The Tribeca Film Festival just announced its opening film will be Time is Illmatic, a documentary about Nas and the 1994 album that launched him. Following the April 16 screening, Nas will then perform 'Illmatic' in its entirety, making it the second year in a row that a musical documentary kicks off the festival (Mistaken For Strangers opened last year).
New York native Nas said, "I want to thank the Tribeca Film Festival for supporting the film with the incredible platform they've built over the years. It's an honor to premiere this film in my hometown. I also want to thank [director] One9 and [producer] Erik Parker for their persistence and hard work. Those guys and I come from the same place and era, which gives the doc an authenticity that is important to me. We wanted this film to represent the real, from the storyline all the way down to the directors and producers."
The festival notes that the film looks at Nas's family (his father is jazz musician Olu Dara) and his friends from Queensbridge, and how the album became "recognized as a hip-hop benchmark that encapsulates the sociopolitical outlook, enduring spirit, and collective angst of a generation of young men searching for their voice in America."
Tribeca Film Festival CEO Jane Rosenthal compared the festival to the hip-hop documentary, since both have "roots grounded in New York City, but represents and reaches communities far beyond. The film spotlights a musical journey with community and family at its core and we look forward to celebrating this pivotal moment in hip hop history as we open our 13th edition."
Nas will release a 20th anniversary edition of Illmatic on April 15. The Tribeca Film Festival runs from April 16 through April 27.
