Tag Archives: strangers

For the first time ever, the Tribeca Film Festival has selected a documentary as its opening night film.  And what a unique documentary.   Mistaken for Strangers chronicles the misadventures of Tom Berninger as he works as a roadie for his brother’s band, The National .   Lead singer Matt Berninger points out that Tom “was hoping he was going on tour with Mötley Crüe , and it’s like, we’re not Mötley Crüe.  Like he got a lot of footage of guys on their laptops.  And he got bored, and that led him to sort of some maybe bad behavior, and ultimately getting fired.” Although The National might not party hard like Mötley Crüe, they are a hot, critically acclaimed indie band from Brooklyn that’s closing in on mainstream success.  And that’s one of the reasons festival co-founder Jane Rosenthal picked  Mistaken for Strangers  as this year’s opening night film.  “This one really embodies the spirit of the festival: a can-do attitude and downtown New York, Brooklyn.” “Starts out as if it’s gonna be a rock-doc” says Mistaken for Strangers  Executive Producer Marshall Curry, “but very quickly goes off the rails and becomes a story about brotherly competition and trying to find your own creative path.” Does Matt Berninger feel weird having his personal laundry aired in public, especially at such an important time in his career?  “I’ve never been afraid of that, I mean like the songs are pretty intimate and pretty honest and unflattering…I think in a way [Tom] made a movie about himself, which is very much like what one of our songs is, that I would do.  So I’m really proud of it, I think it’s beautiful.  I think it’s a totally appropriate film for our kind of band.” Check out my full red carpet interview below: Follow Grace Randolph on  Twitter . Follow Movieline on  Twitter . 

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WATCH: Tribeca Film Festival Rocks Out On Opening Night With The National & ‘Mistaken For Strangers’