Tribeca Film Fest Slots Doc About Rock Band The National for Opening Night

The National is coming home.

The Brooklyn-based indie rock band will entertain on screen and stage on opening night of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, which will premiere the rock doc Mistaken for Strangers as its flagship movie.

Directed by Tom Beringer, younger brother of National lead singer/songwriter Matt Beringer, the film is an intimate look at the melancholic indie staples on a tour that followed the release of its hit 2010 album, High Violet. The elder Beringer originally invited his brother on the tour as a roadie.

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“What started as a pretty modest tour documentary has, over the last two and a half years, grown into something much more personal and, hopefully, more entertaining,” Tom Beringer said in a release. Added Matt: “I was happy to give my brother whatever access he needed. I just didn’t expect this movie to include shower scenes.”

Screening April 17, the film also will serve as a launching pad for the release and subsequent tour supporting the band’s new album, which hits shelves in May.

The Tribeca Film Festival, launched in an attempt to revitalize Lower Manhattan after 9/11, is entering its 12th year and is part of a growing, multipurpose company that also distributes independent films. Last year, the festival took a detour from its indie focus, premiering the Jason Segel–Emily Blunt comedy The Five Year Engagement, which was produced by Judd Apatow, on opening night.

The rest of the 2013 Tribeca slate will be announced March 5 and 6. The festival runs April 17-28 in Manhattan.

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