The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival was founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in 2002 to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of Lower Manhattan following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. Until 2020, the festival was known as the Tribeca Film Festival.
The festival hosts over 600 screenings with approximately 150,000 attendees each year, and awards independent artists in 23 juried competitive categories.
History
The Tribeca Film Festival was founded in 2002 by
Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro, and
Craig Hatkoff, in response to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the
Tribeca neighborhood in
Lower Manhattan.
The inaugural festival launched after 120 days of planning with the help of more than 1,300 volunteers. It was attended by more than 150,000 people
and featured several up-and-coming filmmakers. The festival included juried narrative, documentary and short film competitions; a restored classics series; a best of New York series curated by
Martin Scorsese; 13 major panel discussions; an all-day family festival; and the premieres of independent and studio films
- made independently,
,
the American remake of
Insomnia,
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, and
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
The 2003 festival brought more than 300,000 people.
At the end of 2003, De Niro purchased the theater at 54 Varick Street which had housed the recently closed Screening Room, an art house that had shown independent films nightly,
In an effort to serve its mission of bringing independent film to the widest possible audience, in 2006, the festival expanded its reach in New York City and internationally. In New York City, Tribeca hosted screenings throughout Manhattan as the festival's 1,000-plus screening schedule outgrew the capacity downtown. Internationally, the Festival brought films to the Rome Film Festival. As part of the celebrations in Rome, Tribeca was awarded the first-ever "Steps and Stars" award, presented on the Spanish Steps. A total of 169 feature films and 99 shorts were selected from 4,100 film submissions, including 1,950 feature submissions, three times the total submissions from the first festival in 2002. The festival featured 90 world premieres, nine international premieres, 31 North American premieres, 6 U.S. premieres, and 28 New York City premieres.
In 2009, Rosenthal, Hatkoff, and De Niro were named number 14 on Barron's list of the world's top 25 philanthropists for their role in regenerating TriBeCa's economy after September 11.
In 2011, L.A. Noire became the first video game to be recognized by the Tribeca Film Festival. In 2013, , featuring Elliot Page and Willem Dafoe, became only the second game to be premiered at the festival.
From 2015,
The 19th Tribeca Film Festival, originally scheduled for April 15–26, 2020, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the weeks and months that followed, Tribeca launched several digital offerings to highlight filmmakers and creators who had hoped to premiere their latest works at the spring gathering. It provided a secure digital platform for 2020 Festival films seeking distribution to be viewed by press and industry and hosted a virtual gathering space for Tribeca N.O.W. Creators Market.
In response to the global pandemic, Tribeca organized in partnership with YouTube, a free 10-day digital festival that provided entertainment and connection for audiences at home and raised international COVID-19 relief funds. The program was co-curated by 21 of the top international film festivals including Cannes, Sundance, TIFF and Venice and showcased over 100 hours of shorts, features, talks and music to an audience of 1.9 million people in 179 countries.
In July 2020, Tribeca launched one of the first large-scale pop-up drive-in series across the country to provide audiences with entertainment in a safe, socially-distanced environment. Screenings took place at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, Dallas Cowboys AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Orchard Beach in the Bronx neighborhood of New York and Nickerson Beach in Nassau County, New York. The series employed local production staff and partnered with small food businesses that had been impacted by the lockdown.
On August 7, 2020, organizers announced that the 20th anniversary edition of the festival was to be held from June 9 to June 20, 2021, with a dedicated space to celebrate films whose premieres were not able to take place in the festival that was cancelled in 2020.
The festival added a dedicated video games category beginning with the 2021 event. Games nominated are presented in online presentations during the Festival, similar to film screenings.
The Tribeca Festival also presents the Artist Awards, an annual program that selects contemporary artists to offer works to winning creators at the Festival; it is currently sponsored by CHANEL. Its 2024 cohort was curated by Racquel Chevremont, who also curated the Tribeca Festival Artist Awards in 2022 and 2023.
