Aussie documentary short Last Meal, directed by Marcus McKenzie and Daniel Principe, has been selected for Tribeca at Home, the online component of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.
From Adelaide production company Cinemache, the film investigates the morality of capital punishment through the final feasts of death row prisoners.
Narrated by Hugh Ross (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), the hybrid doc blends stylised “food porn” with carefully curated archival footage of serial killers, terrorists and the wrongly accused, shining a light on the individuals and institutions meting out capital punishment.
“Daniel and I wanted to make a film which could speak to a broad festival audience on ideas of capital punishment and social justice, and Tribeca has offered us an incredible platform to share our message,” McKenzie tells IF.
“It is tempting to release a film online to viewers that are already aligned with your beliefs, especially during a global pandemic, however it was important to us to pursue the harder festival pathway in order to reach the hearts and minds of a more general audience.”
Danielle Tinker produced the project with McKenzie and Principe, with funding via the joint short film initiative between the South Australian Film Corporation, Adelaide Film Festival and Panavision.
Last Meal had its world premiere at the 2020 Adelaide Film Festival and has been picked up for worldwide sales by New York-based sales agency and international distribution company Cargo Film & Releasing.
Daniel Cantagallo, VP at Cargo Film & Releasing, said “Marcus McKenzie and Daniel Principe’s Last Meal is a stylish, cinematic triumph that uses food to explore the darker truths about the American criminal justice system and capital punishment. Cargo is thrilled to be partnering with them on this documentary.”
Tribeca at Home consists of 24 features and 11 shorts, and is available exclusively for online audiences in the US only.
“Tribeca at Home allows us to bring the heart of this festival to even more communities around the country,” said Tribeca Enterprises and Tribeca Festival co-founder and CEO Jane Rosenthal.
“While we are excited to gather in person this year with our live screenings reaching every corner of NYC, festival goers and the at-home audiences will have more access to a diverse lineup of storytellers than ever before.”
As IF reported, other Australian films in the Tribeca line-up include feature documentaries Robert Coe and Warwick Ross’ Blind Ambition and Eddie Martin’s The Kids, which will premiere in-person as part of the documentary competition.
Tribeca Festival runs from June 9-20 in New York.