Critics Pick the Best Movies at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival

The 2015 edition of the Tribeca Film Festival was one for good actress Alba Rohrwacher. A star of two different acclaimed films (“Sworn Virgin” and “Hungry Hearts“), she ended up as the most-recognized individual in our annual survey of critics at this year’s gathering.

As we do at the end of every major festival, we asked the members of our Criticwire Network for their favorite films, performances and cinematic achievements from the lineup. From the eight different categories, we received a variety of picks ranging from Best Documentary to Best First Feature.

Rohrwacher appeared on seven different ballots in the Best Lead Performance category and was the only person to be selected in the same category for two different films. Her role as the central figure in a sprawling story rooted in examinations of gender identity also drew notice at the Berlin International Film Festival in February.  While no film was a clear runaway winner, Laura Bispuri (for both herself as Best Director and “Sworn Virgin” as Best Narrative Feature), Paz Fábrega’s “Viaje” and Dagur Kári’s prize-winning “Virgin Mountain” all had their share of recognition.

READ MORE: Meet the 2015 Tribeca Filmmakers: Paz Fábrega Shows the Lighter Side of Adults Acting Like Kids in ‘Viaje’

On the documentary side, the late Albert Maysles’ final film “In Transit” was the top selection. Observing one of the nations most-used train routes and completed with the assistance of four other filmmakers, “In Transit” found a home on over half the Best Documentary ballots. “Among the Believers,” Mohammed Naqvi and Hemal Trivedi’s look at the physical and ideological warfare in modern Pakistan was also a common selection. 

Plenty of household names peppered these picks, including Olivia Wilde’s star turn in Reed Morano’s “Meadowland,” Oscar Isaac’s work in William Monahan’s “Mojave” and Lily Tomlin’s role in Paul Weitz’s “Grandma.” 

A few films that debuted at Park City also found their way onto a handful of critics’ ballots. Of the non-world-premiere Tribeca films, John Maclean’s “Slow West,” Patrick Brice’s “The Overnight” and Leslye Headland’s “Sleeping with Other People” (all of which received votes in our Sundance poll as well).

The Screenplay, First Feature and Ensemble categories ended up representing an indicative cross-section of the selection, with no film reaching a real consensus. But if you’d like to look at all the critics’ ballots in detail, we’ve included them all on the next page.

Jason Bailey, Flavorwire

Monica Castillo, International Business Times

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