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 Tribeca Festival celebrates its “Milestone” 25th Anniversary June 3 - 14, 2026. Now defining itself as more of a cultural festival, it continues to expand its media inclusion – including audio storytelling like podcasts, shorter visuals like Tik Toks, YouTube, video games, and varied formats of commercials.
My focus remains on the film and television related presentations. This year, the Film Festival touted “118 feature films, including 103 world premieres – the most in Tribeca Festival history – and represents 143 filmmakers, including 55 first-time directors, across 44 countries. Notably, 48 percent of the films in competition are directed by women and 50 percent by BIPOC filmmakers…[with a] Shorts lineup of 86 titles from 93 filmmakers, including 45 world premieres.” Gender breakdown was not provided for the short films. For 2026 the filmmakers competing in Tribeca X’s spotlight on “brand-supported storytelling” were not identified in the press releases at all, not even the winners.
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. Criteria of first-time filmmakers no longer seem to apply. While I could only guess 2026 eligibility in advance, the description with the award announcement was much more general than in the past: “The Nora Ephron Award will honor an exceptional female filmmaker who represents the spirit and vision of the legendary filmmaker and writer.”
The jurors for the 2026 Nora Ephron Award are:
Tommy Dorfman, actress, writer, director, and producer in film, television, and theater, who recently came out as transgender; Ayo Kepher-Maat, currently VP of Acquisitions and Productions at Independent Film Company after leading work with other movie studios, distributors, and management agency; Jac Schaeffer, director and showrunner for award-winning Disney+ TV series
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 2026 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL (*winner)
Árru
Caity
Ephemera
Human Theories
I Spy With My Little Eye (Ameisen fressen kein Halva)
Mother Future Self
Sad Girlz (Chicas triste)
Via Negativa
OTHER POSSIBLY EPHRON-ELIGIBLE NARRATIVE FEATURES WRITTEN/DIRECTED BY WOMEN AT 2026 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
Act One
Happy Hours
The Last Day
Lucy Schulman
One Woman, One Bra
Rain Reign
Seven O'Clock Breakfast Club for the Brokenhearted
Skateboarding Is Not for Girls (Skejtanje ne e za devojčinja)*
Summer War (Guerra de Verano)
Take Me Home
Unidentified (Al-majhoula)
What Is To Come
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
13.4 Seconds To Nowhere
Bridget Jones’s Diary 25th Anniversary
Smoked
Wild Ones
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES DIRECTED BY WOMEN AT 2026 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story
The Best Summer
Chris & Martina: The Final Set
Crocodile
Death Boom
Doc Meets World
Full Circle: The First All Black Everest Ascent
The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony
Harvest
The Haunting of Pennhurst
Hollywood Does Abortion
House of Criticism
Jail Time Records
Jean-Michel
Just Look Up
Kids Like Me
March Forth
Matininó
Miss Representation: Rise Up
Retrieval
Time Warp
SHORTS DIRECTED BY WOMEN AT 2026 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
Eli Lilly initiates “Vital Stories”
Narrative Shorts
Am I A Bad Person?
Apart
The Barbershop
Because Today is Saturday (Porque Hoje É Sábado)
Daddy’s Little Meatball
Dear Upstairs Neighbors
Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe!
Fault
Freestyle
General Admission
Greetings from Sumatra
His House, Home
Homesick
I’m Not Home
Imprint
Insufficient Fare
I Think About Killing You
Kaya
Lost Touch
La Lucha de Lucía
One Night
Pale Sun (Soleil Pâle)
Rare Birds
Sandy Fannies (Sand i tissen)
Selah
She’s Nonbinary
So, Boom
Stand Clear ‘of the Closing Doors
Ultimatum
Verse
Documentary Shorts
Born To Kill
Cookie, Love
Couture To The Max
The Dark Knot at the Center
Mon Taxi
Panther Pat
The Second Life of Freddie Nole
Theatre of Dreams
When the Revolution Doesn’t Come
Music Videos
Beautiful
Everyone’s A Star
Fingers Crossed
Imaginal Disk
TRIBECA TV
Adults
Alice and Steve
Every Year After
Grandmasters
The Man Will Burn
Survival of the Thickest
TRIBECA INDIE TV
Narrative Showcase
CVNT
Switch
Documentary Showcase
Free Help
EPISODICS: N.O.W. (NEW ONLINE WORK) CREATORS SHOWCASE
And They Were Roommates
BK Coffee Shop
Mechanical Pencil
Retache
The Rise & Fall of DivaGurl
Taylor Cassidy
That’s That on That
TRIBECA TALKS
Este Haim
Through Her Lens Conversations with Teyana Taylor
WOMEN CREW-ED: FILMS BY WOMEN WRITERS, CINEMATOGRAPHERS, EDITORS AND COMPOSERS AT 2026 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
NARRATIVE FEATURES
Breeder
Crooks
Finnegan’s Foursome
Funk
Hallowarrior
Here I’m Alive
In Memoriam
In the Hand of Dante
Kingston
Only What We Carry
Ponderosa
She Keeps Me Young
Something You Should Know About Me
Summer of Three (Verano de tres)
They Fight
Turn It Up!
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
Alicia Keys: Girl From Hell’s Kitchen
American Zoo
Born Melo
Colors of White Rocks
Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial VS That’s the Weight of the World)
Hadestown: The Musical
IX XI
Katy Perry: The Lifetimes Tour - Live from Paris
The Lion Queen
The Lorraine
Mario
Mumford & Sons: The House Band
Playing Potus
Sara Bareilles: Good Grief
Spin Wars
Stealing Magic
threeASFOUR: Full Circle
SHORTS
Eli Lilly initiates “Vital Stories”
Narrative Shorts
Child of the Rouge
DISC
Getar Hero
Holo
I, of an Accident or of love (Je, d’un accident ou d’amour)
Last Minute
Odessa
Poreless
Sleep Call
Under The Lake
Winter Psalm
Documentary Shorts
Doc Albany
Paving the Way
Music Videos
Archbishop Harold Holmes
EPISODICS: TRIBECA TV
Alejandro Sanz: When No One Sees Me
Dear England
X Men ’97 – Season 2
NORA EPHRON AWARD-ELIGIBLE FILMS BY WOMEN DIRECTORS AT 2026 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL? (*winner)
Árru
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer: Elle Sofe Sara; Cinematographer: Cecilie Semec, FNF (Norway, Sweden, Finland) North American Premiere in Viewpoints
Not sold out, but debut Norwegian director Elle Sofe Sara’s ARRU was transfixing, taking audiences to her indigenous northern Sámi region for rare look and songs with modern struggles of reindeer, land, wind, family, and women’s roles vs. tradition.
