, April 29 at 8:00 PM, BMCC

Tribeca Talks: Storytellers – Michael J. Fox with Denis Leary  

Michael J. Fox is an acclaimed television and film actor known for his iconic work on the sitcom Family Ties and the classic film trilogy Back to the Future. At 29, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, news the actor and icon shared publicly in 1998. In 2000, he established The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research to advance scientific progress toward a cure. In addition to his Parkinson’s advocacy, Fox is a NY Times bestselling author and his acting continues to earn him widespread recognition, including a Grammy®, four Golden Globes®, two SAG® awards and five Emmy Awards®, including a win for his guest appearance on Rescue Me, the critically acclaimed show created by and starring his longtime friend and fellow hockey lover, Denis Leary. Join these two spirited entertainers and friends for an illuminating and lighthearted conversation that will cover the breadth of Fox’s remarkable career.

• Event time: Tuesday, April 30 at 6:00 PM, BMCC

Tribeca Talks: Storytellers – Jaron Lanier

Jaron Lanier, a celebrated writer, computer scientist, musician, is frequently cited for his pioneering work in Virtual Reality. He is known for charting a humanistic approach to technology appreciation and criticism, wrote books including Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now, has consulted on films such as Minority Report and The Circle, and created music with Philip Glass and T Bone Burnett. Lanier takes a singular approach to the intersection between technology and the arts, evidenced by his significant creative output. In this enticing talk, he discusses his dynamic and prolific career while illustrating the powerful connection between science, music, and storytelling.  

• Event time: Saturday, April 27 at 2:00 PM, Tribeca Festival Hub

 

Tribeca Talks: Storytellers – Rashida Jones

Versatile actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and Harvard graduate Rashida Jones will be in conversation to discuss an illustrious and accomplished career that spans across a variety of mediums. She co-wrote and starred in the indie breakout film Celeste and Jesse Forever, and received widespread acclaim for her sophomore directorial effort Quincy—an intimate portrait of her father and music legend Quincy Jones. She is the executive producer of the TNT hit-series Claws and currently stars on the TBS series Angie Tribeca.

• Event Time: Wednesday, May 1 at 6:00 PM, BMCC

Tribeca Talks: Master Class – Irwin Winkler on the Art and Craft of Producing

With a career spanning over 50 years, Academy Award®-winning producer and director Irwin Winkler is one of the most prolific and decorated producers working in the industry today. His incalculable contributions to cinema include his work on such films as Rocky, Raging Bull, The Right Stuff, Goodfellas, The Wolf of Wall Street, Creed, Silence, and the upcoming film, The Irishman. He has received numerous honors, including the Commandeur des Arts et Lettres and the 2017 Producers Guild of America’s David O. Selznick Achievement Award. For this master class discussion, Winkler will walk audiences through his process of getting a movie made, what it really means to be a great producer, and illuminate the innumerable ways in which producing is integral to the filmmaking process.

 

• Event Time: Friday, May 3 at 3:30 PM, SVA-2  

 

 

Tribeca Talks: Master Class – The Journey of Digital Storytelling to TV: A Discussion with HBO Talent

Source material for Television series has changed over the past decade. As the media landscape continues to shift, the model of stories that are created solely from original concepts or adapted from literature has become more and more open to interpretation. Now, we see networks like HBO finding unique and diverse voices from the ever-expanding sphere of media.  Web series and podcasts have become increasingly exciting areas from which to build a fleshed-out series. Join HBO talent who hail from the digital storytelling space as they discuss the process of transitioning their series to the small screen.

