The 15 Most Anticipated Movies at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival

Twelve years into its existence, New York City's annual Tribeca Film Festival has truly come into its own.

For evidence, look no further than the stark contrast between this year's opening and closing films as compared to last year's book-ends. This Wednesday night marks the premiere of the documentary Mistaken for Strangers, an intimate look at the Brooklyn indie rock band The National that's considerably smaller in scope than the fest's 2012 opener, The Five Year Engagement, a Judd Apatow-produced studio comedy. And on Saturday, April 27, Tribeca will close the year out with a special restoration screening of co-founder Robert De Niro's beloved 1983 dark comedy The King of Comedy, directed by Martin Scorsese—a significant programming departure from last year's closing-night spectacle, Marvel's The Avengers.

Festivals like Tribeca don't need glitzy productions like The Avengers to prove their worth—at their core, film festivals are meant to showcase rising indie talents and their self-made, passionately pushed movies that won't otherwise receive such prominent stages.

Scanning through Tribeca's 2013 lineup, several of the most eye-grabbing selections are devoid of notable stars or award-winning directors. Complex's Pop Culture channel will be all over the festival, catching as many films as humanly possible and reviewing them in order to keep our dedicated readers abreast of what's hot, who's next, and where we're headed in the realm of independent cinema. And, truth be told, it feels good to know that overblown CGI productions and major studio tentpoles will be non-existent.

Start getting excited about the future of DIY moviemaking with our 15 most anticipated movies at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival.

To purchase tickets for all Tribeca Film Festival selections, visit the official film guide.

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Written by Matt Barone (@MBarone)

Director: Scott Coffey
Stars: Emma Roberts, Evan Peters, John Cusack, Armando Riesco, Cloris Leachman, Shannon Woodward

There's a large amount of dark subject matter permeating throughout the Tribeca Film Festival—why not have some laughs amidst the potential trauma? On the comedy front, Scott Coffey's Adult World has us feeling optimistic.

Emma Roberts stars as a recent college graduate and aspiring poet who, desperate for work in this crappy economy, takes a job at the eponymous Adult World, a sex shop where one of her co-workers is a transvestite. Not wanting to hang around anal beads her entire life, Roberts' character also strikes up a friendship with an eccentric author (John Cusack) whom she hopes will help her become a successful writer.

Transgender supporting characters, pornography, and romantic humor—yeah, Adult World is the quintessential film festival comedy. In a good way.

Director: Josh Waller
Stars: Zoë Bell, Rachel Nichols, Rebecca Marshall, Tracie Thoms, Bailey Anne Borders, Allene Quincy

Go ahead, tell your parents and friends that you're most excited to see Richard Linklater's Before Midnight, or Mira Nair's The Reluctant Fundamentalist—they'll probably believe you, too.

Whichever highbrow film you choose as a cover, we all know that you're really anticipating the girl-on-girl fight movie Raze, in which Quentin Tarantino's BFF Zoë Bell (Death Proof, Django Unchained) and Rachel Nichols (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra) kick the crap out of each other and other beautiful women while trying to survive in an underground prison. No judgments here—just save a seat and your secret is safe with us.

Director: Jenée LaMarque
Stars: Zoe Kazan, Jake Johnson, John Carroll Lynch, Shae D'lyn, Frankie Shaw, Ron Livingston

Whether last year's fantastical romantic comedy Ruby Sparks worked for you or not (it did for us), there's one aftereffect that's undeniable: Zoe Kazan, its star and screenwriter, is something special. She has a unique mix of aloof cuteness and playful intelligence that's quite fetching—she's tailor-made for the kinds of quirky cinematic romances and delicate character studies that only independent cinema can deliver.

In Jenée LaMarque's The Pretty One, it's two of Zoe Kazan for the price of one. She plays a set of twins with completely different attributes: one is free-spirited and confident, the other is introverted and unhappy. On their birthday, something happens that presents the meeker sibling with the chance to assume her sister's cooler, more appealing identity.

Director: Rob Meyer
Stars: Ben Kingsley, James LeGros, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alex Wolff, Katie Chang, Michael Chen, Daniela Lavende

Looking for a good coming-of-age comedy? How about a movie that shows love to the bird-watching culture (and doesn't star Jack Black, Owen Wilson, and Steve Martin)? Yes, the latter option sounds less enthralling than a documentary about the intricacies of paint drying, but give Rob Meyer's A Birder's Guide to Everything a chance.

After all, it stars Kodi Smit-McPhee, an excellent young actor who's proven his ability to handle raw emotion in Let Me In and ParaNorman, and his character—a teenager who loves bird-watching because it's what he and his late mother used to do together—has more to him than simply an interest in pheasants.

Directors: Deidre Schoo and Michael Beach Nichols

There's no better place to premiere a purebred NYC movie than the Tribeca Film Festival. This year, one of the lineup's most Empire-State-minded entries is the documentary Flex is Kings, a Brooklyn tale that focuses on street performers whose skill-sets involve contortionist dance moves, playful crowd interactions, and competitive, loose-footed battles.

Co-directors Deidre Schoo and Beach Nichols enter Brooklyn's "Flex" dance scene through its major players, including a promoter, the unbeatable king, and the young hot-shot—the same character-based elements that are present in many great sports movies. Flex is Kings has all the right ingredients necessary for success.

Director: Emir Baigazin
Stars: Timur Aidarbekov, Aslan Anarbayev, Mukhtar Andassov, Anelya Adilbekova, Beibitzhan Muslimov, Omar Adilov, Adlet Anarbekov, Daulet Anarbekov, Nursultan Nurbergenov, Nurdaulet Orazymbetov, Erasyl Nurzhakyp, Assan Kirkabakov, Ramazan Sultanbek, Bagila Kobenova

When getting ready for a major film festival, it's tempting to only pay attention to movies that star big, recognizable names, and this year's Tribeca slate certainly has plenty of those. But ask any festival veteran and they'll tell you that, more often than not, the most memorable flicks are the ones that come with little baggage and zero stars.

One of Tribeca's more intriguing films of that ilk is Harmony Lessons, a Kazakhstan-set examination of bullying and youthful retaliation. Early word (read: insight from a few Tribeca insiders) says that writer/editor/director Emir Baigazan's film is equally brutal, challenging, and profound. For lighter fare, go seek out those flashier cast lists.

Director: Caradog James
Stars: Toby Stephens, Caity Lotz, Denis Lawson, Sam Hazeldine, Pooneh Hajimohammadi

Tribeca's 2013 lineup is light on science fiction, so, almost by default, Caradog James' futuristic The Machine warrants our genre-loving attention. It's a good thing, then, that its plot synopsis hints at something far more complicated and original than an alien invasion or time-travel.

In The Machine, Britain's Ministry of Defence hires a programmer to develop a new kind of "cybernetic super soldier," one that manages to escape from the secret lab and struggles to curb its inner sense of violence. Set in a war-torn England, James' dystopian thriller has attributes of Metropolis, Species, and RoboCop—how's that for an odd threesome?

Director: Dan Krauss

Last year, the eye-opening military documentary The Invisible War shed light on the horrible yet oft-overlooked reality of rape within our armed forces. Now comes murder. Covering a vastly different topic, but one that's just as troubling, Dan Krauss' The Kill Team brings viewers back to 2010 to delve into the platoon known as, yes, "The Kill Team," a group of U.S. Army soldiers who executed innocent civilians for the hell of it while in Afghanistan. Krauss gives both sides of the issue chances to speak, pointing his camera at four of the accused soldiers as well as members of the prosecution.

Director: Phil Morrison
Stars: Paul Rudd, Paul Giamatti, Sally Hawkins

Who doesn't like Paul Rudd and Paul Giamatti? They're two of Hollywood's most effortlessly agreeable actors, consistently giving strong, pleasant performances in quirky dramas and smart comedies. Thus, pairing them together for a buddy picture is a no-brainer, meaning that Almost Christmas has our attention just from the IMDB page.

But then comes the film's wacky plot: They play a couple of get-rich-quick schemers who travel from Montreal to New York City to sell Christmas trees. Intriguing, right? Even better, the film's director behind is Phil Morrison, finally returning to the feature film circuit eight years after he introduced the world to a then-unknown Amy Adams in the critically acclaimed dramedy Junebug. And just like that, Almost Christmas upgrades from "sure thing" to "must-see."

Director: Richard Raaphorst
Stars: Karel Roden, Joshua Sasse, Robert Gwilym, Alexander Mercury, Luke Newberry, Hon Ping Tang

This year's Midnight lineup at Tribeca is one of the strongest in years, and our highest hopes rest with the wonderfully titled Frankenstein's Army. (Note: We caught fellow Midnight highpoint V/H/S/2 during SXSW and highly recommend it).

The plot—which, let's be honest, is of secondary concern here—centers on a group of Russian soldiers out on a search-and-rescue mission in Germany during World War II. They stumble upon a desolate factory, go inside to investigate, and discover the Nazis' sickest plan: turning fallen solders into reanimated, homicidal monsters, ones that are ready to pop out of every corner and turn the factory into a funhouse of horrors.

Shot first-person style, Frankenstein's Army, according to its official Tribeca guide page, "is the wild steampunk Nazi found-footage zombie mad scientist film you've always wanted." Amen to that.