Caity
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Lindsay Calleran; (U.S.) World Premiere in U.S. Narrative Competition
The viewer can feel the strong empathy Calleran brings to her debut film that has personal resonance (reinforced by her own home movie clip epilogue). It seems so many indie/festival films these days are about a young adult (here the titular teen played by Chiara Aurelia) dealing with their sexuality (though I couldn’t tell that queerness was a stumbling block) and a parent (here the scene-stealing father played by Morgan Spector) with alcoholism/addiction/mental health issues, though Calleran felt she was making up for the lack of such films available during her adolescence. Trying to be helpful, the mother (played by Emily Schaffer) brings in psychological insights from living with her own troubled father, though it sounds like she gained those from attending worthy Al-Anon Family Groups.
However, the setting is fresh, visually intriguing, and redolent of double meanings. The small-town family’s autumn revolves around the father’s passion for running a “Haunted House” attraction that brings in paying customers, with loyal staff support and newbies for the teen to work training and supervising. (Calleran’s family ran a dinner theater.) The credits thank Kevin McCurdy’s Haunted Mansion in Dutchess County NY for the location set, with Kevin McCurdy II as the “Haunt Consultant”.
A documentary at the Festival, The Haunting of Pennhurst, takes a deeper look into different meanings for special “Scare Actors” at another site.
Ephemera
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Shan Jiang, Story by Ashley Jiang; Cinematographer: Feixue Tang; Editor: Hazel McKibbin (U.S., Singapore) World Premiere in U.S. Narrative Competition
Human Theories
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Jess Zeidman (U.S.) World Premiere in Viewpoints
I Spy With My Little Eye (Ameisen fressen kein Halva)
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Alisa Kolosova; Writer: Judith Rose Gyabaah; Cinematographer: Meret Madörin; Editors: Evelyn Rack and Billie Mind; Composer: Rahel Hutter (Germany) World Premiere in International Narrative Competition
Long-time friends director Kolosova and writer Gyabaah brought their own experiences to bear on this unusually sensitive study of a female triad formed in girlhood facing a crisis in their ‘30s. With each seeing flashbacks to childhood and adolescence from their different points-of-view, we learn that they met at an asylum-seekers hostel, and they and their parents could feel like outsiders to German society, as well as to their homelands. (The original German title more references this aspect.) These feelings could become or aggravate physical problems that each would not fully understand about the others.
As over the years they were more likely just to see each other over summer seaside vacations, they have to realize that they did not really know each other anymore, with each having had a different kind of bond with the others. While keeping secrets, they still presume each hasn’t changed. This all comes to a head when they reach a tragic point, such that it even becomes difficult for them to tell the same truth. They have to consider taking more responsibility for another than they ever have before. (Most reviews or synopses give away key spoilers.)
Mother Future Self
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Co-Editor: Tori Lancaster: Co-Editor: Kali Kahn (U.S.) World Premiere in U.S. Narrative Competition
Admirably deals with the pain of a female friendship that is unequal yet still hurts when the more popular one drops it. But until those points are made, it felt endless and tendentious.
Sad Girlz (Chicas tristes)
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Fernanda Tovar; Cinematographer: Rosa Hadit Hernández (Mexico, Spain, France) North American Premiere in International Narrative Competition
Via Negativa
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Hannah Peterson (U.S.) World Premiere in U.S. Narrative Competition
OTHER POSSIBLY EPHRON-ELIGIBLE NARRATIVE FEATURES DIRECTED BY WOMEN AT 2026 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
Act One
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Sophia Takal; (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Narrative
Happy Hours
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Star: Katie Holmes; (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Narrative
Lucy Schulman
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Ellie Sachs; Co-Editor: Kate Pedatella (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Narrative
One Woman, One Bra
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Vincho Nchogu; Editor: Shannon C. Griffin (Kenya, Nigeria) North American Premiere in Viewpoints
Special Jury Mention for Viewpoints Award to Sarah Karei - Jury Statement: “One of the most heartbreaking and powerful performances we have seen in some time. This actress astonishes as a woman who has been abandoned by her family and community and stands alone in a world that has turned its back on her.”
Kenyan debut narrative director Vincho Nchogu, with local cast (including members of a theater troupe) and her Nigerian crew, wonderfully spotlights a determined, single, orphan woman (strongly played by Sarah Karei) asserting her rights among the Maasai of the Loita Plains against gossips, white charities, patriarchs, and financial pressures. Costume Designer/MakeUp Artist Fatuma Hassan assured the authenticity of the colorful garb and hair styling. Editor Griffin well balances the lovely scenery with the intimate indoor scenes.
Seven O'Clock Breakfast Club for the Brokenhearted
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer: Lim Sun-ae, based on novel by Baek Young-ok (South Korea) International Premiere in Spotlight Narrative
Skateboarding Is Not For Girls (Skejtanje ne e za devojčinja)*
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer: Dina Duma; Co-Writers: Lidija Mojsovska and Teona Strugar Mitevska (North Macedonia, Belgium, Slovenia, Croatia) World Premiere in International Narrative Competition
Nora Ephron Award Winner - Jury Statement: “Nora Ephron represents why having a distinct femme voice within a patriarchal world can open the door for so many others. Ephron’s work often asked the question: how do women survive in a hostile world? Our selection for the winner of this award answers that question in many ways. This film is at once lyrical and political, touching and authentic, heart-breaking and heart-warming, while also being infused with joy and humor. By giving a voice to the voiceless, Dina Duma invites us into a distinct, deeply human experience by offering audiences specific characters that celebrate solidarity and family.”
Duma’s debut film Sisters/Sestri was North Macedonia’s submission for the 2021 International Feature Oscar and the first film from her country to stream on Netflix. She developed this second feature at her 2022 Cannes Festival Residency by imagining a second chance at freedom for her Roma school friends who disappeared from her life into the traditional bridal market.
Her portrait of a Roma family under financial stress in Skopje (the biggest city of North Macedonia) is grounded in the realism of the cultural credibility added by her cast. Teenage sisters, played by close cousins, are devoted to each other; the younger, about 12 years old, “Adela” (Efkjar Abaz) is a blunt-talking rebel, escaping restrictions by riding on her skateboard through narrow alleys and an unused skate park. A few years older, her sister “Zara” (Džefrina Jašari) has a secret boyfriend. Their mother “Esma” (professional actress Simonida Selimovič) is an underemployed university graduate reduced to cleaning houses because her husband has abandoned them to find work and romance in Switzerland.
