reReel Life: Flick Pix
Maven's Nest
Reel Life: Flick Pix
ANNOTATED OVERVIEW OF WOMEN FILMMAKERS AT THE 2025 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
By Nora Lee Mandel
The 24th Tribeca Festival June 4 - 15, 2025 expanded its original and post-pandemic revitalizing role for New York City to ever more kinds of media that can be incubated here for economic and artistic innovations and success – including audio storytelling like podcasts, shorter visuals like Tik Toks, video games, and varied formats of commercials.
My focus remains on the film-related presentations. This year, the Film Festival touted more than “118 feature films representing 95 world premieres, 135 filmmakers and 36 countries. 48 (40%) of the features are directed by women and 42 (36%) are directed by BIPOC filmmakers. 44 filmmakers are making their feature debut at this year’s Tribeca Festival and 32 directors are returning with their latest projects.” (Gender breakdown was not provided for the short films.)
For those who follow women in film, the anticipated centerpiece of the Film Festival since 2013 is the Nora Ephron Award “created to honor the spirit and vision of the legendary filmmaker and writer”. (FF2 Media Birthday Tribute to Nora Ephron). FF2 Media featured several years of my coverage of the Ephron Award, including the 2023 winner. I am usually the only film critic to follow previous winners of the Ephron Award. Last year, I updated their work to 2024.
In 2020, the Ephron Award guidelines were more explicit than before: “One narrative film directed by or written by a woman making its World or International Premiere” and the award-eligible films were identified in advance. In 2021, even films not shown in competition were evidently eligible. Two years ago, a publicist told me that “It is only for first time filmmakers.” As the 2024 winners had made a feature together a decade ago, I could only guess 2025 eligibility in advance.
The jurors for the 2025 Nora Ephron Award are:
Caroline Aaron, TV, movie, theater actor; Aijah Keith, Head of Indie Film Licensing at Hulu was previously Director of Acquisitions at IFC Films; and Annie Murphy, TV/voice actor and web series creator.
I also spotlight people who identify as female on the creative team, what I call, only in writing, “Women Crew-Ed Films”, the work of women collaborators in the Festival’s feature and short films, television offerings, N.O.W. (New Online Work) shorts for online platforms and “immersive” virtual reality projects– writers, cinematographers, editors, and composers, and more. Some of these artists may be future directors, but all should be considered for future work-to-watch.
Many of the films not already picked up for commercial theatrical or network/platform distribution continue on the festival circuit around the U.S. and world, particularly the shorts. So you will still have opportunities to see these women filmmakers’ work that I recommend.
While my capsule reviews are posted after their Tribeca premieres, all my recommended films in the Festival that I can access at the Festival and subsequently-- shorts and features, by those who identify as female and others -- are listed at: Mandel Maven's Nest Reel Life: Flick Pix.
NORA EPHRON AWARD-ELIGIBLE?: FEATURE NARRATIVE FILMS BY WOMEN DIRECTORS AT 2025 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
Bird In Hand
Birthright
Charliebird
Fior di Latte
Gonzo Girl
Happy Birthday*
Honeyjoon
Horsegirls
Little Trouble Girls
On A String
Pinch
Queens of the Dead
Ride or Die
The Scout
The Square
This Island (Esta Isla)
OTHER POSSIBLY EPHRON-ELIGIBLE NARRATIVE FEATURES WRITTEN/DIRECTED BY WOMEN AT 2025 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
A Bright Future
Cuerpo Celeste
Dead Language
East of Wall
Oh, Hi!
Reflection in a Dead Diamond (Reflet dans un diamant mort)
Tow
A Tree Fell in the Woods
Twelve Moons
AT&T Presents “UNTOLD STORIES”
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Billy Joel: And So It Goes
Mrs. America
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES DIRECTED BY WOMEN AT 2025 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
Barbara Walters Tell Me Everything
Boy George & Culture Club
Counting Crows: Have You Seen Me Lately?
Dear Ms: A Revolution in Print
An Eye For An Eye
For Venida, for Kalief
The Inquisitor
Jimmy & The Demons
Just Kids
Just Sing
Maintenance Artist
Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore
Move Ya Body: The Birth of House
My Mom Jayne
Natchez
Rebbeca (AKA Becky G)
Shadow Scholars
She Runs The World
State of Firsts
Sun Ra: Do The Impossible
Surviving Ohio State
We Are Pat
Widow Champion
SHORTS DIRECTED BY WOMEN AT 2025 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
Narrative Shorts
Aimee Comes First
Almost Graduated
Apocalypse Besties
Ᾱyi
Baby Blues
Baby Tooth
Beyond Silence
A Brighter Summer Day For The Lady Avengers
Captain Zero: Into the Abyss Part II
Chasing the Party
Cherry-Colored Funk
Cocoon
Fame and Other Four Letter Words
Fire At Will
Gloria
The Hicks Happy Hour
How A River Is Born
How I Learned to Die
I Want To Feel Fun
Jean Jacket
Linie 12
New York Day Women
A Night at the Rest Area
Ostroch
Ovary-Acting
Petra and the Sun
The Rebirth
Red Egg & Ginger
Rise
Still Moving
Wannabe
Tigre
Truck Load
A West Side Story Story
Womb
Documentary Shorts
Ask Me Anything
The Ban
Black Tide
A Drastic Tale
I hope this email finds you well
Kiss My Grass
Monster Slayer
The New Indigo Wave (La nueva ola de añil)
Pavilhão
Songs of Black Folk
Music Videos
Call Me a Liar
Forever 21
Madame President
Qué Más Quieres
Something Beautiful
EPISODICS: TRIBECA TV
Call Her Alex
Outrageous
We Were Liars
EPISODICS: N.O.W. (NEW ONLINE WORK)
Bulldozer
Mother, May I Have a Kidney?
TRIBECA X AWARD SELECTIONS: Brand/Storyteller Collaborations
Feature Films
A Man with Sole: The Impact of Kenneth Cole
Sensory Overload
Why We Dream
Short Films
Daniel Really Suits You
Episodics
24 Hours with Roger Federer
Commercial Spots
Love Departed
So Win
Somebody
Content Creator/Influencer Collaboration
Sylvanian Drama
Starr, The Intern
Tribeca X Film-Related Women Speakers
From Gridiron to Greenlight: Lara Krug on How the Kansas City Chiefs Are Rewriting the Rules of Sports Media
Legacy in the Making: Lena Waithe on Storytelling, Impact, and Cultural Memory
TRIBECA TALKS
Lena Dunham
Through Her Lens Conversations with Riley Keough and Gina Gammell
IMMERSIVE: VIRTUAL REALITY PROJECTS
AI & Me: The Confessional and AI Ego
The Founders Pillars & The Power Loom
Fragile Home
In the Current of Being
There Goes Nikki
WOMEN CREW-ED: FILMS BY WOMEN WRITERS, CINEMATOGRAPHERS, EDITORS AND COMPOSERS AT 2025 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
NARRATIVE FEATURES
All We Cannot See
The Best You Can
Dragonfly
Kerouac’s Road: The Beat of A Nation
Leads
Our Hero, Balthazar
Re-Creation
Rosemead
What Marielle Knows
The Wolf, The Fox and The Leopard
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
Depeche Mode: M
The End of Quiet
Empire Skate
It’s Dorothy!
I Was Born This Way
The Last Dive
Nobu
The Rose: Come Back To Me
Underland
SHORTS
Narrative Shorts
Poreless
Terror Keeps You Slender
Documentary Shorts
Doc Albany
EPISODICS: TRIBECA TV
The Furry Detective: Unmasking A Monster
Smoke
EPISODICS: N.O.W. (NEW ONLINE WORK)
The Price of Milk
Seasoned
IMMERSIVE: VIRTUAL REALITY PROJECTS
The Innocence of Unknowing
NORA EPHRON AWARD-ELIGIBLE FILMS BY WOMEN DIRECTORS AT 2025 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL? (*winner)
Bird In Hand
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Melody C. Roscher (U.S.) World Premiere in U.S. Narrative Competition
Birthright
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Zoe Pepper (Australia) World Premiere in Escape From Tribeca
Australian debut writer/director Zoe Pepper’s satirical Birthright incisively targets generation gap between Boomers vs. Millennials with humor, great cast and emotional sound design.
Charliebird
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Editor: Libby Ewing; Writer/Co-Star: Samantha Smart (U.S.) World Premiere in U.S. Narrative Competition
Founders Award for Best U.S. Narrative Feature - Jury Statement: “A deeply affecting portrait featuring grounded and complex performances, this film is an assured and well-crafted debut.“
Best Performance in a U.S. Narrative Feature - Jury Statement: Gabriela Ochoa Perez “delivers a fresh performance that is at once ferocious and vulnerable. She grounds a young woman’s painful journey in humanity and truth.”
Fior Di Latti
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Co-Editor: Charlotte Ercoli (Italy, U.S.) World Premiere in Viewpoints
Gonzo Girl
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Star: Patricia Arquette; Writers: Jessica Caldwell and Rebecca Thomas, based on the novel by Cheryl Della Pietra (U.S.) U.S. Premiere in Member Events
Rockers get the “Behind the Music” treatment. Now the parallel period progenitor of “Gonzo Journalism” gets the “Behind the Writer” treatment via an adaptation of a roman à clef about Hunter Thompson in his celebrity-full last decade.
As defined in the voice-over by post-graduate “Alley” (ex-teen star Camila Morrone, in her first grown-up movie role) who signs up to be his assistant in 1992 to help him complete a book, his innovation was “Where you become the main character and go wherever the story takes you.” Bonding over a passage from The Great Gatsby establishes the parallel that she will be the envious participant-observer of dissolution and self-destructive behavior by “Walker Reade”. (Animation creatively portrays the indulged expand-your-mind drugs imbibed.) Willem Dafoe well imitates Thompson, though we only hear and see glimpses of his former font of creativity, with just a hint of redemption at the end.
In a very secondary role, director Arquette is a grounded force in each of her few scenes, making the assistant much less interesting. She just barely helps to balance the sexism of the situation that does make us wonder why we should even care about Thompson at this sad period of his life.
Happy Birthday*
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer: Sarah Goher (Egypt) World Premiere in International Narrative Competition
Nora Ephron Award – Jury Statement: “This film was not only compelling as an audience experience, but like all great works of art, it did not confine itself to the story, and was resonant on a larger canvas. It explored the intersection of innocence and class from the eyes of a child longing for a birthday party and reluctantly understanding her place in society, being on the outside, and longing to be invited to the inside.”
Best International Narrative Feature - Jury Statement: “For its authentic and complex portrayal of class, motherhood, and loss of innocence, along with outstanding performances – especially by its young star – and its brilliant nuanced writing.”
Best Screenplay in an International Narrative Feature – Jury Statement: “For its profound and yet economical storytelling, compelling characters, and wonderfully crafted dialogue.”
Goher lets this touching story of two pink-loving young girls unfold so that the revelations about their lives are even more of a surprise to viewers not attuned to the subtle indicators of society in Cairo, Egypt today. The long, emotional day on screen for eight-year-old “Toha” is almost all expressed through the eyes of Doha Ramadan, who Goher has said in interviews it took a year to cast a girl from a similar background as her character, and train her to carry the film. The debut director demonstrates the sensitivity with children as the likes of Hirokazu Koreeda.
In the background are mothers (played by well-known Egyptian actresses) too stressed with their own problems to focus on them, Nelly Karim as “Laila” facing possible divorce (nagged by Hanan Youssef as her mother), and Hanan Motawie as widowed “Nadia”.
The frequently hand-held camera well captures the startlingly different secular and traditional environments around them. Each character’s life is colorfully reflected in 360 degrees, from a new middle class suburban development by a shopping mall, to busy urban streets with crowded buses, and whizzing “toktoks” to fish markets by the Nile.
No viewer can be left unmoved by the significance of making a wish over a birthday candle.
Honeyjoon
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Lilian T. Mehrel; Cinematographer: Inés Gowland (Portugal, U.S.) World Premiere in Viewpoints
2024 Winner of AT&T Presents “UNTOLD STORIES”
Second Runner Up, Narrative, Audience Award
Horsegirls
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Lauren Meyering; Cinematographer: Natalie Kingston; Editor: Stephanie Filo (U.S.) World Premiere in U.S. Narrative Competition
Little Trouble Girls (Kaj ti je deklica)
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer: Urška Djukić; Co-Writer: Maria Bohr (Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, Serbia) North American Premiere in International Narrative Competition
Best Cinematography in an International Narrative Feature - Jury Statement: “For its evocative tone and rich sensual texture, which conjured the fragility of a singular summer.”
Kino Lorber release
On A String
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Star: Isabel Hagen; Editor: Olivia Vessel (U.S.) World Premiere in U.S. Narrative Competition
Best Screenplay in a U.S. Narrative Feature - Jury Statement: “A nimble, witty and accomplished story that chronicles the ups and downs of a young woman who has to face the music.”
Musicians are the original gig workers, who spend years perfecting their art – and then have to try to make a living. Juilliard graduate writer/director/star Isabel Hagen embodies this violist “Isabel” from her own experience in music and stand-up.
In between constant tendinitis-aggravating practice for a prestigious audition, the fictional “Isabel” rushes from rehearsals to recording studios, performing back-up to a goth singer, an engagement, a wedding, a funeral, private parties, teaching little kids “Twinkle Little Star”, and always waiting to get paid, while not always successfully dodging egos and entanglements. (Her quartet is portrayed by working musicians playing their instruments, including Ling Ling Huang on violin.) Years ago I was fundraiser for a chamber quartet to get them support for performing works they actually cared yet that audiences would want to attend, and I’m sympathetic to freelance musicians’ precarious schedules.
While this “Isabel” has the mixed blessing of living at home, her classical music-obsessed family is awkward comic relief, including Dylan Baker as her father and Hagen’s brother Oliver as her pianist brother. She races from amusing gig to frustrating gig, so being told to stop and take in the beauty of autumnal Central Park isn’t much of a satisfying revelation.
Pinch
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer/Star: Uttera Singh; Co-Editors: Louise Innes and Vanessa Ruane Composer: Raashi Kulkarni (India) World Premiere in International Narrative Competition
Queens of the Dead
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer: Tina Romero; Co-Writer: Erin Judge; Cinematographer: Shannon Madden (U.S.) World Premiere in Escape From Tribeca
Winner, Narrative, Audience Award
Ride or Die
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer: Josalynn Smith; Co-Writer: Alicia Louzoun-Heisler; Cinematographer: Arlene Muller; Editor: Olivia Eliseo; Composer: Freya Berkhout (U.S.) World Premiere in U.S. Narrative Competition
The Scout
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Paula González-Nasser; Cinematographer: Nicola Newton (U.S.) World Premiere in U.S. Narrative Competition
Do you miss Brooklyn house tours? Estate sales to see the interiors? Nosey around debut writer/director Paula González-Nasser’s The Scout (i.e. of NYC movie locations as she used to do). Cinematographer Nicola Newton tours us through the vistas of Brooklyn neighborhoods of brownstones and attached houses, with glimpses of Manhattan residential communities and the Rockaway beach. Then her camera narrows down our focus in to one building at a time.
”Sofia”s jaunts and the instructions she’s given by the location manager, production designer, and TV director give subtle insights into how movies stereotype characters’ homes and surroundings. Otmara Marrero, as her Dominican college friend Becca, is drily sardonic in mocking how this nattering crew intend to portray the show’s Hispanic maid. The story, unfortunately, doesn’t go anywhere in the life of the central character “Sofia” (appealingly played by Mimi Davila) as she just meets one resident after another.
The Square
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Cinematographer/Co-Editor: KIM Bo-sol; Co-Editor: OH Yu-jin (Republic of Korea) North American Premiere in International Narrative Competition
This Island (Esta Isla)
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director/Co-Writer/Co-Editor: Lorraine Jones Molina; Co-Writer: Tikina Burgos (Puerto Rico) North American Premiere in International Narrative Competition
Special Jury Mention for Best U.S. Narrative Feature - Jury statement: “A compelling depiction of a place, this film is a lush and stunningly realized reckoning with class, love and history.”
Best Cinematography in a U.S. Narrative Feature - Jury Statement: “Beautifully lensed, this film is full of unforgettable and evocative imagery. Lovingly rendered, it is equally adept at capturing the intimate details and grandest vistas.”
Jury Statement: “The award for Best New Narrative Director goes to a film that straddles crime fiction and ethnography; it balances poetic imagery, lush landscapes, and cinematic tension; it takes audiences deep into the crisis of survival of a young man on an island that’s both a paradise and a prison.”
With a charismatic cast (particularly Xavier Morales), natural scenery, and varied cultures’ music, this along-the-coast/into-the-woods road movie takes the classic mixed-class lovers-on-the-run (movingly played by Zion Ortíz and Fabiola Brown) into the beauty and strengths of Puerto Rico’s (and the Caribbean’s) Taino past and traditions (taught by a grizzled Teqofilo Torres). But their unbreakable ties to the criminal and abusive ruts they had tried to escape was disappointing.
OTHER POSSIBLY EPHRON-ELIGIBLE NARRATIVE FEATURES DIRECTED BY WOMEN AT 2025 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
A Bright Future (Un futuro brillante)
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer: Lucía Garibaldi; Production Designer: Cecilia Guerriero; Sound Designer: Mercedes Tennina (Uruguay, Argentina, Germany) World Premiere in Viewpoints
Jury Statement: “This year’s Viewpoints Award goes to a film driven by an original, inventive voice. The filmmaker creates a seamless world that is captivating, thought-provoking, fresh and increasingly relevant. Weaving themes of the fetishization of youth, the timeless pursuit of dreams, and what makes us human, and anchored by a pitch perfect performance from their lead actress, we are pleased to award this year’s Viewpoint prize to A Bright Future. We believe Lucia Garibaldi has a very bright future.”
A young person’s only way out of the desiccated environment of Garibaldi’s strikingly imagined future seems to be selected to “go to the North”.
In a society with a declining birth rate, humans and animals, the 18-year-old “Elisa Vick” (Martina Passeggi’s confident debut) is a prize, especially her spirit. Her older sister was earlier selected, not to be heard from again. In their tenement-like tower, her mother “Nelida” (Soledad Pelayo) dreams of joining her daughters there and works hard to win that chance.
Suspiciously, the motor scooter-riding “Elisa”s creativity makes her attractive to the selectors for assignment in the “Sustainability Sector” – or maybe for culling? Her new one-legged neighbor “Leonor” (Sofía Gala Castiglione) is so bitter at not having that presumed opportunity that she is symbolically surrounded by a dissonant sound design (including a theremin). She seductively introduces “Elisa” to the dangerous underground where “youth rules”. Reminiscent of Tony Richardson’s The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962), “Elisa” finds her own unique rebellion.
Cuerpo Celeste
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Nayra Ilic García; Editor: Valentina Hernández (Chile, Italy) World Premiere in International Narrative Competition
Special Jury Mention - Jury statement: “For its fantastic central performance, arresting visuals, and subtle storytelling that touches on both a changing political landscape and the aftermath of grief.”
Dead Language
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director/Writer: Mihal Brezis, full-length adaptation of Oscar-nominated short film Aya (2015); Co-Writer: Amital Stern (Czech Republic, Israel, Poland) World Premiere in Viewpoints
East of Wall
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Kate Beecroft; Editor: Jennifer Vecchiarello (U.S.) New York Premiere in Spotlight Narrative
Sony Pictures Classics release
Oh, Hi!
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Sophie Brooks; Editor: Kayla Emter (U.S.) New York Premiere in Spotlight Narrative
Sony Pictures Classics releases in theaters July 25.
Reflection in a Dead Diamond (Reflet dans un diamant mort)
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director/Co-Writer: Hélène Cattet (Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, France) North American Premiere in International Narrative Competition
Shudder release
Tow
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Stephanie Laing; Co-Writer: Annie Weisman; Co-Composer: Este Haim (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Narrative
A Tree Fell in the Woods
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Nora Kirkpatrick (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Narrative
Twelve Moons
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Co-Editor: Victoria Franco (Mexico) World Premiere in International Narrative Competition
AT&T Presents “UNTOLD STORIES” (*winner)
Director/Writer: Meagan Noel Fulps for Fight Like A Mother
Director/Writer: Masami Kawal for Valley of the Tall Grass
Director/Writer: Jazz Pitcairn for Ivan
Director/Writer: Liz Sargent for Take Me Home*
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Billy Joel: And So It Goes - Opening Night Gala
Synopsis and Schedule
Directors: Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin; Co-Editor: Kris Liem (U.S.) World Premiere
HBO Documentary release
Mrs. America
Synopsis and Schedule
Creator/Director: Penny Lane; Co-Editor: Cindy Lee; Cinematographer: Naiti Gámez (U.S.) World Premiere in N.O.W. of Episodes 1 and 2 of 4-part docu-series
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES DIRECTED BY WOMEN AT 2025 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
Barbara Walters Tell Me Everything
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Jackie Jesko (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
ABC News Studios release
Boy George & Culture Club
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Alison Ellwood; Co-Cinematographer: Michelle McCabe (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
Counting Crows: Have You Seen Me Lately?
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Amy Scott; Composer: Heather McIntosh (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
HBO Documentary release
Dear Ms: A Revolution in Print
Synopsis and Schedule
Directors: Salima Koroma, Alice Gu, Cecilia Aldarondo, Patricia Carbine, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Lindsy Van Gelder, Marcia Ann Gillespie, and Susanne Braun Levine; Cinematographers: Alice Gu and Maria Rusche; Editors: Jessica Miller, Carol Martori, and Terra Jean Long; Composers: Wynne Ashley Bennett and Angélica Negrón (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
HBO Documentary release
An Eye for an Eye
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director: Tanaz Eshaghian; Cinematographer: Gelareh Kiazand; Co-Editor: Hayedeh Safiyari (Denmark, Iran, U.S.) World Premiere in Documentary Competition
Special Jury Mention for Documentary Feature - Jury Statement: “At a time when women’s rights are eroding globally, the jury would be remiss if we did not recognize the courageous, unflinching, gut wrenching, verité virtuosity of a film set in a society that severely limits women’s rights, even those of victims of extreme domestic violence. The story unfolds in real time with life and death hanging in the balance, leaving the audience breathlessly invested in the outcome.”
Best Editing in a Documentary Feature - Jury Statement: “For its narrative precision, for locking us inside a moral crucible without relief, and for weaving a multigenerational, deeply personal story that gives equal weight to all participants with searing emotional impact, and for the clarity and courage of its storytelling. Not one frame feels gratuitous as the film barrels relentlessly towards its conclusion.”
For Venida, for Kalief
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Cinematographer: Sisa Bueno; poetry of subject Venida Brodnax Browder (U.S.) World Premiere in Documentary Competition
The Inquisitor
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Angela Lynn Tucker; Editor: Annukka Lilja (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
PBS release
Jimmy & The Demons
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Cindy Meehl; Editor: Toby Shimin (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
Just Kids
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Gianna Toboni; Co-Writers: Gianna Toboni, Jacqueline Toboni, and Samantha Wender; Composer: Taul Katz (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
Just Sing
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director/Co-Cinematographer: Angelique Molina (UK) World Premiere in Spotlight+
After the screening: Performance by the subject SoCal VoCals
Maintenance Artist
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer: Toby Perl Freilich; Co-Writer: Anne Alvergue; Co-Cinematographer: Vanessa Carr; Editor: Anne Alvergue; Co-Composer: Clare Manchon (U.S.) World Premiere in Documentary Competition
Freilich insightfully goes beyond the bemused news coverage New Yorkers were familiar with (smoothly edited together by Alvergue) that Mierle Laderman Ukeles was the artist-in-residence at NYC’s Department of Sanitation for almost 50 years. Rather, with extensive interviews now and rare clips from her own voluminous black-and-white video and photographic archive, the documentary delves into the development of her feminist theory behind her public performance art focus on workers. As she married a husband supportive of her artistic drive and had three children, Ukeles saw the link between the underappreciation of how hard women worked as “house-wives”/caregivers to the public’s negative attitude toward “garbagemen”. There is no mention if her years-long project to shake the hand of every sanitation department employee, at all shifts in all boroughs while truly listening to their gripes and perceiving them as dancers, she contributed to their re-branding as “New York’s Strongest”. Her efforts culminated during the pandemic with her public art visible from the Grand Central Parkway and on subway platforms thanking “essential workers”, that helped spur restricted New Yorkers to bang their gratitude with pots and pans at their doors and balconies each night. She then spread her perception to cities internationally.
My additional commentary on Ukeles as a Jewish woman artist.
Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Shoshannah Stern; Editor: Sara Newens; Composer: Kathryn Bostic (U.S.) New York Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
Kino Lorber release in theaters June 20, followed by a digital and home video release, and educational and library release through Kanopy.
Move Ya Body: The Birth of House
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Elegance Bratton (U.S.) New York Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
After the screening: A house music dance party with Celeste Alexander, Lori Branch, and Lady D.
My Mom Jayne
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Mariska Hargitay (U.S.) North American Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
HBO Documentary release
Natchez
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer: Suzannah Herbert (U.S.) World Premiere in Documentary Competition
Best Documentary Feature - Jury Statement: “Who tells America’s story? In a country where the rewriting and abject erasure of African American history threatens a truthful understanding of who we are, the jury applauds this film’s focus on a southern town, once one of America’s largest slave markets, whose economic mainstay is now historic tours. The film’s incisive, razor-sharp craft, its deft navigation of myriad participants without ever losing clarity, its timeliness, its humor, its confrontation of naked racism, yet its refusal to flatten its Mississippian storytellers—however flawed—into easy villains, for being artful, honest, and deeply compassionate, the jury—unanimously and unequivocally—awards a film that brings us hope not for an America that can agree, but one that might understand each other.”
Special Jury Mention for Cinematography in a Documentary Feature - Jury Statement: “For its idiosyncratic visual storytelling, masterfully timed and restrained camerawork, and photography as close, wide and open as the film’s curious heart.”
Special Jury Mention for Editing in a Documentary Feature - Jury Statement: “The editing seamlessly balances all the elements of an extremely complicated story, and delivers a powerful impact that resonates long after the film concludes.”
Distributed by ITVS
Rebbecca (AKA Becky G)
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Directors: Jennifer Tiexiera and Gabriela Cavanagh; Co-Cinematographer: Gabriela Cavanagh and Cassandra Giraldo; Co-Editor: Lauren Saffa (US) World Premiere in Spotlight+
After the screening at United Palace: Becky G in duo performance
Lionsgate release
Shadow Scholars
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Eloïse King; Co-Cinematographer: Anna Patarakina; Co-Editor: Cinzia Baldesarri; Composer: Nyokabi Kariuki (UK) North American Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
She Runs The World
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director: Perri Peltz; Cinematographer: Nasreen Alkhateeb; Lead Editor: Cinzia Frances Henderson; Composer: Kathryn Bostic (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
First Runner Up, Documentary, Audience Award
State of Firsts
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Chase Joynt; Cinematographer: Melissa Langer; Editor: Chris McNabb (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight+
After the screening: conversation with subject Representative Sarah McBride (D-Delaware)
Sun Ra: Do The Impossible
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Christine Turner (U.S.) World Premiere in Documentary Competition
Surviving Ohio State
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Eva Orner (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
HBO Documentary premieres June 17.
We Are Pat
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer: Rowan Haber; Co-Writer/Editor: Hannah Buck; Cinematographers: Christine Ng and Mego Lin (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight+
After the screening: comedy performance featuring film participants Roz Hernandez, Nori Reed, plus others
Special Jury Mention for New Documentary Director - Jury statement: “This award goes to a film that tackles a morally urgent issue with a fresh and unique directorial vision that made us think, cry, and most unexpectedly laugh. For powerfully centering the voices of the community it represents, inventive visual approach, and for helping us see a complex pop cultural figure in a new way.”
Widow Champion
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Cinematographer: Zippy Kimundu; Co-Editors: Jordana Berg and Frankie Ashiruka (Kenya) World Premiere in Viewpoints
SHORTS
Narrative Shorts
Aimee Comes First
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Star: Aimee Garcia; Cinematographer: Andrea A. Walter; Editor: Gina Hirsch (U.S.) New York Premiere in Shorts Program “Family Matters”
Ᾱyi
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Jiayi Li (U.S., China) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Floating Roots”
Special Jury Mention for Student Visionary – Jury Statement: “Sometimes, the people who are the fabric of our lives are the ones most often forgotten. With this film, we catch a glimpse of what it feels like to be overlooked—but not erased. We would like to give a Special Jury Mention.”
Almost Graduated
Synopsis and Schedule
Directors/Co-Editors: Samantha Copano and Florencia Peña; Co-Cinematographer: Sofía Sepúlveda (Chile) New York Premiere in Shorts Program “Hopes and Dreams”
Apocalypse Besties
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Kristen Buckels Cantrell; Co-Writer/Star: Becky Chicoine (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Showtime!”
Baby Blues
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Helen Komini Knudsen; Writer: Anna Lian (Norway) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Hopes and Dreams”
Baby Tooth
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Olivia Accardo; Cinematographer: Gemma Doll-Grossman (U.S.) in Shorts Program “Pick N Mix”
In a role Accardo explained in an interview that she wrote the story for the star, diva saleswoman “Marina” sensuously emotes a Sphinx-like riddle choice on an isolated Oregon dock: “Are you here for the boat or the tooth?” Amidst Doll-Grossman’s luscious cinematography, improv actress Dakota Bouher had wanted to sell her late grandfather’s boat and have her retained deciduous tooth removed. But her aggressive negotiations seeking a different kind of Oedipus are fiction. That string in her pouty mouth creates a surprising dental association.
Beyond Silence
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Marnie Blok; Cinematographer: Myrthe Mosterman; Editor: Annelien van Wijnbergen (Netherlands) International Premiere in Shorts Program “Mind and Body”
Best Narrative Short - Jury Statement: “Covering an enormous subject with beautiful minimalism, brilliant performances combine with a skillful script to give new meaning to ‘finding your voice.’ Raw and devastating. Impressive and emotional.”
A Brighter Summer Day For The Lady Avengers
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Editor: Birdy Wei-Ting Hung; Cinematographer: Ai Chung; Composer: Yun Fang Tseng (U.S.) New York Premiere in Shorts Program “Midnight Mash-up”
Captain Zero: Into the Abyss Part II
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Editor: Z Cher-Aimé (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Whoopi’s Wonderful World of Animation” (Family Friendly)
Chasing the Party
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Jessie Komitor (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “NY Off Peak”
Special Jury Mention for Narrative Short - Jury Statement: “With a compelling combination of character and world, this nostalgic look at young hope on a wild night is filled with surprises of fantasy and nightmare. We’ll be thinking of this fresh, provocative film for a long time and cannot wait to see what this director does next.”
Cherry-Colored Funk
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer/Co-Editor: Chelsie Pennello (U.S.) New York Premiere in Shorts Program “Floating Roots”
Cocoon
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Sujin Jung/Co-Writer; Editor: Emily Furst (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Mind and Body”
The Hicks Happy Hour
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer: Kate McCarthy (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Showtime!”
