Queer (and Queer Adjacent) Films at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival

The recently-concluded 23rd Tribeca Film Festival featured a slate of over 100 films, as well as TV shows, video games, talks, immersive installations, and a tribute to its founder, Robert DeNiro.

LGBTQ+ fare was represented via queer-themed films, out actors, directors, and other film artists, as well as queer-adjacent stories centering on gay icons ("Liza!," for one).

EDGE managed to see 40 features and documentaries. Here is our list of 10 films and docs that we found most challenging and appealing that were either queer-themed or of queer interest. Look for these films in theaters throughout the rest of the year (some are opening this month).

'Griffin in Summer'

Writer-director Nicholas Colia's impressive first feature, "Griffin in Summer" centers on 14-year-old Griffin Naffly (a terrific Everett Blunck), an ambitious playwright who is working on a new project he sees as a cross between "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "American Beauty." Griffin aspires to move to New York but, for now, he's stuck in suburbia with the trio of lame friends he's cast in his play. Much to his dismay, they'd rather enjoy the summer and have fun than rehearse for his production.

Enter the pool boy. No, really. Griffin's mom (the always outstanding Melanie Lynskey in a role that should have been larger) has hired a neighborhood dude, Brad (super-sexy Owen Teague), to do odd jobs, including cleaning the pool. Brad is a Brooklyn-based performance artist whose work has not been recognized. When Griffin meets Brad he crushes on him hard, and eventually casts him as the lead in his play, rewriting it as he draws inspiration from Brad's own life.

The scenes between Griffin and Brad are a treat. Brad is initially oblivious to the blazing torch Griffin is carrying for him. Teague nails the standoffish artist/rebel who is actually desperate for his work to be appreciated. While Colia is to be applauded for examining Griffin's burgeoning queerness in a sweet and honest manner, the way he handles Brad's reaction to Griffin's sharing his feelings is a disappointing cop-out (but typical in our current "careful" climate. )

The film is still most definitely worthwhile, and one of the best of Tribeca 2024. Oh, and the titular character's first moments onscreen are biting and hilarious, and set the tone for the rest of this gem of a film.

"Griffin in Summer" won the Founders Award for Best U.S. Narrative Feature.

'Crossing'

Levan Akin, the Swedish writer-director of the 2019 triumphant gay-themed pearl "And Then We Danced," gives us another incisive and richly nuanced look at queer life with "Crossing," easily one of the best films at this year's Festival.

Lia (Mzia Arabuli, in a stunning turn) is a retired schoolteacher from Georgia in search of her transgender niece, Tekla, who was shunned by her family and forced to leave home. Lia seeks out a former student for help, and his overconfident young stepbrother, Achi (Lukas Kankava, killing it) offers to travel with Lia to Istanbul, where he is certain Tekla is living. So begins an odd-couple journey of discovery for both characters. They enlist the help of a trans attorney (Deniz Dumanl), and the narrative does fascinating double duty telling her story as well.

Arabuli and Kankava have great chemistry, and Akin takes his time to establish an authentic bond between these two lost souls. The film is a penetrating and often devastating look at the destruction caused by ignorance and intolerance. It's also a call for unity and acceptance.

'Rent Free'

Fernando Andrés' idiosyncratic and fascinating new indie feature "Rent Free" explores bisexuality and queer male friendship in such an authentic manner it may be breaking some ground in indie LGBTQ+ cinema. Of course, there are a legions of films where gay men hook up with their "straight" besties, but it's almost always done completely for laughs. What writers Andrés and Tyler Rugh manage in "Rent Free" is to provide audiences with a snapshot of two wacky, fucked-up Gen Z BFFs (Jacob Roberts and David Treviño, both wonderful) – as well as their just-as-fucked-up host of friends – as they navigate love, life, substance abuse, and housing.

The filmmakers based the screenplay on their own relationship and manage to effortlessly show that sexual orientation can be super-fluid and often changes given specific situations. The film's ending is its one potential flaw, since we are teased into feeling that a certain something should happen between our two main characters. Perhaps an alternate ending for streaming purposes?

'Come Closer'

In Israeli filmmaker Tom Nesher's meditation on grief and connection, "Come Closer," a young woman's life is shaken to the core when her beloved brother is tragically killed. As she spirals downward, she discovers her brother had an entire secret life with a young girl. She confronts the girl, and the movie takes refreshingly odd and unexpectedly trippy turns as the two women find ways to mourn and celebrate a life cut short.

Lia Elalouf is a true find as Eden, the tough and scary sister. Ido Tako makes quite an impression in just a few scenes as her ill-fated brother. And Darya Rosenn is impressive as the tentative and shy Maya.

To reveal the queer aspect of this film is to give away something that occurs so organically and beautifully that it would rob the viewer of the joyous turn.

Nesher gives both women a rich arc to play, and slowly and fearlessly delves into the effects of deep loss and how life can go on, if we wish it to.

Tom Nesher's "Come Closer" won first prize in the Viewpoints competition.

'Hacking Hate'

Hate speech on social media and the internet comes under severe scrutiny in Simon Klose's riveting "Hacking Hate." The doc illuminates just how social media sites financially benefit from far-right influencers, and just how complicit they are in horrific crimes against humanity.

The film's subject, My Vingren, labeled "the real-life Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," is a well-respected Swedish journalist who has put her own life on the line countless times to investigate and expose white supremacy networks online, as well as subjects who incite xenophobic, homophobic, misogynist, and racist violence.