While they live in the modern world, they are enmeshed in the obligatory requirements of their Muslim Roma society, from a money-lender to a manipulative grandmother-like sister-in-law, who draw them into a solution that is familiar in many traditional societies. The depiction of the rituals around families and arranged marriages are set off by the distinctive personalities. In brief scenes, the rich future in-laws quickly establish what life with them would be like, even as their son just seems too young. Too bad the conclusion is a bit confusing, even as the mother and daughters’ warmth together is reinforced.
Summer War (Guerra de Verano)
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Alicia Scherson (Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Italy) World Premiere in International Competition
Pluto Film distribution
Take Me Home
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Liz Sargent (U.S.) New York Premiere in Spotlight Narrative
What Is To Come
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Ruthy Pribar; Cinematographer: Daniella Nowitz; Editor: Neta Dvorkis; Composer: Karni Postel (Israel, U.K.) World Premiere in International Competition
My review
Unidentified (Al-majhoula)
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Haifaa Al Mansour (Saudi Arabia) US Premiere in Spotlight Narrative
Sony Pictures Classics releases June 19.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
13.4 Seconds To Nowhere
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Llaima Suwani Sanfiorenzo
Presented by ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and Tribeca Studios
After the screening: a conversation with the filmmaker
Bridget Jones’s Diary 25th Anniversary
Synopsis and Schedule
After the Screening: conversation with director Sharon Maguire and star Renée Zellweger.
Smoked
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Alice Gu (U.S.) World Premiere in “Fueled By The Future”
After the Screening: conversation with the filmmaker
Wild Ones
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Leone DiSantis; Executive Producer: Lilly Wachowski; Cinematographer: Maddy Talias (U.S.) New York Premiere
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES DIRECTED BY WOMEN AT 2026 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story
Synopsis and Schedule
Directors: Jyllian Gunther and Stephanie Schwam (U.S.) World Premiere in Documentary Competition
HBO Documentary Films release
The Best Summer
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Cinematographer: Tamra Davis; Editor: Jessica Hernandez (U.S., Australia, Indonesia, Thailand) New York Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
Chris & Martina: The Final Set
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Rebecca Gitlitz (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight+
Netflix premieres June 26.
Crocodile
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director: Pietra Brettkelly; Co-Cinematographer: Rachael Yusuff (New Zealand, Nigeria) North American Premiere in Viewpoints
Viewpoints Award – Jury Statement: “This film beautifully captures both the courage and perseverance required to be an artist, illuminating the risks, sacrifices, and unwavering belief it takes to pursue one's dreams. Through their work, these remarkable young filmmakers remind us that the arts are not simply a means of expression, but a way of living truthfully and authentically in the world. Drawing from both dreams and reality, they created something joyful, inventive, and deeply original—a work that delights the imagination while speaking to the power of creativity itself. What moved us most was the extraordinary maturity, generosity of spirit, and sense of possibility that shines through every frame. In celebrating the transformative power of art, this team crafted a film that inspired, surprised, and filled us with hope.”
NZ Director Brettkelly covers The Critics Collective of young brothers, cousins and friends in Nigeria posting 13+ years of 50+ sci fi, horror and homage shorts online then grapple with success, fans, family and artistic goals. Amusingly, when the Yusuff brothers try to encourage their little sister Rachael to be a director than only an actress, she rebels against their boy stuff: “I want to make a Black Cinderella”, just the kind of romance that makes them reject Nollywood films. She becomes a powerful force in their clever uses of computer special effects.
Their obsession with escapist apocalyptic genres, seen in many of their clever clips and “making of”, takes on significant context as they witness brutal oppression of peaceful protests against corruption, and their parents and relatives insist that the only solution to abuse and the immoral influence of movies is to accept Jesus into their lives. Too bad The Collective couldn’t get visas to attend the screenings, including an awards encore.
Death Boom
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Jessica Chandler (U.S.) World Premiere in Escape from Tribeca
DocMeetsWorld
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director/Cinematographer: Zane Rubin (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight+
After the Premiere: Cast will perform their last live show of Boy Meets World.
Full Circle: The First All Black Everest Ascent
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director: Rolake Bamgbose; Cinematographer: Carissa Henderson (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
Co-Director Bamgbose with DP Henderson (though a “high altitude cinematographer” is listed in the closing credits) document a unique expedition in 2022, with great mountain views, suspense, intimate and role model achievements.
The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Habiba Nosheen; Co-Cinematographer: Tess Girard (Pakistan, Canada, U.S.) World Premiere in Documentary Competition
Harvest
Synopsis and Schedule
Directors/Writers: Natalie Baszile and Hyacinth Parker, inspired by Baszile’s non-fiction anthology We Are Each Other’s Harvest: Celebrating African American Farmers, Land, and Legacy (Amistad, 2021), and novel Queen Sugar; Editor: Gail Huddleson (U.S.) World Premiere in Documentary Competition
Special Jury Mention, Albert Maysles Award for Best New Documentary Director - Jury Statement: “This award goes to a film that introduced us to a story that impacts us all in ways we wouldn't necessarily expect. It made us fall in love with its participants in the most intimate way. Documentaries can tell a story with a beauty we would never have discovered on our own. It humanizes a topic we so often miss, hidden in plain view. We feel lucky to have spent time with these people—and we are better for having walked alongside them.”
The Haunting of Pennhurst
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director: Katarina Poljak; Editor: Sarah Garrahan (U.S.) World Premiere in Escape from Tribeca
Co-Director Poljak, with editor Garrahan, effectively explore the misbegotten contextual and abusive past, through archival images and chilling oral history, of the notorious shuttered Pennsylvania state “school”. Back and forth in time, they contrast that with the re-imagining going on now of the ruins as an ethical “haunted” attraction starring empowered disabled as intentionally scary actors and ghosts.
There are thoughtful lessons here for a potentially large audience, including people who, like me in New Jersey, grew up near similar institutions in this country without knowing what went on there, and those like me who only recently learned that two cousins my age were medically recommended to be put in such a place in Ohio.