Awards
U.S. Narrative Competition
Best U.S. Narrative Feature
-
2025 - Charliebird
-
2024 - Griffin in Summer, directed by Nicholas Colia
-
2023 - Cypher, directed by Chris Moukarbel
-
2022 - Good Girl Jane, written and directed by Sarah Elizabeth Mintz
-
2021 – The Novice, written and directed by Lauren Hadaway
-
2020 – The Half of It, directed by Alice Wu
-
2019 – Burning Cane, written and directed by Phillip Youmans
-
2018 – Diane, written and directed by Kent Jones
-
2017 – Keep the Change, written and directed by Rachel Israel
-
2016 – Dean, directed by Demetri Martin
Best Actor in a U.S. Narrative Feature Film
Best Actress in a U.S. Narrative Feature Film
Best Cinematography in a U.S. Narrative Feature Film
-
2025 - Cedric Cheung-Lau for Esta Isla (This Island)
-
2024 - Alejandro Mejia for The Knife
-
2023 - Caroline Costa for The Graduates
-
2022 - Azuli Anderson for Next Exit
-
2021 – Todd Martin for The Novice
-
2020 – Greta Zozula, Chananun Chotrungroj, and Kelly Jeffrey for Materna
-
2019 – Phillip Youmans for Burning Cane
-
2018 – Wyatt Garfield for Diane
-
2017 – Chris Teague for Love After Love
-
2016 – Michael Ragen for Kicks
Best Screenplay in a U.S. Narrative Feature Film
-
2025 - On a String, written by Isabel Hagen
-
2024 - Griffin in Summer, written by Nicholas Colia
-
2023 - Smoking Tigers, written by So Young Shelly Yo
-
2022 – Allswell, written by Elizabeth Rodriguez
-
2021 – Mark, Mary, and Some Other People, written by Hannah Marks
-
2020 – Cowboys, written by Anna Kerrigan
-
2019 – Blow the Man Down, written by Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy
-
2018 – Diane, written by Kent Jones
-
2017 – Abundant Acreage Available, written by Angus MacLachlan
-
2016 – Women Who Kill, written by Ingrid Jungermann
International Narrative Competition
Best Narrative Feature
-
2025 - Happy Birthday, directed by Sarah Goher
-
2024 - Bikechess, directed by Assel Aushakimova
-
2023 - A Strange Path, directed by Guto Parente
-
2022 - January, directed by Viestur Kairish
-
2021 – Brighton 4th, directed by Levan Koguashvili
-
2020 – The Hater, directed by Jan Komasa
-
2019 – Scheme Birds, directed by Ellen Fiske and Ellinor Hallin
-
2017 – Son of Sofia ( O Gios tis Sofias) written and directed by Elina Psykou
-
2016 – Junction 48, directed by Udi Aloni
-
2015 – Virgin Mountain, directed by Dagur Kári
-
2014 – Zero Motivation, directed by Talya Lavie
-
2013 – The Rocket,
-
2012 – War Witch, directed by Kim Nguyen
-
2011 – She Monkeys, directed by Lisa Aschan
-
2010 – When We Leave, directed by Feo Aladag
-
2009 – About Elly, directed by Asghar Farhadi
-
2008 – Let the Right One In, directed by Tomas Alfredson
-
2007 – My Father My Lord, directed by David Volach
-
2006 – Iluminados por el fuego, directed by Tristán Bauer
-
2005 – Stolen Life, directed by Li Shaohong
-
2004 – Green Hat, directed by Liu Fendou
-
2003 – Blind Shaft, directed by Li Yang
-
2002 – Roger Dodger, directed by Dylan Kidd
Best New Narrative Filmmaker
-
2025 - Lorraine Jones Molina and Cristian Carretero for Esta Isla (This Island)
-
2024 - Nnamdi Asomugha for The Knife
-
2022 - Michelle Garza Cervera for Huesera
-
2021 – Nana Mensah for Queen of Glory
-
2020 – Gaspar Antillo for Nobody Knows I'm Here
-
2019 – Ellen Fiske and Ellinor Hallin for Scheme Birds
-
2017 – Rachel Israel for Keep the Change
-
2015 – Zachary Treitz for Men Go to Battle
-
2014 – Josef Wladyka for Manos Sucias
-
2013 – Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais for Whitewash
-
2012 – Lucy Mulloy for Una Noche
-
2011 – Park Jung-bum for The Journals of Musan
-
2010 – Kim Chapiron for Dog Pound
-
2009 – Rune Denstad Langlo for North
-
2008 – Huseyin Karabey for My Marlon and Brando
-
2007 – Enrique Begne for Two Embraces
-
2006 – Marwan Hamed for The Yacoubian Building
-
2005 – Alicia Scherson for Play
-
2004 – Liu Fendou for Green Hat
-
2003 – Valeria Bruni Tedeschi for It's Easier for a Camel...
