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Philly films at Tribeca fest

The Tribeca Film Festival, under way now and running throughl April 26, boasts a half dozen titles shot in and around Philadelphia, or made by homegrown talents.

The Tribeca Film Festival, which kicked off Wednesday and runs through April 26, has always been a New York-centric affair. The fest was born in the rubble of the 9/11 attacks, founded by Robert De Niro and company in 2002 to affirm lower Manhattan's place as an industry hub, as a vibrant neighborhood of filmmakers and film lovers.

But the festival's reach has always been global, showcasing work from all corners, including the corner 90 miles to New York City's south. This year's TFF lineup includes six films either shot in Philadelphia or made by, or about, Philly natives.  A quick look:

As I AM: The Life and Times of DJ AM 
(4/17, 4/18, 4/22, 4/25)

Documentary about Philly DJ Adam Goldstein, a.k.a., DJ AM, who survived a plane crash only to die a few years later, an apparent drug overdose, at age 36. Kevin Kerslake directs.

Bodyslam: Revenge Of The Banana!
(4/18, 4/19, 4/22)

Doc about a gang of upstart Seattle pro-wrestling parodists, co-directed by John Paul Horstmann, a Philadelphia area native and University of Pittsburgh grad plying his trade as a film editor in So-Cal.

Franny
(4/17, 4/18, 4/20, 4/26)

Shot in his hometown Philadelphia, this first feature from writer/director Andrew Renzi stars a bearded Richard Gere, Dakota Fanning and Theo James. Gere (born here) plays a wealthy eccentric who insinuates himself into the life of a young couple. Scenes were shot all over town back in the fall of 2013.

Slow Learners
(4/20. 4/22. 4/23, 4/24)

Adam Pally
(The Mindy Project) and Sarah Burns (Enlightened) star in this romantic comedy shot around Media, co-directed by Don Argott and Sheena M. Joyce.  It's the fiction feature debut from the Center City-based documentarian duo behind Rock School, The Art of the Steal and Last Days Here.

(T)error
(4/16, 4/21, 4/23, 4/24)

Documentary expose of an FBI sting operation targeting a Muslim man suspected of being a Taliban sympathizer. The film, winner of the Special Jury Award for Breakout First Feature at Sundance, is co-directed by Philly resident David Felix Sutcliffe.

Walter Potter: The Man Who Married Kittens
(4/18, 4/21, 4/23, 4/25, 4/26)

The quirky work of the Victorian taxidermist is examined in loving detail, with a stop in Philadelphia where Potter's "Monkey Riding the Goat" resides in the collection of Fred  LaValley and John Whitenight.

For complete Tribeca Film Festival information, click here.