Ep.60: Tribeca Film Festival w/ Zazie Beetz, Claire Danes, CCH Pounder, Steve Buscemi, So Young Shelly Yo, Noam Kaplan, Jennifer Esposito & More

Full Circle, an exciting and engrossing mystery TV show led by a celebrated cast, is an investigative thriller set across New York City, which explore the unexpected connections between families. The 6 part series is presented by director Steven Soderbergh, known for films including Erin Brockovich, Traffic and the Oceans 11, 12 & 13 series.

On the red carpet, Chrystal speaks with cast members Zazie Beetz, CCH Pounder, Phaldut Sharma, Jim Gaffigan, Adia, Sheyi Cole, Shemar Yanick, Claire Danes, and executive producer Casey Silver who share what we can expect ahead of its international premiere.

Over the course of one tumultuous night, we follow volunteer helpline worker Beth, played by Tessa Thompson, as she fields calls from people in crisis. The Listener intimately captures the fear, sadness and uncertainty of those who call to share their experiences of loneliness, anger and distress. Supporting actors including Alia Shawkat, Margaret Cho and Derek Cecil play the callers, while the camera focuses solely on Beth’s reactions and advice towards their particular crises.

Throughout the night, Beth’s own anxieties come to light, as she tries to empathize and support the callers, while juggling her own fears. Director Steve Buscemi, known for his acting roles in Boardwalk Empire, the Sopranos, and Death of Stalin, presents a film on the growing mental health crisis and the power of human connection. On the red carpet with Stance, Steve Buscemi tells us more.

Smoking Tigers, Image Credit: Heyjin Jun

In Smoking Tigers, filmmaker So Young Shelly Yo explores growing up as a first generation Korean American teenage girl in southern California. A visually rich film, through beautiful imagery and symbolism, Smoking Tigers captures the emotions of characters frame by frame.

In her feature film directorial debut she tenderly presents Hayoung’s attempts to navigate teenage angst amidst family struggles, financial difficulties, and questions on how to belong in an unfamiliar elite school environment. At Spring Studios in Tribeca, Chrystal chats with So Young Shelly Yo and producer Guo Guo to discuss Smoking Tigers’ intimate and honest perspective on girlhood.

Writer-director Noam Kaplan plays with the boundaries of reality and the uncertainty of the times we live in in his new film, The Future.

When Israel’s Minister of Space and Tourism is murdered in the lead-up to the country’s first mission to the moon, it forces two women from opposing sides Yaffa and Nurit, one from the occupied West Bank and another from Israel, to discuss exactly what happened in a tense, well written and acted drama. It’s an engrossing story covering womanhood, liberation and hope. Chrystal sits down with Noam in Soho to find out more.

Fresh Kills Still, Image Credit: Ben Hardwicke

Fresh Kills is the daring project of first time director Jennifer Esposito, who turns the stereotypical gritty male led mafia genre on its head. Known in front of the camera for roles in Blue Bloods, Crash, and Summer of Sam, Jennifer Esposito’s Fresh Kills is a captivating portrait of women from the Larusso crime family in New York City during the 80’s.

Written, directed and acted by Jennifer, Fresh Kills is a layered story of sisterhood, religion, destiny and the dynamics of a mob family. In conversation with Chrystal, Jennifer she shares why it was important to tell this story now and digs into her approach to filmmaking.

Front Page Image: Zazie Beetz in New York City - Photo courtesy of True Botanicals