Hollywood Does Abortion
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Directors: Barbara Attie and Janet Goldwater; Cinematographer: Melissa Langer; Editor: Jamie Boyles (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
House of Criticism
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Alison Chernick; Editors: Helen Yum, Sabine Krayenbühl and Melinda Pinecone (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
Jail Time Records
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director/Co-Cinematographer/Co-Editor: Dione Roach; Co-Editors: Jocelyne Chaput and Marie Helene Dozo (Cameroon) World Premiere in Documentary Competition
Best Documentary Feature - Jury Statement: “Every so often a captivating, unexpected film comes out of the blue that simply demands to be seen, and this one is truly unforgettable. This film is the jaw-dropping story of a music recording studio built within the confines of an overcrowded prison in Cameroon, Central Africa, that gives incarcerated individuals an outlet for creative expression. The film is an undeniable statement about the transformational power of music, as we witness young artists find their voices under the most improbable circumstances. The stunning cinematography, remarkable intimacy, and bravura formal execution of the film are incredible to behold, to say nothing of the music itself, which is absolutely banging. This film is a cry to be heard from the depths of incarceration, and we are listening.”
Best Cinematography in a Documentary Feature – Jury Statement: “The cinematography in this film is vivid and stunning, characterized by fluid camerawork that effortlessly glides around a dynamic, chaotic environment with balletic precision and style to burn. There are sequences throughout the film that seem nearly impossible to have captured, providing a rich palette that matches the incredible energy and creativity of its subjects.”
Albert Maysles Award for Best New Documentary Director - Jury Statement: “For a filmmaker, access is everything — but the craft is what we do with it. This film reminds us that documentary starts with humanity and takes us on a journey to discover a new world. The film expertly articulates how to tell a story using every tool of our craft, leaving no tool unused. The visuals, the sound, and the restraint are all put to work with precision and intention. It makes clear that artistry and humanity can flourish from the most unexpected places and from the deepest corners. It is a feat of verité documentary filmmaking and a force of storytelling.”
Filmed with striking intimacy over six years by a long-time volunteer Roach and an ex-prisoner turned titular music studio manager Happi, the awful physical and social conditions at the horribly over-crowded “New” Bell Prison are explicitly shown, while primarily following the different lives, hopes, and talents of three men using the only music and video recording studio in an African prison as their creative outlet. (Mural artists are also seen at work but not interviewed.) Though they are obviously “acting” for the camera to influence the outcome of their cases, as are the “performers” around them, there is also much footage of quiet times that well communicate the context of their suffering. While this is an overwhelmingly male place, there are women guards and visitors who are allowed surprising freedoms with men, including at a concert within the walls.
Jean-Michel
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Directors: Quinn Whitney Wilson and Co-Editor: Viridiana Lieberman; Co-Editor: Rebecca Adorno (U.S.) World Premiere in Documentary Competition
Best Editing in a Documentary Feature - Jury Statement: “A devastating portrait of a brilliant artist that explores the complexity of the person behind his art, expertly putting his extraordinary body of work into context and unveiling the mind of a haunted genius. The pacing and nuanced editing echo and mirror the intense psychology of his paintings.”
Just Look Up
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Betsy Hershey and Emma Wall (U.S.) North American Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
Kids Like Me
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director/Co-Cinematographer: Cynthia Lowen; Co-Cinematographers: Barbie Leung and Jenni Morello; Editor: Victoria Lesiw (U.S.) World Premiere in Documentary Competition
March Forth
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director: Valerie Hong; Elise Thoron, Director, Developer & Dramaturg of the excerpts of Felon: An American Washi Tale (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
Matininó
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer: Gabriela Díaz Arp; Co-Writers: Wendy Muñiz, Tatiana Monge Herrera, Claudia Calderón and The Villanueva-Rodriguez Family; Editor: Lara Garcia Reyne; Composer: Rachell Rojas (Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic) World Premiere in Viewpoints
Miss Representation: Rise Up
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer: Jennifer Siebel; Co-Writers: Camille Servan-Schreiber and Gretchen Miller; Editors: Jessica Congdon and Jennifer Steinman Sternin; Composer: Laura Karpman (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight+
After the Premiere: Conversation with film participants, including Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, Dr. Safiya Noble, and Nina Jankowicz.
Retrieval
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Tracy Jarrett; Cinematographer: Ora DeKornfeld; Editor: Robin Schwartz (U.S.) World Premiere in Documentary Competition
Time Warp
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer: Allison Berg; Co- Cinematographers: Carrie Cheek, Allison Walsh, Melinda Binks and Alyson Spery; Co-Composer: Elizabeth P.W. (U.S.) World Premiere in Documentary Competition
Special Jury Mention for Best Documentary Feature – Jury Statement: “In a film that is both propulsive, hopeful, irreverent, and heartbreaking, a small, conservative town rallies around the dreams of its youth to bring an LGBTQ theater performance to life. The intimacy, care and skill shown in the craft make this the film the world needs to see right now - a film about radical love, community and the courage of the LGBTQ+ community against tremendous odds.”
SHORTS DIRECTED BY WOMEN AT 2026 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
Eli Lilly initiates “VITAL STORIES” (shorts)
Run It Back – Director/Co-Writer: Abby Pierce; Co-Writer/Star: Tiffany ”Tiny” Cruz
Reconstructing Charlie – Director/Writer: Lara Everly; Cinematographer: Sarah Anne Pierpont; Editor: Kelsey Myers; Composer: Jessica Rose Weiss
Narrative Shorts
Am I a Bad Person?
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Alanna Longo; Editor: Andrea Bottigiliero (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Helpline”
Apart
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Pola Maneli; Co-Editor: Maria Machado (U.S., South Africa) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Animated Shorts curated by Whoopi G”
The Barbershop
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Diêm Camille; Editor: Mira Thu (Denmark) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Helpline”
Because Today is Saturday (Porque Hoje É Sábado)
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Editor: Alice Eça Guimarães; Composer: Gisela Fullà Silvestre (Portugal, France, Spain) in Shorts Program “Animated Shorts curated by Whoopi G”
Daddy’s Little Meatball
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Yael Grunseit; Editor: Maya Parkoff (Australia, U.S.) New York Premiere in Shorts Program “NY Making It Here”
Dear Upstairs Neighbor
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Cinematographer: Connie Qin He; Editor: Sarah Affleck (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Whoopi’s Wonderful World of Animation”
Special Event: Exploring Artist-Driven, AI-Assisted Expressionistic Animation with a behind-the-scenes documentary screening followed by a discussion with the film’s team, including producer/actress Márcia Mayer, Connie Qin He and Google DeepMind’s Erika Lu
Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe!
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Andrea Szelesová (Czech Republic/ Slovakia) North American premiere in Shorts Program “Whoopi’s Wonderful World of Animation”
Special Jury Mention, Animated Shorts Competition – Jury Statement: “Sweeping and grand in its ambitions, this short takes on a tall order: quickly establishing a full world that dances from one group of characters to the next as it oscillates from action to emotion — all while remaining centered on the film’s beating heart, a young protagonist finding his place in the world (or heavens, more accurately).”
Fault
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Misha Calvert (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Competitive Edge”
Freestyle
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Jordan Britt; Cinematographer: Meagan Wachtel (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Competitive Edge”
General Admission
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Kaily Morgan Smith; Writer: Sarah Adina (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Love Fictionally”
Greetings from Sumatra
Synopsis and Schedule
Directors: Karolina Fronik and Marta Kowalska (Poland) North American Premiere in Shorts Program “Helpline”
Homesick
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Nadia Bedj; Editor: Mia Hildebrand (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “NY Making It Here”
His House, Home
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Aisling O’Regan Sargent; Cinematographer: Fionnuala McCormack (Ireland) New York Premiere in Shorts Program “Care Package”
I Think About Killing You
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Ran Ran Wang; Cinematographer: Zoë Simone-Yi; Composer: Jina Hyojin An (U.S.) New York Premiere in Shorts Program “Competitive Edge”
I’m Not Home
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Elena Parasco (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “NY Making It Here”
Imprint
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer: Ran Jing; Co-Writer: Yumiko Fujiwara; Editor: Evita Yuepu Zhou (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “The Dark Web”
Insufficient Fare
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director: Varvara Kanellakopoulou; Cinematographer: Rachel Batashvili (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “NY Making It Here”
Jury Statement: “The jury’s selection for the inaugural Best New York Short captures the texture, humor, and spirit of New York City through an object that has quietly witnessed generations of city life. Both funny and nostalgic, the film celebrates the beloved MetroCard while acknowledging a city that is constantly evolving.”
Kaya
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Isabel Lamers; Cinematographer: Cesca Lee; Co-Composer: Denise Santos (Philippines) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Competitive Edge”
Lost Touch
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Cinematographer/Editor: Justine Klaiber; Composer: Mirjam Skal (Switzerland) North American Premiere in Shorts Program “The Dark Web”
La Lucha de Lucía
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Maria Sofia Hernandez (Mexico) New York Premiere in Shorts Program “Competitive Edge”
One Night
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director: Maggie Brown (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Love Fictionally”
Pale Sun (Soleil Pâle)
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director: Juwahine Zentar; Co-Writer: Emma Benestan (France) New York Premiere in Shorts Program “Care Package”
Tight hand-held close-ups emphasize the point-of-view of a boy having to spend an afternoon at the beach with a father recovering from cancer treatment, so looking like “Gollum” in Lord of the Rings.
Rare Birds
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Lily Weisberg; Cinematographer: Bettina Campomanes (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Think Fast”
Sandy Fannies (Sand i tissen)
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Ingrid Runde Saxegaard; Cinematographer: Anna Fabricius; Editor: Mariel Melø Hansen (Norway) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Care Package”
Selah
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Lara Everly; Cinematographer: Chloe Weaver; Composer: Jessica Rose Weiss (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Helpline”
She’s Nonbinary
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Co-Editor/Star: Jess McLeod; Cinematographer: Sydney Bunning’ Co-Editor: Hayley Sawatzky (Canada) New York Premiere in Shorts Program “Love Fictionally”
So, Boom
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer: Abby Pierce; Co-Writer: Tiffany 'Tiny' Cruz (U.S.) New York Premiere in Shorts Program “NY Making It Here”
Special Jury Mention, Narrative Shorts Competition - Jury Statement: “As with the best of the genre, this comedy is charged by genuine stakes — all with a realism that can only be achieved by a storyteller drawing from their personal experience.”
Stand Clear ‘of the Closing Doors
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Star: Stacey Sargeant (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “NY Making It Here”
Ultimatum
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director/Co-Writer/Star: Désirée Mwepu (Sweden) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Competitive Edge”
Verse
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Writer: Noam Argov; Co-Writer: Sappir Argov; Editor: Megan Mancini (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “The Dark Web”
Documentary Shorts
Born To Kill
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Sally Tran; Co-Cinematographer: Isabella Tan (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Where We Belong”
Cookie, Love
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Sari Arambulo; Composer: Maia Thomas (France, U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Whatever It Takes”
Couture To The Max
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Dori Berinstein; Co-Cinematographer: Jenna Rosher; Editors: Elisa Bonora and Teresa McDonald (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Fierce Fashion”
The Dark Knot at the Center
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Co-Editor: Inês Pedrosa e Melo; Cinematographer: Marta Simões (Portugal, U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Whatever It Takes”
Mon Taxi
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Co-Cinematographer/Editor: Meriem Sakrouhi (U.S., Morocco) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Where We Belong”
Panther Pat
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Editor: Ashley Brandon (U.S.) New York Premiere in Shorts Program “Whatever It Takes”
The Second Life of Freddie Nole
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Dana Nachman (U.S.) New York Premiere in Shorts Program “Power To The People”
Director Nachman's intimate observational documentary short Second Life of Freddie Nole assures you that despite cruelty of mass incarceration, a good person can follow it with spreading goodness that pays it forward,
Theatre of Dreams
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Fatma Al-Ghanim (Qatar) New York Premiere in Shorts Program “Whatever It Takes”
When the Revolution Doesn’t Come
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Editor: Aurora Brachman (U.S., U.K.) in Shorts Program “Power To The People”
Music Videos
Beautiful
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Sara Gilbert; Cinematographer: Anna Tse; Performed by Linda Perry (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Music Videos”
Everyone’s A Star
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer: Ivy Tellin; Editor: Sabra Stratton (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Music Videos”
Fingers Crossed
Synopsis and Schedule
Director/Writer/Editor: Rebecca Thomas; Cinematographer: Bianca Cline (U.S.) World Premiere in Shorts Program “Music Videos”
Best Music Video – Jury Statement: “Represents an ideal marriage of sound and image, each elevating the other to create a portrait of optimism in the face of uncertainty. The director provides a high-energy visual experience that reflects the hopefulness of The Moth & The Flame’s song, while leaving space for thematic interpretation by the viewer.”
Imaginal Disk
Synopsis and Schedule
Director: Amanda Kramer; Writer/Editor/Co-Composer: Mica Tenenbaum (aka Magdalena Bay) (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight+
After the Premiere: Stripped-back performance by Magdalena Bay and a discussion with Kramer
While the Festival categorizes this as a “film”, it is really a long-form, album length music video with each track adding images to the outer space/dreams.
EPISODICS: TRIBECA TV
Adults
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Creator/Writer: Rebecca Shaw; Cinematographer: Christine Ng; Editor: Kelly Lyon (U.S.) Season 2 World Premiere
After the screening: Conversation includes co-creator Shaw
FX Networks
Alice and Steve
Synopsis and Schedule
Executive Producer/Writer: Sophie Goodhart (U.K.)