As the doc unfolds, Vingren's investigations – where she creates fake online profiles in order to infiltrate these extreme groups – leads her down a frightening and fascinating rabbit hole that includes her chatting with the Twitter whistleblower who got Trump removed from the platform after January 6th. Vingren's discoveries make very real arguments about the dangers of free speech in the digital era. It's a sobering work.

"Hacking Hate" won the Best Documentary Feature Award.

'Satisfied'

Renée Elise Goldsberry, the Tony-winning actor who starred as Angelica Schuyler in the Broadway smash "Hamilton," is the subject of the revealing new doc "Satisfied," which chronicles her career and home life leading up to securing the role, her time with the show, and the aftermath.

Goldsberry honestly and often painfully shares intimate details about her struggles to have children, attempting to balance a successful career with having a family, as well as the tradeoffs inherent in the choices made. But what is most insightful is that we see her conflict during the run of "Hamilton," when newfound fame meant greater demands. Yes, this was the role and experience of a lifetime, but it also took its toll on her physically, emotionally, and psychologically.

The doc is peppered with never-before-seen footage and interviews with many of the principals involved in "Hamilton," including Lin Manuel Miranda. The cherry on the doc's cake is a full rendition of the song "Satisfied," where it becomes obvious to anyone who did not see her onstage why Goldsberry is a true Broadway star.

'Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story'

In "Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story," filmmaker Bruce David Klein spotlights Liza Minnelli the superstar vs. Liza the creative artist and human being. Minnelli herself discusses her story at length, including living in Judy Garland's shadow as well as her substance abuse issues. Much time is devoted to her mentee relationship with her godmother Kay Thompson. Her marriages to, and relationships with, gay men are also featured, although her father's sexual orientation is never broached.

Besides "Cabaret," the doc barely mentions Liza's filmography, which is a shame, since she delivered some exceptional performances in films like "Arthur," "New York, New York," and the controversial and unfairly panned "Lucky Lady." In addition, while a lot of time is devoted to her Fosse TV show "Liza with a Z," and her stepping in without fanfare for an ailing Gwen Verdon in the musical "Chicago" in 1975, other significant shows are either given short shrift ("Flora the Red Menace") or not even spoken about ("The Rink"). Of course, to really cover Liza's career one would need about ten hours.

What does shine through here is Liza's enormous love for entertaining, her endless energy, her raw creative talent, and her incredible ability to streamline questions she's uncomfortable with.

'Rebel Country'

There's a telling scene in Francis Whately's intriguing, if too-slight, doc, "Rebel Country," where Richard Nixon addresses the audience at the Grand Ole Opry, calling country music a "uniquely American genre." He then sits at the piano and plays as the audience sings "God Bless America." It was 1974. Since then, right-wing politicians have used country music for their own racist, homophobic, misogynistic, flag-waving purposes. The canceling of the (then) Dixie Chicks (now Chicks) in the 2000s is a stunning example, and is featured in this film.

Whately focuses on the new rebels of country. Unlike Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson – the old rebels who were all damaged white men – the new crop happens to be Black, Hispanic, queer, and proudly female. Interviews with Lainey Wilson, Jelly Roll, Emmylou Harris, and Lindsay Ell pepper the film. Sam Williams, the grandson of Hank Williams, is an out gay artist who has it a bit easier than Chely Wright (also interviewed) did when she came out and her fellow artists shunned her. And Lil Nas X may have the community "clutching their pearls," as Sam Williams puts it, but he also had one of the biggest hits (alongside Billy Ray Cyrus) with "Old Town Road," even though country radio refused to play it. The (country) times, they are a-changing...slowly...

'Treasure'

Julia von Heinz's "Treasure" is a genre mix that mostly works. It's a father-daughter reconciliation story, a comedic road-trip movie, and a Holocaust drama.

Based on the popular autobiographical novel "Too Many Men," by Lily Brett, the film centers on Ruth (Lena Dunham), an unhappy NYC journo (and when has Dunham ever played anyone who is happy?) who travels to Poland with her Holocaust survivor father, Edek (Stephen Fry), to see his family home and visit Auschwitz-Birkenau. Edek is hesitant, and the viewer becomes privy to a few shocking discoveries, especially at Edek's former home.

"Treasure" is best when Fry is onscreen. He delivers a rich and refined turn as a man who would rather not confront his past and unleash decades of generational trauma. And this is Dunham's best work in a very long time.

Heinz misses many opportunities, introducing major story possibilities and then letting them disintegrate. But "Treasure" remains a worthy effort.

'Group Therapy'

Neil Berkeley's "Group Therapy" is a doc that explores mental health, specifically the mental health of some of today's best comic performers. Neil Patrick Harris (strangely) leads a group that includes Mike Birbiglia, Nicole Byer, Gary Gulman, London Hughes, Tig Notaro, and Atsuko Okatsuka. Each opens up about their mental health struggles along their career journeys.

Notaro's story is arguably the most hellish as she nearly died, was diagnosed with breast cancer, and lost her mom in a terrible accident – all in one year. She then used all of that in an iconic comedy set that had people both squirming in their seats and laughing hysterically.

Funny, touching, and emotionally relevant, "Group Therapy" shows that too often there really is a fine line between comedy and tragedy.

In addition, some of the worthy titles that did not explore queerness include "Between the Temples," "The Eternal Playground," "The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write about a Serial Killer," "The Everything Pot" (for Lisa Edelstein's performance), and "Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall."