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Tribeca Festival

Adapted from Wikipedia Β· Discoverer experience

Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal attending the Tribeca Film Festival in 2016.

The Tribeca Festival is a special event that happens every spring in New York City. It shows many kinds of movies, TV shows, music, games, art, and more. People can watch over 600 screenings and meet lots of interesting artists.

The festival started in 2002 by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff. They created it to help bring life back to Lower Manhattan after the sad events of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Until 2020, it was called the Tribeca Film Festival.

Each year, about 150,000 people come to enjoy the festival. It also gives awards to independent artists in many different categories.

History

Festival founders Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro

Launch: 2002-2006

The marquee of Tribeca Cinemas

The Tribeca Film Festival began in 2002, started by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro, and Craig Hatkoff. They created it after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, which affected the Tribeca area in Lower Manhattan. The first festival happened quickly, with help from many volunteers. It started on May 8, 2002, with the movie About A Boy. Over 150,000 people attended, and many new filmmakers showed their work. The festival included special movie showings, discussions, and family activities.

The next year, even more people came β€” over 300,000! The festival grew, showing more movies from all over the world, having special talks, music and comedy shows, and family events. There were also movie showings outside along the Hudson River.

Expansion and New Media: 2006-2016

After the premiere of a documentary film at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival, subjects and creators onstage

To reach more people, the festival grew in New York City and around the world. In New York, they showed movies in many places because they had so many films. They also brought films to the Rome Film Festival, where they got a special award.

In 2011, a video game called L.A. Noire became the first game shown at the festival. Another game, Beyond: Two Souls, was shown in 2013.

COVID-19 Pandemic Response: 2020

The festival planned for spring 2020 was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, they created online events to support filmmakers. They also worked with YouTube to host a free digital festival called We Are One, which included movies, talks, and music for people to enjoy at home. They also set up drive-in movie showings in safe, spaced-out places across the country.

2020s

Starting in 2021, the festival added a special section for video games. That year, they also changed their name to remove β€œFilm.”

In 2026, the festival will celebrate its 25th year from June 3 to 14, showing 118 feature films, including 103 world premieres, and 86 short films.

Awards

Global Awards

Best Narrative Feature

Best Actor in a Narrative Feature Film

Best Actress in a Narrative Feature Film

Best Cinematography in an Narrative Feature

  • 2011 – Lisa Tillinger for Artificial Paradises
  • 2012 – Trevor Forrest and Shlomo Godder for Una Noche
  • 2013 – Marius Matzow Gulbrandsen for Before Snowfall
  • 2014 – Damian GarcΓ­a for Gueros
  • 2015 – Magnus JΓΈnck for Bridgend

Best Screenplay in a Narrative Feature

Best Narrative Editing

  • 2014 – Keith Miller for Five Star
  • 2015 – Oliver Bugge CouttΓ© for Bridgend

U.S. Narrative Competition

In 2016, the festival separated its narrative award categories into U.S. and International films. The U.S. awards are as follows:

Best U.S. Narrative Feature

Best Actor in a U.S. Narrative Feature Film

Best Actress in a U.S. Narrative Feature Film

Best Performance in a U.S. Narrative Feature

Since 2022, the festival has combined the "Best Actor" and "Best Actress" categories into a "Best Performance" category.

Best Cinematography in a U.S. Narrative Feature Film

Best Screenplay in a U.S. Narrative Feature Film

International Narrative Competition

In 2016, the festival separated its narrative award categories into U.S. and International films. The international awards are as follows:

Best International Narrative Feature

Best Actor in an International Narrative Feature

Best Actress in an International Narrative Feature

Best Performance in an International Narrative Feature

Since 2022, the festival has combined the "Best Actor" and "Best Actress" categories into a "Best Performance" category.

Best Cinematography in an International Narrative Feature

  • 2016 - Kjell Vassdal for El Clasico
  • 2017 – Elvira Lind for Bobbi Jene
  • 2018 - Albert Salas for Obey
  • 2019 - Kang Gook-hyun for House of Hummingbird (Beol-sae)
  • 2020 – Daniella Nowitz for Asia
  • 2021 – Elisabeth Vogler for Roaring 20's
  • 2022 - We Might As Well Be Dead
  • 2023 - Linga AcΓ‘cio for A Strange Path
  • 2024 - Constanze Schmitt for Some Rain Must Fall
  • 2025 - Lev Predan Kowarski for Little Trouble Girls

Best Screenplay in an International Narrative Feature

  • 2016 - Perfect Strangers, written by Filippo Bologna, Paolo Costella, Paolo Genovese, Paola Mammini, and Rolando Ravello
  • 2017 – Ice Mother (BΓ‘ba z ledu), written by Bohdan SlΓ‘ma
  • 2018 - The Saint Bernard Syndicate, written by LΓ¦rke Sanderhoff
  • 2019 - Noah Land (Nuh Tepesi), written by Cenk ErtΓΌrk
  • 2020 – Tryst with Destiny, written by Prashant Nair
  • 2021 – Brighton 4th, written by Boris Frumin
  • 2022 - The Visitor, written by MartΓ­n Boulocq
  • 2023 - A Strange Path, written by Guto Parente
  • 2024 - The Freshly Cut Grass, written by Celina Murga, Juan Villegas, and LucΓ­a Osorio
  • 2025 - Happy Birthday, written by Mohamed Diab and Sarah Goher

Best New Directors

Best New Narrative Filmmaker

Best New Documentary Filmmaker

Documentary

Best Documentary Feature

Best Cinematography in a Documentary

  • 2021 – Bing Liu & Joshua Altman for All These Sons
  • 2022 – Boris Levy for The Wild One
  • 2025 - Chance Falkner and Johnny Friday for The Last Dive

