The blockbusters might be the main attraction for many on the Backyard Big Screen, but true cinephiles know to find their seats early to catch the short films that open each program. Like the features, the shorts are also curated by the Tribeca Film Festival. The festival, long known for discovering new talent and supporting festival alumni through its support of short films, received a record 6,100-plus submissions from across the globe for its 2020 roster.
Highlights of the Backyard Big Screen include the world premiere of System Error, an Australian film about George, a robot desperate for a friend; and the U.S. premiere of Bathwell in Clerkentime, the final film in an animated trilogy about “cuckoos going nuts.”
Fans of DreamWorks Animation will be thrilled by Taylor Meacham's To Gerard, in which a sprightly elderly man uses magic to brighten a little girl’s day, while music lovers are sure to appreciate The Velvet Underground Played at My High School, another animated piece, about that legendary band’s first gig at a suburban New Jersey high school in 1965. And foodies will want to take in That's My Jazz, a documentary about Milt Abel II, one of the best young pastry chefs in the world who is also the son of jazz great Milt Abel Sr.
There are also tales of romance in the midst of a robbery (One Last Last Heist), a ski rescue gone awry (Hors Piste); a tennis match interrupted by a rattlesnake bite (Love-40); a mom struggling through her 8-year-old’s birthday party (Peggy); an anonymous, anarchic graffiti artist who falls for an admirer (Sloan Hearts Neckface); and a sci-fi adventure that features some unlikely heroes (The 716th). In other words, something for everyone!
A note for those new to the Backyard experience: Every showing can be viewed from socially distanced, cabana-style “pods.” Picnic box meals come with your reservations, and beer and wine are available for purchase.
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