Fame and Other Four Letter Words
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Miranda Kahn; Cinematographer: Charlotte Hornsby; Editors: Kate Pedatella and Megan Heard (U.S.) in Shorts Program “Pick N Mix”
Fire At Will
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Morgan Gruer (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Family Matters”
Gloria
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Kim Blanck; Cinematographer: Caitlin Machak; Editor: Ling Chuas (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Mind and Body”
How A River Is Born
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Luma Flôres; Cinematographer/Concept Art: Maira Moura Miranda; Co-Editor/Animation: Danielly Romero; Composer Andrea Martins (Brazil) North American Premiere in Shorts Program “Animated Shorts Curated by Whoopi G”
How I Learned to Die
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Manya Glassman (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Mind and Body” “Mind and Body”
Student Visionary Award - Jury Statement: “Our choice for the Student Visionary Award manages to make a capital-M Movie out of a short student film. We, the jury, believe this film is filled with ambition, hope, and personality—paired with complex, emotional subject matter that touches on something we will all experience: death.”
New York Day Women
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Editor: Fredgy Noël; Cinematographer: Sarah Greenbaum (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “NY Off Peak”
I Want To Feel Fun
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer: Jessica Sanders; Co-Writer/Star: Esther Povitsky; Co-Cinematographer: Nicole Hirsch Whitaker; Composer: Tangelene Bolton (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Pick N Mix”
Jean Jacket
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director/Co-Writer: Lucy Nebeker (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Pick N Mix”
Linie 12
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director/Writer/Cinematographer/Editor: Sarah Schulz; Co-Composer: Sophia Sämann-Brades (Germany) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Whoopi’s Wonderful World of Animation” (Family Friendly)
A Night at the Rest Area
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Cinematographer/Editor: Saki Muramoto; Composer: Saya Kikuchi (Japan) in Shorts Program “Animated Shorts Curated by Whoopi G”
Ostrich
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Cinematographer/Editor: Marie Kenov (Switzerland) World Premiere in Shorts Program ”Whoopi’s Wonderful World of Animation” (Family Friendly)
Ovary-Acting
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Ida Melum; Writer: Laura Jayne Tunbridge; Editor: Lesley Posso (Norway. Sweden, UK) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Animated Shorts Curated by Whoopi G”
Petra and the Sun
Synopsis and Schedule
Directors/Writers: Malu Furche and Stefania Malacchini; Editor: Malu Furche; Cinematographer: Paula Ramírez (Chile) North American Premiere in Shorts Program “Animated Shorts Curated by Whoopi G”
Special Jury Mention for Animated Short - Jury Statement: “The attention to detail, the specificity of longing and loneliness, and the immersive quality of this stop-motion character study created a moving experience. The texture and visible traces of the human hand brought a delicate realism in this story about an unusual and unforgettable chance encounter.”
The Rebirth
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Editor/Star: Connie Shi; Cinematographer: Cece Chan (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “NY Off Peak”
Red Egg & Ginger
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer: Olivia Owyeung; Co-Writer: Tracey Murray; Editor: Maria Eléna Capra (UK) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Floating Roots”
Rise
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Jessica J. Rowlands (Zimbabwe) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Hopes and Dreams”
Still Moving
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Cinematographer/Editor/Co-Animator: Rui Ting Ji (Canada) North American Premiere in Shorts Program “Animated Shorts Curated by Whoopi G”
Tigre
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Cinematographer/Editor: Maria Victoria Sanchez (Mexico) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Whoopi’s Wonderful World of Animation” (Family Friendly)
Truckload
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Aella Jordan-Edge; Writer/Star: Evie Jones: Cinematographer: Essi Hyrkki; Composer: Hollie Buhagiar (UK) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Mind & Body”
Wannabe
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer/Co-Editor: Kat Cattani; Composer: Nami Melumad (Ecuador) North American Premiere in Shorts Program “Showtime!”
A West Side Story Story
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer: Aditya Joshi; Co-Writer: Ana Luz Zambrana (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Hopes and Dreams”
Womb
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Ira Hetaraka; Editor: Sophie Coombs; Composer: Riki Gooch (New Zealand) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Floating Roots”
Documentary Shorts
Ask Me Anything
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Wyneke van Nieuwenhuyzen (Netherlands) International Premiere in Shorts Program “Reflections”
The Ban
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Roisin Agney (Ireland, Northern Ireland, UK) New York Premiere in Shorts Program “For The Cause”
Black Tide
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Cinematographer/Editor/Co-Animator: Kim Yip Tong; Co-Animators: Amandine Boyer, Penelope Camus, Gloria Vivien, and Uma Burrenchobay (Reunion, Mauritius) New York Premiere in Shorts Program “Common Ground”
A Drastic Tale
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Editor: Chantel Simpson (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Reflections”
I hope this email finds you well
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Cinematographer/Editor: Asia Zughaiar (Palestine) World Premiere in Shorts Program “For The Cause”
Jury Statement: “Our choice for the Best Short Documentary Award poses the question: what even is a documentary? A documentary can be anything that allows the viewer to connect with what the filmmaker has experienced. We believe this film helps us not only see, but feel.”
Kiss My Grass
Synopsis and Schedule
Directors: Mary Pryor and Mara Whitehead; Co-Director: Tirsa Hacksaw (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Reflections”
Monster Slayer
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Catie Skipp; Cinematographer: Dominique Hessert Owens; Editor: Sara Nell; Animation: Felice Wong (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Reflections”
The New Indigo Wave (La nueva ola de añil)
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Editor: Karla Claudio; Cinematographer: Mónica Wise Robles (Puerto Rico) North American Premiere in Shorts Program “Common Ground”
Pavilhão
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer/Co-Composers: Victoria Fiore; Editor: Rebecca Gin (Brazil) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Embrace The Music”
Songs of Black Folk
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director/Cinematographer: Haley Watson; Composer: Katya Richardson (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Embrace The Music”
Music Videos
Call Me a Liar
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Directors: Jivensley Alexis; Co-Director/Editor: Reece Daniels; Performed by Dola (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “NY Off Peak”
Forever 21
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director/Co-Writer/Co-Editor/Co-Composer: Bonnie McKee; Performed by Bonnie McKee (U.S.) in Shorts Program Playlist
Madame President
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Cinematographer/Editor: Athena Kulb; Composer: Grace Bowers; Performed by Grace Bowers (U.S.) in Shorts Program Playlist
Qué Más Quieres
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director/Co-Writer: Paulina Villarreal; Performed by The Warning (Mexico) in Shorts Programs “Embrace The Music” and Playlist
Something Beautiful
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director/Co-Writer: Miley Cyrus (U.S.) World Premiere music video in Spotlight+
After the screening: conversation with Miley Cyrus
EPISODICS: TRIBECA TV
Call Her Alex
Synopsis and Schedule
Directors/Executive Producer: Ry Russo-Cooper (U.S.) World Premiere
After the Screening of Part 1: Conversation with subject and director of the 2-part docu-series
Disney/Hulu premieres June 10.