After screening Episodes 1 and 2, and World Premiere Episode 3: conversation will include Goodhart
Hulu premieres Season 3 on June 8.
Every Year After
Synopsis and Schedule
Showrunner/Executive Producer Amy B. Harris; based on novel by Executive Producer Carley Fortune; Episode Directors: Tara Nicole Weyr and Gillian Robespierre; Editor: Kindra Marra - World Premiere of 1st episode of 8-episode series
After screening: conversation with Harris and Fortune
Amazon Studios premieres new series on June 10.
Grandmasters
Synopsis and Schedule
Executive Producer/Director Liza Mandelup - World Premiere of first episode of three-part series
After screening: conversation will include Mandelup and interview participant Lea Makhloufi.
Benjamin Rees’s bio-doc Magnus, seen at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival on the rise of Norwegian Magnus Carlsen to chess grandmaster was useful background. This fast-paced docu-series immediately plunges the viewer into a crisis facing professional chess leaders and sponsors: how to re-capture his attention to keep him participating in competitions?
While briefly looking at Hans Niemann in Paris posing for magazines as the “Bad Boy of Chess” who has controversially been accused of cheating, the series introduces an extreme outsider from the Third World. Wesley So is a self-taught, self-trained orphan from the Philippines adopted in college by a religious American family. Catching up on the history by watching Edward Zwick’s Pawn Sacrifice (2014), they try to grasp how mass attention on chess competition started from the first public television coverage of games amidst Cold War pressures when it was Bobby Fischer vs. Soviet players, particularly in 1972 for the World Chess Championship in Reykjavik, Iceland, dubbed “The Match of the Century".
Wesley already beat Magnus once in his Oslo hometown in 2019 and is willing to go along with the substantial changes that will bring the bored grandmaster back into competition. This first episode screened ends in a cliff-hanger with Wesley and Magnus tied one game each in the fast play of the new E-Sports-like format.
I look forward to seeing these personalities clash more when the series gets spicked up by a platform.
The Man Will Burn
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Director Jehane Noujaim; Co-Cinematographer: Natalie Sim; Co-Editor: Kim Hall (U.S.)
After screening World Premiere of episodes 1 and 2 of the 4-part series: conversation with the directors
HBO Documentary Films premieres June 9.
Survival of the Thickest
Synopsis and Schedule
Executive Producer/Creator/Star: Michelle Buteau, inspired by her book collection of body-positive essays (2020, Gallery) (U.S.)
After screening World Premiere of Season 3: conversation with Buteau
Netflix premieres Season 3 on July 9.
TRIBECA INDIE TV
Narrative Showcase
CVNT
Synopsis and Schedule
Creator/Star: Nicole Higgins (U.S.) World Premiere
Switch
Synopsis and Schedule
Creators/Co-Directors: Isabelle Platt and Sofya Levitsky-Weitz; Co-Directors: Jean Liu and Jaki Bradley (U.S.) World Premiere
Documentary Showcase
Free Help
Synopsis and Schedule
Creator/Director/Co-Writer/Star: Bianca Giaever; Co-Writer/Editor: Natalie Ancona; Cinematographers: Ora DeKornfeld and Sasha Whittle (U.S.) World Premiere
EPISODICS: N.O.W. (New Online Work) CREATORS SHOWCASE
The Rise & Fall of DivaGurl
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Creator/Co-Writer/Star: KeKe Palmer (U.S.)
After the screening, Palmer will participate in conversation.
KeyTV
Palmer will also participate in a Storyteller conversation with Whoopi Goldberg.
And They Were Roommates
Synopsis and Schedule
Creator: Emily Rose Lyons
BK Coffee Shop
Synopsis and Schedule
Creator: Pooja Tripathi
Mechanical Pencil
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Creator: Amari K. Jones
Retache
Synopsis and Schedule
Creators: Andrea Lerdo and Hillia Aho
Taylor Cassidy
Synopsis and Schedule
Creator/Host: Taylor Cassidy
That’s That on That
Synopsis and Schedule
Creator: Taj Rani
WOMEN CREW-ED: FILMS BY WOMEN WRITERS, CINEMATOGRAPHERS, EDITORS AND COMPOSERS AT 2026 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
NARRATIVE FEATURES
Breeder
Synopsis and Schedule
Composer: Hannah Parrott (Canada) World Premiere in Escape from Tribeca
Crooks
Synopsis and Schedule
Editor: Valerie Krulfeifer (U.S.) World Premiere in Viewpoints
Finnegan’s Foursome
Synopsis and Schedule
Editor: Janet Gaynor (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Narrative
Republic Pictures release
Funk
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Writer: Taísa Machado; Co-Editor: Karen Akerman (Brazil) World Premiere in International Narrative Competition
Special Jury Mention for Best Performance in an International Feature: Duda Santos & Mc Nem - Jury Statement: “Two actresses who impressed us with their incredible energy and dynamism in a film that shows a fresh side of favelas on screen, by way of music and dance. And a special shout out to their costumes, too!”
NB: The distributor’s publicist let me know: “The costume designer is called Preta Marques.”
Exhibition curator Machado is also the author of o Afrofunk e a Ciência do Rebolado, not available in English but awkwardly Google-translated as Afrofunk and the Science of Twerking. Back in 2019, she was interviewed about dance classes she taught: “Booty shaking for me symbolizes independence and power,” recalling Camille Paglia’s admiration for Madonna. That’s the theme behind this twist on a musical story as old as The Jazz Singer.
In a hillside favela in Rio, ambitious “Sabrina” (the electrifying Duda Santos) wants to hit it big as a MC “Queen of Kinky” with her lingerie-barely clad booty shaking on stage and explicit hip hop language, emphasized through the editing. Using social media and influencers, she gets her chance, but within the bounds of patronizing whites. If she wants success outside her favela, she must lose her friends, local supporters, her authenticity, and even her mother “Priscilla” (played by still-got-it MC Kem), who aimed to be “The Queen” of Baile Funk, her generation’s equivalent.
Hallowarrior
Synopsis and Schedule
Editor: Andi Ralph (U.S.) World Premiere in Escape From Tribeca
Here I’m Alive
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Editor: Kate Abernathy (U.S.) World Premiere in U.S. Narrative Competition
Special Jury Mention for Best U.S. Narrative Feature – Jury Statement: “One film stood out for diving deep into subcultures that are rarely explored. The film creates a series of sensitive portraits of people with unique points of view – alienation, loneliness, internet addiction, looksmaxxing, and desire for instant fame.”