-
2002 – Eric Eason for Manito
Best Actor in a Narrative Feature Film
-
2021 – Levan Tediashvili in Brighton 4th
-
2020 – Noé Hernández in Kokoloko
-
2018 - Rasmus Bruun in Sankt Bernhard Syndikatet
-
2017 – Guillermo Pfening in Nobody's Watching ( Nadie Nos Mira)
-
2015 – Gunnar Jónsson in Virgin Mountain
-
2014 – Paul Schneider in Goodbye to All That
-
2013 – Sitthiphon Disamoe in The Rocket
-
2012 – Dariel Arrechada and Javier Nuñez Florian in Una Noche
-
2011 – Ramadhan "Shami" Bizimana in Grey Matter
-
2010 – Eric Elmosnino in Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque)
-
2009 – Ciarán Hinds in The Eclipse
-
2008 – Thomas Turgoose and Piotr Jagiello in Somers Town
-
2007 – Lofti Ebdelli in Making Of. (Akher film)
-
2006 – Jürgen Vogel in Der Freie Wille
-
2005 – Cees Geel in Simon
-
2004 – Ian Hart in Blind Flight
-
2003 – Igor Bareš in Výlet and Ohad Knoller in Yossi & Jagger
Best Actress in a Narrative Feature Film
-
2025 - Andrea Riseborough and Brenda Blethyn in Dragonfly
-
2022 - Dorota Pomykala in Woman on a Roof
-
2021 – Bassant Ahmed & Basmala Elghaiesh in Souad
-
2020 – Shira Haas in Asia
-
2019 – Park Ji-hu in House of Hummingbird
-
2018 - Joy Rieger in Virgins
-
2017 – Marie Leuenberger in The Divine Order ( Die göttliche Ordnung)
-
2016 – Radhika Apte in Madly (Section : Clean Shaven)
-
2015 – Hannah Murray in Bridgend
-
2014 – Valeria Bruni Tedeschi in Human Capital
-
2013 – Veerle Baetens in The Broken Circle Breakdown
-
2012 – Rachel Mwanza in War Witch
-
2011 – Carice van Houten in Black Butterflies
-
2010 – Sibel Kekilli in When We Leave
-
2009 – Zoe Kazan in The Exploding Girl
-
2008 – Eileen Walsh in Eden
-
2007 – Marina Hands in Lady Chatterley
-
2006 – Eva Holubová in Holiday Makers
-
2005 – Felicity Huffman in Transamerica
-
2004 – Fernanda Montenegro in O Outro Lado da Rua
-
2003 – Valeria Bruni Tedeschi in It's Easier for a Camel...
Best Cinematography
-
2025 - Lev Predan Kowarski for Little Trouble Girls
-
2022 - We Might As Well Be Dead
-
2021 – Elisabeth Vogler for Roaring 20's
-
2020 – Daniella Nowitz for Asia
-
2017 – Elvira Lind for Bobbi Jene
-
2015 – Magnus Jønck for Bridgend
-
2014 – Damian García for Gueros
-
2013 – Marius Matzow Gulbrandsen for Before Snowfall
-
2012 – Trevor Forrest and Shlomo Godder for Una Noche
-
2011 – Lisa Tillinger for Artificial Paradises
Best Screenplay
-
2025 - Happy Birthday, written by Mohamed Diab and Sarah Goher
-
2022 - The Visitor, written by Martín Boulocq
-
2021 – Brighton 4th, written by Boris Frumin
-
2020 – Tryst with Destiny, written by Prashant Nair
-
2017 – Ice Mother ( Bába z ledu) written by Bohdan Sláma
-
2015 – Dagur Kári for Virgin Mountain
-
2014 – Guillaume Nicloux for The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq
-
2013 – Carl Joos and Felix Van Groeningen for The Broken Circle Breakdown
-
2012 – Daniel Burman and Sergio Dubcovsky for La suerte en tus manos
-
2011 – Jannicke Systad Jacobsen for Turn Me On, Dammit!
