'Stray Dolls' Exclusive Clip: Cynthia Nixon Stars In New Drama Playing In The US Competition At Tribeca

Today marks the first day of the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival. And while there are plenty of standout films getting their world premieres at this year’s event, there’s one that we definitely have our eyes on titled “Stray Dolls.”

And in honor of “Stray Dolls” having its world premiere this weekend, as part of the official US competition, we are giving our readers a chance to look at an exclusive clip from the film, which stars Cynthia Nixon. In the clip, you see a simple conversation between a motel manager (Nixon), who lays out the ground rules for staying at her establishment to a new worker/tenant Riz.

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“Stray Dolls” follows the story of Riz and her new roommate Dallas, as they navigate life in the Tides Plaza Motel. However, the duo of Riz and Dallas aren’t the most obvious of pairs, as one is a bit of a wild card, while the other likes to play by the rules and is scared to venture outside of her comfort zone.

The film stars Geetanjali Thapa, Olivia DeJonge, Robert Aramayo, and Nixon. It’s directed by Sonejuhi Sinha, who co-wrote the film with Charlotte Rabate.

“‘Stray Dolls’ is urgent, subversive and groundbreaking for several reasons,” says Sinha. “We have never seen a crime-thriller that features a flawed person of color at the center of it. It’s a bold look at outsiders in America (both immigrants and white Americans) facing morally complex circumstances.”

She continues, “Furthermore, these characters are extremely nuanced – their ethnicity is incidental and their sexuality is incidental. ‘Stray Dolls’ is urgent because it creates a viewing experience that is emotional and visceral while being deliberately provocative. It challenges cliches about women and blurs the line between the moral notions of good and bad, so much so, that we come away with empathy for deeply flawed characters while questioning America and its treatment of outsiders.”

“Stray Dolls” premieres this Saturday as part of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

Here’s the synopsis:

Leaving India behind to break with a life of petty crime, Riz (Geetanjali Thapa) arrives stateside and gets a housekeeping job at the decidedly landlocked Tides Plaza Motel. Its manager Una (Cynthia Nixon) houses and employs several other young people in dire straits, including Dallas (Olivia DeJonge), Riz’s new roommate. At first antagonistic, the girls soon realize that their opposite personalities complement each other. Dallas is a bit of a wild card, hooking up with the motel’s resident drug dealer – and Una’s son – Jimmy (Robert Aramayo), whereas Riz is guarded but stolid, reluctant to take any route forward that isn’t entirely legal. But when Riz is forced to steal from one of the motel rooms, she inadvertently sets off a series of violent events and becomes entangled in a web of crime. Desperate for agency, Riz and Dallas are forced to take matters into their own hands.