In Memoriam
Synopsis and Schedule
Editor: Lee Haxall (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Narrative
In the Hand of Dante
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Writer: Louise Kugelberg (US, U.K., Chile, France) New York Premiere in Spotlight Narrative
Netflix release
Kingston
Synopsis and Schedule
Writers: Claire Levesque and Jenna Shen; Co-Composer: Grace Duck (U.S.) World Premiere in U.S. Narrative Competition
Only What We Carry
Synopsis and Schedule
Cinematographer: Neema Sadeghi; Editor: Cecile Lapergue (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Narrative
Ponderosa
Synopsis and Schedule
Editor: Mina Fitzpatrick (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Narrative
She Keeps Me Young
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Writers: Blair Beeken and Katy Fullan (U.S.) World Premiere in U.S. Narrative Competition
Something You Should Know About Me
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Editor: Sydney Friedman; Cinematographer: Riley Nightingale; Composer: Frankie Cosmos (aka Greta Simone Kline) (U.S.) World Premiere in Viewpoints
Director Andy Fiboten described in the festival Press Notes that trans experience involves going through puberty twice, so is an optimal subject for “a raunchy romantic comedy”. As if an opening abusive boss and teasing female straight roommates are not enough of an annoying start, then a post-graduate cartoon workshop is like going back to high school, guided by a teacher whose pseudo-advice is just “to go there”. Evidently without benefit of therapy, these 20somethings behave like unlikeable Mean Girl bullies and immature sex obsessives while exaggerating petty jealousies and misunderstandings from inability to converse maturely about feelings, which are communicated here through cramped animation.
Summer of Three (Verano de tres)
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Writer: Mariana S. Belaval (Puerto Rico) World Premiere in U.S. Narrative Competition
Best Screenplay in a U.S. Narrative Feature: Jury Statement - “This film manages to be equal parts soulful and entertaining even as it explores deep themes of cultural identity, friendship, family, forgiveness, mortality, tragedy, and grief.”
Best Performance in a U.S. Narrative Feature: Marcel Ruiz, Paolo Schoene, and Kiki Montilla. Jury Statement - “This entertaining film felt so lived-in. The actors are warm, charismatic, and emotionally present. We fell in love with all three actors and wanted to jump on the back of the motorcycle and careen across Puerto Rico with them.”
Very much a Next Gen, Puerto Rican Y tu mamá también (Mexican Alfonso Cuarón, 2001), Belaval presumably helped balance the script’s testosterone with social media influencer Kiki Montilla’s screen debut as “Kiki”, despite the creepy male gaze camera work on her lithe body. She was literally sandwiched between charismatic Paolo Schoene as dyed blonde drug dealer “Luife” and co-writer/co-producer/music supervisor of all-Puerto Rican popular songs/director’s son Marcel Ruiz as vacationing, somewhat naive semi-gringo “Javi”.
Like last year’s This Island (Esta Isla), the scenery of Puerto Rico provides beautiful context, here for the Spanish menage a trois, especially from ocean beach to rock-bound grotto. The mausoleum and chapel emphasized close family ties, with the deaths that haunt the island and “Javi”.
They Fight
Synopsis and Schedule
Editor: Nona Khodai (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Narrative
Turn It Up!
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Writer/Star: Gwenlyn Cumyn (Canada) World Premiere in Escape From Tribeca
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
Alicia Keys: Girl From Hell’s Kitchen
Synopsis and Schedule
Composer: Alicia Keys (U.S.) World Premiere on Closing Night
American Zoo
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Cinematographer: Kelly Adams (U.S.) World Premiere in Documentary Competition
Special Jury Mention for Best Editing in a Documentary Feature to Christopher A. Peterson and Peter Norrey – Jury Statement: “A searing account of an idyllic, joyful community space with a dark secret, the craft of editing weaves together a complex, dramatic, historical narrative from found, archival, shot footage and interviews. The result is a film both gripping and heartbreaking which stays with the viewer long after.”
Born Melo
Synopsis and Schedule
Writer: Kate Aschkenasy (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
Colors of White Rock
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Writers: Chantal Perrin, Kate Kennelly and Tessa Louise Salomé (U.S.) World Premiere in Documentary Competition
Co-writers French producer Perrin, British (I think) writer Kennelly, and French writer/director/producer Salomé aided Mongolian director Khoroldorj Choijoovanchig to expand their short film Lady of the Gobi (2022, streamed via The Guardian). They helped shape the story out of 600 hours of seven years of striking looking footage following gutsy single mother truck driver Maikhuu in the country’s changing desert landscape as coal and other resources are dug up and transported to China. Insightful secondary foci are on a union leader who tries to protect the truckers’ rights in this exhausting, dangerous work, and her children, who she unsuccessfully tries to stay close to while making ends meet as a taxi driver.
Perrin was quoted in THR: “I am always concerned with ecology and the environment, and I know that this is happening everywhere – we’re digging, and we are destroying and causing damage, So, of course, one of the reasons that I got involved was this political and human rights aspect of the story.”
Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial VS That’s the Weight of the World)
Synopsis and Schedule
Cinematographer: Emily Topper (U.S.) World Premiere on Opening Night
After the Premiere: performance by Earth, Wind & Fire and The Roots
Premiere on HBO June 7.
Buttressed by amazing archival footage, presumably the cinematographer’s responsibility was for the present interviews, that ranged from family, friends, former bandmates, and offspring, to the Obamas. All were clearly lit, most for tight close-ups. Animation was also well-integrated for scenes of flashbacks in the life career of leader and creative director Maurice White that had not been photographed.
Not all the interviewees, as fans, record executives or even family are African-American.
Hadestown: The Musical
Synopsis and Schedule
Music, lyrics, and book by Anaïs Mitchell; Stage Production Director: Rachel Chavkin (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight+
After the Premiere: musical performance including original Broadway cast member Eva Noblezada
Crosswalk, a division of Bleecker Street Media, release in theaters July 24
IX XI
Synopsis and Schedule
Editor: Zara Serabian-Arthur; Cinematographer: Autie Carlisle; Co-Composer: Milena Erke and Mira Wilsey (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
Katy Perry: The Lifetimes Tour – Live From Paris
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Writers: Katy Perry and Ashley Evans; Co-Editor: Leslie Atkins (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight+
After the Premiere: conversation with Perry
The Lion Queen
Synopsis and Schedule
Writer/Editor: Jean Tsien (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
HBO Documentary Films
The Lorraine
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Writer: Juleyka Lantigua; Co-Editor: R.A Fedde (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
Mario
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Editors: Aleks Gezentsvey and Raven Dahlin (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
Mumford & Sons: The House Band
Synopsis and Schedule
Editor: Erin Nordstrom (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight+
The editing takes us behind the curtains as the British three-piece band led by Marcus Mumford embarks on a tour for the first time in five years. Whereas the “British Invasion” groups of the 1960s did U.S. tours with explicit tribute to their American influences, Mumford & Sons visit the roots of their oeuvre in Americana and commercial country music without admitting that credit. (Their latest album has a track called “The Banjo Song”.)
