Tribeca Film Festival 2021 – “New York, New York 2021” Short Films Collection (Seth Shire)

Meliki Hurd and Tatum Marilyn Hall play teenagers with secrets in “Cracked.”

June 19, 2021.  The short film collection “New York, New York 2021” is a compelling and varied collection of five short films connected by the theme of secrecy. Each film has a character, or characters, who have something about their lives that they need to confront while keeping them hidden. The films include one comedy, “Liza Anonymous.” There are also four dramas that are introspective and which use their characters’ conflicts to speak to larger societal issues. I will give away as little as possible, plot-wise, about each of the five shorts while attempting to convey their essences.

“Liza Anonymous” is a funny, tightly written (by Leah McKendrick) and directed (by Aubrey Smyth) comedy about Liza (played with by Danielle Beckman, clearly having a devilishly good time with this character). Liza is a woman who is addicted to 12 Step Meetings – Gamblers Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, etc. For each meeting she presents a different character, adjusting her personality, voice and dress. Liza revels in her groups’ attention, support and companionship. “Liza Anonymous” is filled with insider film references – “Fight Club,” “Shutter Island,” the films of M. Night Shyamalan – delivered by her friend Milton (hilariously played by Daniel Fox) who is wise to her. Liza’s journey makes for a film that is a thoughtful and charming look at one person’s search for identity, friends, community and fulfillment.

In “Cracked,” a neo-realist drama set in Queens in 1985, Toya (Tatum Marilyn Hali) and Poochy (Meliki Hurd) are teenage friends, each harboring a deep, dark secret. When these secrets are brought to the surface they make for a drama that is genuine, effecting and which speaks to issues not caused by either Toya or Poochy but by society and family. The two young leads carry this film with performances that are real and raw.  “Cracked” is rounded out by a talented supporting cast. These supporting characters, which include the families of the two kids, create atmospheres that stretch outside the framework of the story and, as a result, contribute to the film’s authenticity.

In “Leylak,” a quiet, intense drama the direction (by Scott Aharoni and Dennis Latos) and cinematography (by Laura Valladao) and camera work (by camera operator Spencer T. Nottage) all work to create scenes that are played out in expertly choreographed, elaborate long takes. These scenes place the film’s characters in situations in which the actors have to play off each other without the safety net of editing. The result is strong performances from a small cast. The opening extended take starts with a medium close up of a pick axe digging away at what is soon revealed to be a grave. The camera pulls back to show grave diggers, including Yusuf Celik (Nadir Saribacak), in a cemetery with way too many open graves. As the story continues more and more is revealed as we learn about Yusuf, his daughter Rek (Isabella Haddock) and sister Tulay (Celik Gamze Ceylan). “Leylak” is a realistic drama about a family under a terrible strain that a father must try to resolve.

In “Esther in Wonderland” a young, married Hassidic woman in Crown Heights, Brooklyn in the 1990s longs to be part of hip hop culture. This was during a time in which racial unrest between the African American and Hassidic communities in Crown Heights was quite volatile. The film’s editor (Adam Chitayat) has expertly integrated archival news footage of the time into the fictional story providing an interesting sociological backdrop. Esther is played by Naian Gonzalez Norvind in a quiet, vulnerable performance that is believable and authentic.

The basis for “No Longer Suitable for Use” is an actual, leaked FBI memo which states that an undocumented informant determined to be no longer suitable for use must be handed over to ICE for deportation. The film is a tense drama about Samir (Laith Nakli) an undocumented informant already under threat of deportation. Samir is not only concerned about himself but also his desire to have his young son grow up in America. When Samir’s one hope, an undercover meeting with a potential terrorist reveals that the man, who while certainly having his resentments, has no plans for a terror plot Samir faces a moral dilemma. Does he tell this to his FBI handlers, thus making him “no longer suitable for use?” Should he make up a story about the suspect to keep his handlers interested?  Does he try to turn the suspect into an actual terrorist?

These five films are all fine, compelling stories, very well acted. From the humorous to the very serious these films display a diverse look at New Yorkers at different times and how they deal with issues both psychological and sociological.