Best Narrative Editing
-
2015 – Oliver Bugge Coutté for Bridgend
-
2014 – Keith Miller for Five Star
Best Documentary Feature
-
2025 - Natchez, directed by Suzannah Herbert
-
2022 - The Cave of Adullam, directed by Laura Checkoway
-
2020 – Socks on Fire, directed by Bo McGuire
-
2017 – Bobbi Jene, directed by Elvira Lind
-
2015 – Democrats, directed by Camilla Nielsson
-
2014 – Point and Shoot, directed by Marshall Curry
-
2013 – The Kill Team, directed by Dan Krauss
-
2012 – The World Before Her, directed by Nisha Pahuja
-
2011 – Bombay Beach, directed by Alma Har'el
-
2010 – Monica & David, directed by Alexandra Codina
-
2009 – Racing Dreams, directed by Marshall Curry
-
2008 – Pray the Devil Back to Hell, directed by Gini Reticker
-
2007 – Taxi to the Dark Side, directed by Alex Gibney
-
2006 – The War Tapes, directed by Deborah Scranton
-
2005 – El Perro Negro: Stories from the Spanish Civil War, directed by Péter Forgács
-
2004 – Kill Your Idols, directed by Scott Crary
-
2003 – A Normal Life, directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Hugo Berkeley
-
2002 – Chiefs, directed by Daniel Junge
Best New Documentary Filmmaker
-
2025 - Augusto Zegarra for Runa Simi
-
2022 - Edward Buckles Jr. for Katrina Babies
-
2020 – Jessica Earnshaw for Jacinta
-
2017 – Sarita Khurana and Smriti Mundhra for A Suitable Girl
-
2016 – David Feige for Untouchable
-
2015 – Ewan McNicol and Anna Sandilands for Uncertain
-
2014 – Alan Hicks for Keep On Keepin' On
-
2013 – Sean Dunne for Oxyana
-
2011 – Pablo Croce for Like Water
-
2010 – Clio Barnard for The Arbor
-
2009 – Ian Olds for
-
2008 – Carlos Carcass for Old Man Bebo
-
2007 – Vardan Hovhannisyan for A Story of People in War and Peace
-
2006 – Pelin Esmer for The Play
-
2005 – Jeff Zimbalist and Matt Mochary for Favela Rising
-
2004 – Paulo Sacramento for The Prisoner of the Iron Bars: Self-Portraits
Best Cinematography in a Documentary
-
2025 - Chance Falkner and Johnny Friday for The Last Dive
-
2022 – Boris Levy for The Wild One
Best Documentary Editing
-
2025 - Soren B. Ebbe and Hayedeh Safiyari for An Eye for an Eye
-
2020 – Amy Foete for Father, Soldier, Son
-
2017 – Adam Nielson for Bobbi Jene
Best Narrative Short
-
2025 - Beyond Silence, directed by Marnie Blok
-
2020 – No More Wings, directed by Abraham Adeyemi
-
2017 – Retouch, directed by Kaveh Mazaheri
-
2015 – Listen, directed by Hamy Ramezan and Rungano Nyoni
-
2014 – The Phone Call, directed by Mat Kirkby
-
2013 – The Nightshift Belongs to the Stars, directed by Edoardo Ponti
-
2010 – Father Christmas Doesn't Come Here, written by Bongi Ndaba, Sibongile Nkosana directed by Bekhi Sibiya
-
2009 – The North Road, directed by Carlos Chahine
-
2008 – New Boy, directed by Steph Green
-
2007 – The Last Dog in Rwanda, directed by Jens Assur
-
2006 – The Shovel, directed by Nick Childs
-
2005 – Cashback, directed by Sean Ellis
-
2004 – Shock Act, directed by Seth Grossman
-
2002 – Bamboleho, directed by Luis Prieto
Best Documentary Short
-
2025 - I hope this email finds you well, directed by Asia Zughaiar
-
2022 – Heart Valley, directed by Christian Cargill
-
2021 – Coded, directed by Ryan White
-
2020 – My Father The Mover, directed by Julia Jansch
-
2017 – The Good Fight, directed by Ben Holman
-
2015 – Body Team 12, directed by David Darg
-
2014 – One Year Lease, directed by Brian Bolster
-
2013 – Coach, directed by Bess Kargman
-
