James Brown and Björk Documentaries Added to Next Month's Tribeca Film Festival Lineup (Plus, Ticket Information for Nas' TIME IS ILLMATIC)

Just when I thought next month's Tribeca Film Festival in New York City had already unveiled their full lineup of films, today brings the announcement of two newly added music documentaries for which you may want to keep your ears perked. The first one is Oscar winner Alex Gibney’s work-in-progress, Untitled James Brown Documentary, and the second is the world premiere of Björk: Biophilia Live. While I can't claim to be a big fan of the latter Icelandic phenom (though I do find her fascinating), I am a HUGE James Brown fan. So I will certainly be watching out for his doc, which comes right on the heels of the trailer release for its biopic counterpart Get On Up, directed by Tate Taylor and starring Chadwick Boseman. That will be fun to compare...

Below is a little more information on both docs:

Untitled James Brown Documentary, directed and written by Alex Gibney. (USA) – Work In Progress, Documentary. James Brown changed the face of American music. Soul Brother Number One, as he was known, pioneered the journey from rhythm and blues to funk. More than that, this American legend—who willed himself to life after he was stillborn—was a classic embodiment of the American dream. The son of a "turpentine man" from rural South Carolina, Brown became one the greatest live performers ever known, the "hardest working man in show business," and a self-made millionaire. As he often said, it was "show AND business." Once successful, one of his first orders of business was to launch the soundtrack for a new civil rights movement: "Say It Loud: I'm Black and I'm Proud." With unique cooperation of the Brown estate, this is a definitive documentary biography of the James Brown story and legend, 1933–1974. The screening will be followed by a special conversation with Director Alex Gibney on April 27th.

Björk: Biophilia Live, directed by Nick Fenton & Peter Strickland. (UK) – World Premiere, Documentary. From a mind unlike any other, Biophilia Live chronicles the multidimensional concert centered on the eighth studio album of avant-garde Icelandic artist, Björk. Directors Nick Fenton and Peter Strickland, unique voices in their own right, film Björk live in performance, and punctuate her music with evocative animation from apps created by the world's top 10 designers combined with science and nature archive and found footage. This is inspired by the themes of the album which explore the relationships between musical structures and natural phenomena—atomic, cellular and cosmic. The infinitely creative journey presents a culmination of work that represents one of the most original musical endeavors of a generation. The film will screen at TFF on April 26th.

And while we're on the subject of music docs, I know some of you asked in response to my previous post on Time Is Illmatic where you can purchase tickets to its opening night screening, with a special performance by rapper Nas. So here's that information: It will take place at the Beacon Theatre on April 16th, and tickets will be available at tribecafilm.com/openingnight beginning on March 27th at 11:00 a.m. for American Express Card Members and on April 1st at 11:00 a.m. for the general public. 

The 2014 Festival will take place from April 16 - 27 in New York City.