Best Documentary Editing

  • 2017 – Adam Nielson for Bobbi Jene
  • 2020 – Amy Foete for Father, Soldier, Son
  • 2021 – Shannon Swan for The Kids
  • 2025 - Soren B. Ebbe and Hayedeh Safiyari for An Eye for an Eye

Shorts

Best Narrative Short

  • 2002 – Bamboleho, directed by Luis Prieto
  • 2004 – Shock Act, directed by Seth Grossman
  • 2005 – Cashback, directed by Sean Ellis
  • 2006 – The Shovel, directed by Nick Childs
  • 2007 – The Last Dog in Rwanda, directed by Jens Assur
  • 2008 – New Boy, directed by Steph Green
  • 2009 – The North Road, directed by Carlos Chahine
  • 2010 – Father Christmas Doesn't Come Here, written by Bongi Ndaba, Sibongile Nkosana directed by Bekhi Sibiya
  • 2013 – The Nightshift Belongs to the Stars, directed by Edoardo Ponti
  • 2014 – The Phone Call, directed by Mat Kirkby
  • 2015 – Listen, directed by Hamy Ramezan and Rungano Nyoni
  • 2017 – Retouch, directed by Kaveh Mazaheri
  • 2020 – No More Wings, directed by Abraham Adeyemi
  • 2025 - Beyond Silence, directed by Marnie Blok

Best Documentary Short

  • 2002 – All Water Has a Perfect Memory, directed by Natalia Almada
  • 2003 – Milton Rogovin: The Forgotten Ones, directed by Harvey Wang
  • 2004 – Sister Rose's Passion, directed by Oren Jacoby
  • 2005 – The Life of Kevin Carter, directed by Dan Krauss
  • 2006 – Native New Yorker, directed by Steve Bilich
  • 2007 – A Son's Sacrifice, directed by Yoni Brook
  • 2008 – Mandatory Service, directed by Jessica Habie
  • 2009 – Home, directed by Mathew Faust
  • 2010 – White Lines and the Fever: The Death of DJ Junebug, directed by Travis Senger
  • 2013 – Coach, directed by Bess Kargman
  • 2014 – One Year Lease, directed by Brian Bolster
  • 2015 – Body Team 12, directed by David Darg
  • 2017 – The Good Fight, directed by Ben Holman
  • 2020 – My Father The Mover, directed by Julia Jansch
  • 2021 – Coded, directed by Ryan White
  • 2022 – Heart Valley, directed by Christian Cargill
  • 2025 - I hope this email finds you well, directed by Asia Zughaiar

Best Animated Short

  • 2017 – Odd is an Egg (Odd er et egg) directed by Kristin Ulseth
  • 2023 – Starling directed by Mitra Shahidi
  • 2025 – Playing God directed by Matteo Burani

Viewpoints

Viewpoints is dedicated to discovering the most boundary-pushing, rule-breaking new voices in independent film. Starting in 2024, films selected in the Viewpoints section were presented in competition.

Student Visionary Award

  • 2004 – '_Independent Lens' (American Made)', directed by Sharat Raju
  • 2005 – Dance Mania Fantastic, directed by Sasie Sealy
  • 2006 – Dead End Job, directed by Samantha Davidson Green
  • 2007 – Good Luck Nedim, directed by Marko Santic and Someone Else's War, directed by Lee Wang
  • 2008 – Elephant Garden, directed by Sasie Sealy
  • 2009 – Small Change, directed by Anna McGrath
  • 2010 – some boys don't leave, directed by Maggie Kiley
  • 2013 – Life Doesn't Frighten Me, directed by Stephen Dunn
  • 2014 – Nesma's Bird, directed by Najwan Ali and Medoo Ali
  • 2015 – Catwalk, directed by Ninja Thyberg
  • 2017 – Fry Day, directed by Laura Moss
  • 2020 – Cru-Raw, directed by David Oesch
  • 2021 – Six Nights, directed by Robert Brogden

Nora Ephron Prize

Storyscapes Award

  • 2017 β€” TREEHUGGERΒ : WAWONA created by Barnaby Steel, Ersin Han Ersin and Robin McNicholas

Audience Awards

Narrative Award

Documentary Award

Audio Storytelling Awards

In 2022, Tribeca added an audio storytelling awards category.

Fiction Audio Storytelling Award

  • 2022 – The Hollowed Out by Brit and Nick Kewin
  • 2023 – The Very Worst Thing That Could Possibly Happen by Alex Kemp
  • 2024 – The Skies Are Watching by Jon Frechette and Todd Luoto

Narrative Nonfiction Audio Storytelling Award

  • 2022 – Mother Country Radicals by Zayd Ayers Dohrn
  • 2023 – Free From Desire by Aline Laurent-Mayard
  • 2024 – Delejos by Julie PiΓ±ero and Cristal Duhaime

Independent Fiction Audio Storytelling Award

  • 2023 – Aisha by Cory Choy and FeyiαΉ£ayo Aluko
  • 2024 – Red for Revolution by Jana Naomi Smith

Independent Nonfiction Audio Storytelling Award

  • 2023 – Shalom, Amore by David Modigliani
  • 2024 – Back to the Water: More Than One by Catherine Jaffee, Pippa Ehrlich, and Zolani Mahola

Tribeca Games Award

The Tribeca Games Award honors an unreleased video game, "recognizing its potential for excellence in art and storytelling through design, artistic mastery and highly immersive worlds."

Related articles

New York City
Robert De Niro
Jane Rosenthal
Craig Hatkoff
Lower Manhattan
September 11 attacks

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