2010 – , directed by Travis Senger
-
2009 – Home, directed by Mathew Faust
-
2008 – Mandatory Service, directed by Jessica Habie
-
2007 – A Son's Sacrifice, directed by Yoni Brook
-
2006 – Native New Yorker, directed by Steve Bilich
-
2005 – , directed by Dan Krauss
-
2004 – Sister Rose's Passion, directed by Oren Jacoby
-
2003 – Milton Rogovin: The Forgotten Ones, directed by Harvey Wang
-
2002 – All Water Has a Perfect Memory, directed by Natalia Almada
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
-
2021 – Six Nights, directed by Robert Brogden
-
2020 – Cru-Raw, directed by David Oesch
-
2017 – Fry Day, directed by Laura Moss
-
2015 – Catwalk, directed by Ninja Thyberg
-
2014 – Nesma's Bird, directed by Najwan Ali and Medoo Ali
-
2013 – Life Doesn't Frighten Me, directed by Stephen Dunn
-
2010 – some boys don't leave, directed by Maggie Kiley
-
2009 – Small Change, directed by Anna McGrath
-
2008 – Elephant Garden, directed by Sasie Sealy
-
2007 – Good Luck Nedim, directed by Marko Santic and Someone Else's War, directed by Lee Wang
-
2006 – Dead End Job, directed by Samantha Davidson Green
-
2005 – Dance Mania Fantastic, directed by Sasie Sealy
-
2004 – 'Independent Lens' (American Made), directed by Sharat Raju
Nora Ephron Prize
Best Animated Short
-
2025 – Playing God directed by Matteo Burani
-
2023 – Starling directed by Mitra Shahidi
-
2017 – Odd is an Egg ( Odd er et egg) directed by Kristin Ulseth
Storyscapes Award
-
2017 — TREEHUGGER : WAWONA created by Barnaby Steel, Ersin Han Ersin and Robin McNicholas
Audience Awards
Narrative Award
-
2023 - The Perfect Find, directed by Numa Perrier
-
2022 - In Her Name, written and directed by Sarah Carter
-
2021 – Catch the Fair One, written and directed by Josef Kubota Wladyka
-
2019 – Plus One, written and directed by Jeff Chan and Andrew Rhymer
-
2018 – To Dust, directed by Shawn Snyder
-
2017 – The Divine Order, directed by Petra Volpe
-
2016 – Here Alone, directed by Rod Blackhurst
-
2015 – King Jack, directed by Felix Thompson
Documentary Award
-
2021 – Blind Ambition, directed by Warwick Ross and Robert Coe
-
2019 – Gay Chorus Deep South, directed by David Charles Rodrigues
-
2018 – United Skates, directed by Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown
-
2017 – Hondros, directed by Greg Campbell
-
2016 – The Return, directed by Kelly Duane and Katie Galloway
Audio Storytelling Awards
In 2022, Tribeca added an audio storytelling awards category.
Fiction Audio Storytelling Award
-
2024 – The Skies Are Watching by Jon Frechette and Todd Luoto
-
2023 – The Very Worst Thing That Could Possibly Happen by Alex Kemp
-
2022 – The Hollowed Out by Brit and Nick Kewin
Narrative Nonfiction Audio Storytelling Award
-
2024 – Delejos by Julie Piñero and Cristal Duhaime
-
2023 – Free From Desire by Aline Laurent-Mayard
-
2022 – Mother Country Radicals by Zayd Ayers Dohrn
Independent Fiction Audio Storytelling Award
-
2024 – Red for Revolution by Jana Naomi Smith
-
2023 – Aisha by Cory Choy and Feyiṣayo Aluko
Independent Nonfiction Audio Storytelling Award
-
2024 – Back to the Water: More Than One by Catherine Jaffee, Pippa Ehrlich, and Zolani Mahola
-
2023 – Shalom, Amore by David Modigliani
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."
-
2024 - Goodnight Universe
-
2023 - Goodbye Volcano High
-
2022 - Thirsty Suitors
-
2021 – Norco (inaugural award)
See also
External links