Director: Jonathan Gurfinkel
Stars: Sivan Levy, Eviatar Mor, Roy Nik, Niv Zilberberg

Disclaimer: We've already seen Six Acts, so the anticipation level surrounding this one should come from your end more than ours—but trust us, it's worth it. That is, if you're the type of of person who'd rather watch, say, Irreversible than Superbad.

Israeli director Jonathan Gurfinkel's film covers the insecurities and mental anguishes that come from being a teenager with an in-your-face harshness that's reminiscent of French provocateur Gaspar Noe, minus the experimental camerawork. Sivan Levy gives a knockout performance as Gili, the new girl in town who has a crush on the athletic Tomer (Roy Nik). Thinking he and his friend Omri (Eviatar Mor) will like her more if she's open for whatever, Gili begins using her sexuality as her way of winning them over, and as Six Acts progresses, she uncontrollably sinks deeper and deeper into self-exploitation.

If you thought Spring Breakers could fill any expecting parents with dread, from seeing how their daughters could spend their time when mom and dad aren't around, wait until you see Six Acts.

Director: Matt Wolf

Teenagers today have a plethora of difficult challenges facing them everyday. Should I friend request this person? Did I study enough for that big test? Will my girlfriend hate me for posting this picture on Instagram? Think about this, though: Before 1945, youngsters between the ages of 12 and 20 weren't even called "teenagers" since the whole concept was unheard of—you were either a little kid or a working-class adult ready to fight in either World War. Real world problems didn't wait for college to end before fully confronting people.

The experimental documentary Teenage captures the mind-states of four central mid-century teenagers (including a Hitler Youth and a black Boy Scout) combining archival images, real-life diary entries read aloud by actors like Jena Malone and Skyfall co-star Ben Whishaw, and Super 8 reenactments. Through director Matt Wolf's fascinating pic, youth culture's everlasting angsts should come alive, demonstrating that pre-adult experiences remain universal, regardless of the decade. Well, except for Twitter.

Director: David M. Rosenthal
Stars: Sam Rockwell, Jeffrey Wright, William H. Macy, Kelly Reilly, Jason Isaacs, Joe Anderson

Fact: Movies get considerably better when Sam Rockwell plays a part. Hollywood's most underrated actor gives dynamite performances in movies big (Iron Man 2) and small (Seven Psychopaths), yet his name is rarely mentioned alongside the bigger box office draws. And the man himself seems perfectly happy with that, regularly starring in independent films that further strengthen his credibility without sending him higher up on the industry's A-list.

With A Single Shot, it's time to show Tribeca audiences that, in addition to a scene-stealing co-star in his past films, he's a foolproof leading man. Rockwell plays a backwoods type who accidentally kills a woman while hunting for deer, uncovers loads of cash, and becomes a target for the dangerous guy who's been looking for said money. The comparisons to No Country for Old Men are inevitable, but, to be frank, we'd take Rockwell over Josh Brolin any day. The question is, though, can director David M. Rosenthal hold a candle to the brothers Coen?

Director: Sean Dunne

Only a documentary can provide viewers with such intense, on-the-ground access as what's seen in Sean Dunne's Oxyana. In what sounds like a truly disturbing and tragic look at America's underserved, Oxyana follows the residents of Oceana, West Virginia, a community that's going through hard times in the wake of its mining business going completely under. The residents' way of coping with their dire situation: using OxyContin, a powerful drug that's turned a once-prosperous town into a land of narcotic-fueled hopelessness.

Through candid interviews with the townsfolk, Dunne's film displays an overlooked part of our country without objectivity. Oxyana should leave viewers thinking twice before complaining about those long lines at the local Walmart.

Directors: Navot Papushado and Aharon Keshales
Stars: Lior Ashkenazi, Tzachi Grad, Rotem Keinan, Dov Glickman, Menashe Noy, Dvir Benedek

During the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival, Israeli filmmakers Navot Papushado and Aharon Keshales made names for themselves with the anti-slasher movie Rabies, a clever, humorous subversion of the old killer-in-the-woods horror motif. Considering the warm reception they received at Tribeca for their debut, it's only right that Papushado and Keshales premiere their follow-up, Big Bad Wolves, in New York City as well. Their second film, however, sounds like a much darker and conspicuously laugh-free experience.

Instead of slashers, Big Bad Wolves finds the co-directors playing with serial killers. Here, the murderer becomes the victim; having been captured by a law-breaking cop and an angry father, the killer undergoes an interrogation that, we're sure, results in plenty of bloodshed, narrative twists, and thematic unpleasantries. Expect another winner under Papushado's and Keshales' shared belt. Israeli horror cinema appears to be in good hands.