Outrageous
Synopsis and Schedule
Creator/Writer: Sarah Williams; Director (3 episodes): Ellie Heydon; Co-Cinematographer: Annemarie Lean-Vercoe; based on Mary S. Lovell’s joint biography published in the U.S. by Norton, 2002, as The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family (UK) World Premiere
After the Screening: Conversation with cast, creator, and executive producer.
BritBox premieres the 6-episode limited series June 18.
We Were Liars
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Creators/Showrunners/Writers: Julie Plec and Carina Adly MacKenzie; Directors: (2 episodes) Erica Dunton, Nzingha Stewart (1 episode); Co-Editors: Rachel Katz-Overstreet (2 episodes), Orlee Buium (1 episode), based on novel by E. Lockhart (U.S.) World Premiere
After the Screening: Conversation with the cast
Prime Video premieres 8-episode series June 18.
EPISODICS: N.O.W. (New Online Work)
Bulldozer
Synopsis and Schedule
Creator/Writer/Star: Joanna Leeds; Cinematographer: Michelle Lawler (U.S.) New York Premiere in in Indie Showcase
Mother, May I Have a Kidney?
Synopsis and Schedule
Creator/Writer: Veronica Reyes-How; Co: Editor: Anita Brandt-Burgoyne (U.S.) World Premiere in Indie Showcase
IMMERSIVE: VIRTUAL REALITY PROJECTS CREATED BY WOMEN
AI & Me: The Confessional and AI Ego
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director: Daniela Nedovescu (Germany) U.S. Premiere at “In Search of Us” exhibition
The Founders Pillars & The Power Loom
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Creator: Meghna Singh (South Africa) World Premiere at “In Search of Us” exhibition
Fragile Home
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Creator: Victoria Lopukhina (Czech Republic) North American Premiere at “In Search of Us” exhibition
In the Current of Being
Synopsis and Schedule
Key Collaborator: Nina Ćeklić (U.S., France) New York Premiere at “In Search of Us” exhibition
There Goes Nikki
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Project Creator: Michèle Stephenson (U.S.) World Premiere at “In Search of Us” exhibition
WOMEN CREW-ED: FILMS BY WOMEN WRITERS, CINEMATOGRAPHERS, EDITORS AND COMPOSERS AT 2025 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
NARRATIVE FEATURES
All We Cannot See
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Writer: Wendy Guerra (Spain) World Premiere in Viewpoints
The Best You Can
Synopsis and Schedule
Editor: Tricia Holmes (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Narrative
Dragonfly
Synopsis and Schedule
Cinematographer: Vanessa Whyte, BSC; Editor: Nina Annan (UK) World Premiere in International Narrative Competition
Best Performance in an International Narrative Feature: Jury Statement - “For an audience, there is nothing as exciting as watching actors bravely and fully immerse themselves in characters who leave us filled with both empathy and dread – and so for their daring and electrifying turns, we are thrilled to present Best Performance in and International Film to Andrea Riseborough and Brenda Blethyn.”
Kerouac’s Road: The Beat of A Nation
Synopsis and Schedule
Writer: Eliza Hindmarch (UK, U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
K-Pops!
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Writer: Khaila Amazan; Composer: Emily Bear (U.S.) U.S. Premiere in Spotlight Narrative
Leads
Synopsis and Schedule
Editor: Ellie Ann Fenton; Composer: Lauren Paige Sanders (U.S.) World Premiere in U.S. Narrative Competition
Our Hero, Balthazar
Synopsis and Schedule
First Runner Up, Narrative, Audience Award
Co-Editor: Erin DeWitt (U.S.) World Premiere in Viewpoint
Re-Creation
Synopsis and Schedule
Composer: Anna Rice (Ireland, Luxembourg) World Premiere in Spotlight Narrative
Rosemead
Synopsis and Schedule
Writer: Marilyn Fu (U.S.) World Premiere in U.S. Narrative Competition
What Marielle Knows
Synopsis and Schedule
Editor: Anna Fabini (Germany) North American Premiere in Viewpoints
The Wolf, The Fox and The Leopard
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Editor: Linda Blaschette (Netherlands, Luxembourg, Ireland, Croatia, Taiwan R.O.C.) World Premiere in International Narrative Competition
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
Depeche Mode: M
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Editors: Melisa San Vincente and Liora Spilk (U.S., Mexico) World Premiere in Spotlight+
After the Premiere: Conversation with Depeche Mode and director
The End of Quiet
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Editor: Charlotte Munch Bengtsen (Denmark) World Premiere in Documentary Competition
Empire Skate
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Editor: Nora Tenessen (USA) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
ESPN 30-for-30 premieres June 30.
It’s Dorothy!
Synopsis and Schedule
Cinematographer: Eve M. Cohen (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
I Was Born This Way
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Editor: Tessa Malsam (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
The Last Dive
Synopsis and Schedule
Editor: Lauren Brinkman (U.S.) World Premiere in Documentary Competition
Best Cinematography in a Documentary Feature - Jury Statement: “After a passionate debate, we award a film which immersed us in a natural world where the meeting between man and animal literally changes the course of preservation history, and the redemption of a broken soul. For its sweeping aerial and underwater footage, shocking archival witness, and intimate portrait of a person confronting morality.”
Nobu
Synopsis and Schedule
Editor: Andrea Lewis (U.S.) New York Premiere in Spotlight+
Vertical Entertainment theatrical release opens in NYC June 27, national rollout July 2, available On Demand July 11.