The original plan was for what politicians used to call “a whistle-stop tour” via Amtrak from New Orleans north with several stops before a finale in Burlington, Vermont. The time between stations was to be devoted to rehearsals and jams. Some additional musicians play on the whole tour, such as mandolinist Chris Thile, Trombone Shorty, and Ketch Secor of the Old Crow Medicine Show. But mostly guest performers come on board, usually to stop at their hometowns, who expect this group to have learned their songs, particularly Lainey Wilson in her full country star regalia, and Darius Rucker. Nathaniel Rateliff and Noah Kahan (the subject of another Live Nations Studios documentary) pretty much sing their songs solo with the group as back-up. Maggie Rogers, however, gets frustrated that they are not familiar with her songs, finds it difficult to enforce the plan to rehearse her songs the day before, and has to lead the guys and female back-up singers into a last-minute pre-performance run through.
Regardless of these difficulties for the performers, the songs are wonderful and viewers will enjoy at least humming along.
Playing Potus
Synopsis and Schedule
Editor: Monique Zavistovski (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight+
After the Premiere: conversation with film participants
Sara Bareilles: Good Grief
Synopsis and Schedule
Cinematographer: Jenna Rosher; Editor: Armando Croda; Composer: Sara Bareilles (U.S.) Gala
After the Premiere: performance by Bareilles
National theatrical release begins in Los Angeles on September 2.
While extremely personal, this is one of the most impactful album recordings about grief since Bruce Springsteen’s The Rising, and this one comes just before the 25th anniversary of that 9/11 reference. In her first studio recording in seven years, she lets the camera into the converted Hurley, NY church as she tearfully, sometimes full-on weeping, describes who and what experiences the songs are about. Her voice passionately soars above her tears. While sometimes she records herself talking to her phone in the woodsy environs, her bandmates/friends also share their parallel stories. (She saltily notes that one track might be the first number about a fertility clinic.) The resulting approximately eight lovely songs, each with a different rhythm, are very cathartic, especially post-COVID.
Spin Wars
Synopsis and Schedule
Original Songs by Nikki Sorrentino (U.S.) in Spotlight Documentary
Stealing Magic
Synopsis and Schedule
Composer: Anna Drubich (U.S.) in Spotlight Documentary
threeASFOUR: Full Circle
Synopsis and Schedule
Writer: Jenny Golden (U.S.) World Premiere in Spotlight Documentary
After the Premiere: Q&A moderated by Natasha Lyonne
SHORTS
Eli Lilly initiates “VITAL STORIES”
Do I Know You From Somewhere? - Writer/Star: Angela Wong Carbone; Composer: Tangelene Bolton
Narrative Shorts
Child of the Rouge
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Writer/Star: Pisay Pao; Editor: Olivia Neergaard-Holm (U.S.) World Premiere in shorts program “Think Fast”
DISC
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Writer/Star: Victoria Ratermanis (U.S.) New York Premiere in shorts program “Love Fictionally”
Getar Hero
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Writer: Sneha Mehta (U.S., India) World Premiere in shorts program “Think Fast”
Holo
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Editor: Ashley Brandon (Canada) World Premiere in shorts program “The Dark Web”
I, of an Accident or of love (Je, d’un accident ou d’amour)
Synopsis and Schedule
Editor: Juliette Kempf; Co-Composer: Sarah Veilhan (France) North American Premiere in shorts program “Love Fictionally”
In this gorgeous romance, based on a story by Loïc Demey, the editing of the shifts from dramatic monologues by “Hadrien” (Yael Ciancilla) to “Adele” (Geoffrey Bugnot) and back about their fantasies is the key to this luscious short film. Their sensual imaginations are not limited by their immobilities.
Last Minute
Synopsis and Schedule
Editor: Melissa Goslin (U.S.) New York Premiere in shorts program “Care Package”
Odessa
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Writer: Caroline Bevaart (Netherlands) New York Premiere in shorts program “Care Package”
Poreless
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Writer: Fawzia Mirza (U.S.) New York Premiere in shorts program “Family Matters”
Sleep Call
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Composer: Chloe Liuyan Liu (U.S.) New York Premiere in shorts program “The Dark Web”
Under The Lake
Synopsis and Schedule
Composer: Amy Fajardo (Spain) New York Premiere in shorts program “Animated Shorts Curated By Whoopi G”
Winter Psalm
Synopsis and Schedule
Editor: Cynthia Chen (U.S.) New York Premiere in shorts program “The Dark Web”
Documentary Shorts
Doc Albany
Synopsis and Schedule
Editor: Stephanie Owens (U.S.) World Premiere in shorts program ”For The Cause”
Paving The Way
Synopsis and Schedule
Editor: Kaylee Kim (U.S.) in shorts program ”Where We Belong”
Music Videos
Archbishop Harold Holmes
Synopsis and Schedule
Cinematographer: Amina Zadeh (U.S.) in shorts program ”Music Videos”
TRIBECA TV
Alejandro Sanz: When No One Sees Me
Synopsis and Schedule
Co-Writer: Maria Cabo (Spain, U.S.) U.S. premiere
With the Screening: conversation with director and executive producer
Dear England
Synopsis and Schedule
Editor of 2 of the 4 episodes: Sarah Peczak (U.K.) U.S. premiere
After the screening: conversation with creators and producers
X Men ’97 Season 2
Synopsis and Schedule
Co- Executive Producer: Julia Lewald; Co-Writer: Mariah Wilson (U.S.) U.S. premiere
After the screening: conversation with Julia Lewald, and other creators and producers
Streaming premieres on Disney+/Hulu July 1.
TRIBECA TALKS
Este Haim in “Storytellers”
Synopsis and Schedule
Teyana Taylor in “Through Her Lens Conversation” with Janicza Bravo, presented by The Tribeca CHANEL Women’s Filmmaker Program
Synopsis and Schedule
My Perspectives on Past Tribeca Film Festivals:
My coverage of female filmmakers at 2025 Tribeca Film Festival
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 9/2/2026
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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