• Event Time:  Saturday, May 4 at 3:30 PM, SVA-1

 

TRIBECA TALKS: QUEEN LATIFAH WITH DEE REES

with the premiere of the Queen Collective shorts

Queen Latifah is a critically acclaimed and award winning musician, actor, label president, author and entrepreneur. The first hip-hop artist to be crowned with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Latifah has had immeasurable success in music and acting; she has received Grammy®, Emmy®, and Golden Globe® awards for work, as well as an Academy Award® nomination for her portrayal of Mama Morton in Chicago. The trailblazing, Academy Award®-nominated screenwriter and director Dee Rees, who directed Latifah to a SAG award for her role in the HBO film Bessie, will join Latifah in conversation to discuss her extraordinary and multifaceted career. Together, these two remarkable storytellers will cover Latifah’s creative journey from musician to actor to entrepreneur, and how she is using her influence to mentor and uplift diverse female filmmakers in order to accelerate gender and racial equality behind the camera

• Event time: Friday, April 26 at 5:30 PM, Tribeca Festival Hub

Following the talk will be the debut of The Queen Collective short documentaries. The Queen Collective is a program developed in partnership with Procter & Gamble and Queen Latifah with Flavor Unit Entertainment, aimed at accelerating gender and racial equality behind the camera. Created by diverse young women – these short films inspire positive social change and embody Procter and Gamble’s commitment to supporting gender and racial equity, on-screen and behind the scenes.

• Ballet After Dark – Directed by B.Monét. (USA) – World Premiere, Short Documentary. Ballet After Dark tells the story a young woman who found the strength to survive after an attack. She created an organization that is helping sexual abuse and domestic violence survivors find healing after trauma through dance therapy
• If There Is Light – Directed by Haley Elizabeth Anderson. (USA) – World Premiere, Short Documentary. Fourteen-year-old Janiyah Blackmon wrestles with her new life in New York City as her mom tries to move her family out of the shelter system and into a stable home. With Janiyah Blackmon, McKayla Blackmon, Jakena Blackmon.

 

TRIBECA GAMES PRESENTS: HIDEO KOJIMA WITH NORMAN REEDUS

World-renowned auteur game creator Hideo Kojima, widely considered the father of the stealth genre, has been hard at work on the highly anticipated PlayStation®4 title Death Stranding. Little is known about this mysterious new project, and speculation from fans and industry alike have created a deafening excitement. To discuss his boundary-pushing new game, Hideo Kojima will be joined by the star of Death Stranding, Norman Reedus, best known for his star-turning performances in The Boondock Saints and the acclaimed series The Walking Dead. Together, they will discuss pushing the boundaries of the video game medium and talk about how their relationship has established over working on the title together. This exclusive conversation will be moderated by game journalist Geoff Keighley, whose work and creation of The Game Awards has furthered the appreciation and understanding of the video game industry.

• Event time: Thursday, April 25 at 6:00 PM, BMCC

MOVIES PLUS

A Tribeca tradition, Movies Plus offers audiences the unique opportunity to continue the experience of a film through buzzworthy conversations or performances after each special screening.

It Takes a Lunatic, directed and produced by Billy Lyons. (USA, UK, Germany) – World Premiere, Feature Documentary. A tribute to the life and legacy of influential acting teacher Wynn Handman, whose American Place Theater helped launched the off Broadway scene, as well as the careers of students from Richard Gere and Michael Douglas to Sam Shepard. With Michael Douglas, Richard Gere, Susan Lucci, Eric Bogosian, John Leguizamo, Woodie King, Jr.

• After the Premiere Screening: A conversation with acting teacher, artistic director and film subject Wynn Handman, actors Robert De Niro and Michael Douglas, and director Billy Lyons.
• Event Time: Friday, May 3 at 8 PM, BMCC

 

Luce directed by Julius Onah, written by JC Lee, Julius Onah. Produced by John Baker, Julius Onah, Andrew Yang. (USA) – New York Premiere. After writing an inflammatory essay, a high school overachiever finds himself on a collision course with his adoptive parents and an overbearing teacher. A complex drama boasting an amazing ensemble cast, Luce sears the screen. With Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Tim Roth, Norbert Leo Butz, Andrea Bang and Marsha Stephanie Blake. A NEON and Topic release.

• After the Premiere Screening: Join us in honoring the virtuosic ensemble cast of Luce with an empowering conversation led by Naomi Watts, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Andrea Bang, Marsha Stephanie Blake, and director Julius Onah, discussing their expansive careers and the indelible roles that led each cast member to Luce.
• Event Time: Sunday, April 28 at 7:30 PM, BMCC