Based on chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s 2017 book, the documentary is part self-made man memoir, with archival personal and period footage and photographs, and part promotion like “Tribeca X brand-driven storytelling”. There are now almost 60 restaurants around the world and a hotel company, that Festival co-founder Robert DeNiro has served on the Board for over 30 years.
The film is at its most involving when the editor keeps the focus on the chef himself within his milieu. He and his ever-supportive wife Yoko re-visit locations of his past, from his hometown, to his initial job mentored to make sushi in downtown Tokyo, to running a restaurant in Peru where he first incorporated local seafood styles into Japanese cuisine, to devastating failure in Alaska, and then celebrity success in Los Angeles and New York City.
Edited in are observations of how he, now with his many globe-trotting corporate chefs, maintains standards so his luxury restaurants are identical anywhere in the world, from Abu Dhabi to Maui, and how his empire allows him re-charging privacy at large homes. Surprisingly, the most emotional moments are about his relationship with his life-long best friend, who again and again helped him out, with crucial shelter, investments, and faith he mourns for not reciprocating enough.
As a critic with celiac who can’t eat wheat or dairy (or afford to eat at Nobu), this is the first foodie film since Jiro Dreams of Sushi (at Tribeca in 2011) I could relish for what I can actually eat, enjoying the delicious close-ups of fish, ceviche, sashimi, and sushi, presuming the soy sauce is gluten-free.
The Rose: Come Back To Me
Synopsis and Schedule
Animator: Nayon Cho (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight+
Second Runner Up, Documentary, Audience Award
Underland
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Editor: Anna Price; Composer: Hannah Peel; Narrator: Sandra Hüller (U.S., UK) World Premiere in Documentary Competition
SHORTS
Narrative Shorts
Poreless
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Writer: Fawzia Mirza (U.S.) New York Premiere in shorts program “Family Matters”
Terror Keeps You Slender
Synopsis and Schedule
Composer: Tess Henley (U.S.) World Premiere in shorts program “NY Off Peak”
Documentary Shorts
Doc Albany
Synopsis and Schedule
Editor: Stephanie Owens (U.S.) World Premiere in shorts program ”For The Cause”
EPISODICS: TRIBECA TV
The Furry Detectives: Unmasking A Monster
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Editor: Ana Veselic (U.S.) World Premiere
After the Screening: Conversation includes producer Julia Lindau of 4-part docu-series
SundanceTV/AMC Networks
Smoke
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Writers (1 episode each): Adriane McCray and Molly Anne Miller; Director (1 episode): Kari Skogland: Co-Editor (3 episodes): Plummy Tucker (Canada)
After the Screening: Conversation with producers and cast
AppleTV+ premieres 9-episode series June 27.
EPISODICS: N.O.W. (NEW ONLINE WORK)
The Price of Milk
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Editors: Eileen Kennedy and Dita Gruze (U.S.) World Premiere Special Screening
Seasoned
Synopsis and Schedule
Cinematographer: Meena Singh; Editor: Mollie Goldstein (U.S.) World Premiere in Indie Showcase
IMMERSIVE: VIRTUAL REALITY PROJECTS CREATED BY WOMEN
The Innocence of Unknowing
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Editor: Linda Franke (U.S.) World Premiere at “In Search of Us” exhibition
TRIBECA X AWARDS: Brand/Storyteller Collaborations (*winners)
Feature Films
A Man with Sole: The Impact of Kenneth Cole (Kenneth Cole)
Director: Dori Bernstein
Submarine Deluxe theatrical release in begins June 13 in NYC, expands to L.A. and other cities June 20.
Seen at 2024 DOC NYC
Sensory Overload (Haleon & Sensodyne)
Director: Kiana Moore
Why We Dream (Delta Airlines)
Director: Meredith Danluck
Short Films
Daniel Really Suits You* (Human Rights Campaign)
Director: Karimah Zakia Issa
Winner, Social Impact Award
Episodic Series
24 Hours with Roger Federer (Uniqlo)
Director: Kate Kunath
Faces of Music (Sephora)
Director: Ting Poo
A New York Minute* (Mejuri)
Director: Gia Coppola
A Vital Sun* (Fordham University)
Director: Alison Bartlett
Winner, Environmental Impact Award
Commercial Spots
Love Departed (British Airways Cityflyer)
Director: Autumn de Wilde
So Win (Nike)
Director: Kim Gehring
Somebody (NFL)
Director: Savannah Leaf
Content Creator/Influencer Collaboration
ss
Sylvanian Drama (Oatly)
Director: Thea von Engelbrechten
Starr, The Intern (Kate Spade New York)
Director: Taryn Delanie Smith
Tribeca X Film-Related Women Speakers
From Gridiron to Greenlight: Lara Krug on How the Kansas City Chiefs Are Rewriting the Rules of Sports Media
Synopsis and Schedule
Legacy in the Making: Lena Waithe on Storytelling, Impact, and Cultural Memory
Synopsis and Schedule
TRIBECA TALKS
Lena Dunham discusses with Michelle Buteau her new series Too Much that premieres on Netflix July 10.
Synopsis and Schedule
Through Her Lens Conversations Inspired by the Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker Program, Riley Keough and Gina Gammell talk with Margaret Zhang about their new limited series In Process.
Synopsis and Schedule
My Perspectives on Past Tribeca Film Festivals:
My coverage of female filmmakers and of past Nora Ephron Award winners at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival.
My coverage of female filmmakers and of Nora Ephron Award winners at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival.
My coverage of Nora Ephron Award at 2022 Tribeca Film Festival.
My coverage of female filmmakers and Nora Ephron Award winner at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival,
My 2020 Tribeca Film Festival coverage of features by female filmmakers.
Let me know corrections and any female filmmaker’s work I missed at the Festival. I continually update this guide as theatrical and streaming release information is available. Contact Nora Lee Mandel at mandelshultz@yahoo.com or @NLM_MavensNest
updated 6/21/2025
Nora Lee Mandel is a member of New York Film Critics Online. Her reviews are counted in the Rotten Tomatoes TomatoMeter:
Complete Index to Nora Lee Mandel's Movie Reviews
My reviews have appeared on: Film-Forward; FF2 Media; Lilith, FilmFestivalTraveler; and, Alliance of Women Film Journalists and for Jewish film festivals. Shorter versions of my older reviews are at IMDb's comments, where non-English-language films are listed by their native titles.
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