For those of you with movie-going aspirations this weekend (or who just want to read about it), the Tribeca Film Fest is in full swing, with all manner of Tribeca Talks panels, including Saturday morning's Mockumentary panel, with a near-full house setting their alarms for the 10am chance to see Jeff Goldblum, Michael McKean, Bob Balaban, Lewis Lapham, and Ed Hems chat with moderator Jim Kelly about the development of the mockumentary form (fun fact: there were only two scripted lines of dialogue in "This Is Spinal Tap" and neither of them mentioned Cleveland). (I should note that the ghost of HuffPo contributor Harry Shearer hung over the event as one of the pioneers of the mockumentary form with McKean and Christopher Guest in "Spinal Tap" and with Balaban as well in "A Mighty Wind" and the upcoming "For Your Consideration"). There was also Friday night with T.Bone Burnett, "Truly Embedded: Candid Cameras & the Secret Lives of Soldiers" which this morning discussed this year's Iraq war documentaries (specifically "The War Tapes" compiled from film shot by soldiers); and "Toga! Toga! Toga!" with Harold Ramis and Curb Your Enthusiasm's Jeff Garlin, new TFF breakout director for "I Want Someone To Each Cheese With," whose film is apparently very gouda.
Tonight is the premiere of HuffPo contributor documentary "Al Franken: God Spoke" by Nick Doob and Chris Hegedus (watch the trailer for a taste here). I watched this yesterday afternoon at the TFF press center (there's a screening library downstairs - score!) and really really enjoyed it - lots of great footage of Al Franken facing off with Bill O'Reilly and Ann Coulter and some really bittersweet moments of hope leading up to the 2004 election (bittersweet in retrospect, obviously). Hegedus and Doob are in Franken's face with the camera for what seems to be his every waking moment, plus tapping some vintage SNL sketches (Al Gore doing the Stuart Smalley affirmation is surprisingly relevant today - watch for the mention of "arbitrarily attacking foreign nations"). It was interesting to see this film in the afternoon and then follow it up with Jamie Johnson's "The One Percent" about the richest sliver of America and the widening gap between them and those at the bottom. It highlights some truly staggering statistics about that gap, and has riveting interviews with experts like former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich and "trickle-down economics" pioneer Milton Friedman (with whom Johnson gamely tries to debate). Taken together, those two films present a pretty compelling argument against the policies of this administration and the current system in general when it comes to taxation, lobbying and access to decision-makers (throw in today's edition of "Meet The Press" on jumping gas prices and you've got quite a triumvirate - watch this space for that write-up soon).
And, if you've missed them, there have been some great posts on the Tribeca Film Fest offerings thus far: Joshua David Stein on Encounter Point, in Counterpoint; Michelle Orange on a Tribeca night of comedy and tragedy; Stu VanAirsdale on Tropfest (and his intimate chat with Naomi Watts, wakka wakka); Paul Rieckhoff, taking you From Baghdad To Tribeca with two sobering Iraq war documentaries; and Rowan Riley on her whirlwind tour of after-parties (aka "Tribeca Nights" which sounds like a fabulous premise for a film, be it a the lighthearted romp of one young reporter through a glittering lineup of fancy fetes or a gritty indie about the hard-charging after-party scene, shot in very dark indoor spaces with everybody wearing lots of eyeliner. Next year's auteurs, go to it!).
All of this coverage and more can be found here; watch for expanded coverage of the panels, movies and events listed above as well as lots more coming up on the schedule. Also, check out the "TFF Daily" feature on the festival website where they have some great interviews, pics and picks of the festival. So keep coming back to HuffPo for all your TFF needs, or just because you don't give edam if we make goofy cheese puns.