Category: Documentary
Meet the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival Jurors
The Jury is In!
You’ve seen the Festival line-up; now it’s time to reveal the jury. These industry leaders and creative visionaries will be deliberating on and presenting laurels to the top projects across 17 competition categories from film to games, audio storytelling to TV, and more.
Judging films in competition will be visionaries ranging from Colson Whitehead to Mira Sorvino to Matthew Broderick and Art Linson to Ilana Glazer — and those are just a few names on the list. The likes of Annie Murphy, Jennifer Beals, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Gina Rodriguez, Stephanie Hsu, and more will deliberate on the Nora Ephron Award, the 2025 Viewpoints Competition, and the AT&T Untold Stories Greenlight Committee.
Winners will be announced at the Tribeca Festival Awards Ceremony on June 12th.
But don’t just celebrate the winning programs — see them for yourself.
Our Festival Favorites Pass provides ticketless access to all Award Winner and Back By Popular Demand screenings on Sunday, June 15 as we bring back the most popular programs of the Fest, along with the award winners. For just $60, you can watch as many movies as you can schedule into one day.
Martha Stewart and R.J. Cutler at the Los Angeles Emmy event For “MARTHA”
Photos Courtesy of Gonzalo Marroquin / Getty for Netflix
On Monday, May 12th, Netflix hosted a special event for MARTHA, a documentary celebrating America's first self-made female billionaire, Martha Stewart. The event featured a conversation with Martha Stewart and Director, Producer, and Writer R.J. Cutler as well as a gorgeous reception on the terrace of The Maybourne Beverly Hills. Please see below for photos from the event!
Martha Stewart / Film Participant
R.J. Cutler / Director, Producer, Writer
Moderated by Dave Karger/ TCM
Photos Courtesy of Gonzalo Marroquin / Getty for Netflix
Photos Courtesy of Gonzalo Marroquin / Getty for Netflix
ABOUT MARTHA
Through intimate and revealing interviews with the icon herself and those from her inner circle, R.J. Cutler's definitive documentary on Martha Stewart traces her rise from teenage model to her reign as the original influencer and America’s first self-made female billionaire.
‘Arcades & Love Songs: The Ballad of Walter Day’ on Global TVOD and Digital June 9th
Director: Ed Cunningham
Producers: Jonathan Perkins, Seth Gordon and Mike J. Nichols
Writers: Ed Cunningham, Mike J. Nichols, and Paul Leach
Genre: Documentary
Run time: 1 hour 34 minutes
Executive producers: Ed Cunningham, Byron Ashley, Scott Jackson, Harrison Kordestani Kerry, Cathy Loveland and Paul Campoamor
Editor: Mike J. Nichols.
Arcades & Love Songs: The Ballad of Walter Day is a musical documentary following 74-year-old Walter Day - the father of esports and star of The King of Kong - as he battles a lawsuit threatening his legacy while fulfilling his dream of recording and performing the rock-opera style love songs he has been hearing in his head since having his heart broken at the height of the arcade era.
Ed Cunningham Statement:
The King of Kong premiered at Slamdance 2007 to a packed house of just the right type of audience. As the filmmakers, we could not have selected a better group of people to be the first to see something we had lived with for three years. The gamers, tech-types and doc lovers were all into it from frame one. “Is this real?” “Get a load of that guy.” The whispers, laughs and touching moments were all hitting. Then the projector overheated and shutdown. As the director sprinted up the aisle to help, I just listened. The break in tension allowed everyone to check in with each other. We knew the film could be seen as mocking people we had grown to love, doubt and admire and had worked tirelessly to present them truthfully and empathetically. And this audience got it. From that night forward, the original documentary has changed many people’s lives – for better and worse – so when Billy Mitchell called to tell me Walter Day was being sued based on things that happened in our movie, I began helping make sure he was properly defended. In a lawsuit strategy meeting I learned that some King of Kong fans were funding Walter to produce and perform the songs he had been hearing in his head since having his heart broken in the ‘80s, a story he shared in the original film. I felt a responsibility to document the conclusion to Walter’s journey and it was also a great opportunity because I love his music and want to help get out in the world.
‘HOMEGROWN: A Part Of/Apart From’ Now Streaming
HOMEGROWN: A Part Of/Apart From – the first documentary short film series to bring together the voices and visions of filmmakers and communities from the U.S. Territories and Hawai‘i to reflect on their relationship with the mainland U.S. – is now available to stream in full from PBS.
Each film in the series explores issues of cultural identity, sovereignty, and agency, as local residents and members of the diaspora grapple with what it means to be “a part of and apart from” the mainland.
The series is presented by Firelight Media, Pacific Islanders in Communications, Black Public Media, Latino Public Broadcasting, and PBS, with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Escambrón, Playa, dir. María del Mar Rosario
‘WHO IN THE HELL IS REGINA JONES?’ A film on the life of a Los Angeles Black News Icon Opens in Los Angeles on June 13th at Laemmle Monica Film Center
Weigel Productions Corp. presents written work by Regina Jones
Directors: Sélène and Billy Miossi
Producer: Alissa Shapiro
Co-Producer: Nancy Novack
Executive Producer: Sam Pollard
Consulting Producer: Bruce Talamon
Director of Photography: Soraya Sélène
Archival Producer: Matt Jones
Editor: Nancy Novack
Co-Editor: Alisa Selman
Original Music: Gil Talmi
LOS ANGELES (Tuesday, April 24, 2023) – The critically-acclaimed new documentary feature film Who in the Hell is Regina Jones? will have its awards-qualifying theatrical release starting on Friday, June 13 at Laemmle Monica Film Center. A press screener (for review and coverage consideration) and interviews are available now with the filmmakers and film participant.
The film premiered at the 2024 American Black Film Festival in Miami and then went on to show at film festivals including Heartland Film Festival, New Orleans Film Festival, Micheaux Film Festival, Pan African Film Festival, Athena Film Festival, and the Cleveland International Film Festival. The film was also shown at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC as part of its series highlighting art and history as told on screen by Black artists.
The extraordinary life of Regina Jones is one not only shaped by history, but also one that made history. From being pregnant and married at 15, through the middle of the Watts Rebellion of 1965, to emerging as a groundbreaking newspaper publisher, Regina is a testament to the American experience. That lived experience, as a Black American woman raising a family of 5 children, stepping in places where she was not wanted, and navigating a world that offered her no favors, is one that is still too often overlooked.
PBS Tonight’s Premiere ‘CRITICAL CONDITION: HEALTH IN BLACK AMERICA
Premiering Today, April 30, at 9 p.m. ET and 6:00 p.m. PST on PBS, PBS.org, and the PBS app: NOVA's Critical Condition: Health in Black America.
Black Americans are nearly twice as likely to have high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease than White Americans, and their life expectancy is about five years shorter. Black women also face some of the worst maternal health outcomes in the U.S. and are three times more likely than White women to die during pregnancy and childbirth.
Critical Condition, directed by Firelight Media Co-Founder and Lead Mentor Stanley Nelson, investigates the causes of these dramatic health disparities in the U.S., even as scientists confirm that there are no meaningful genetic differences between races. From the deep history of pseudoscientific beliefs about race that still permeate modern medicine, to the latest research on how experiencing discrimination can directly damage the body’s DNA and biology, Critical Condition reveals the factors behind the health crises facing Black Americans.
Tribeca Festival 2025 Shorts and Music Videos Including World Premiere ‘Kiss My Grass’ Executive Produced by Rosario Dawson and Colin Kaepernick
This just in: Tribeca Festival Official Shorts and Music Videos!
Now announcing the Official Short Film and Music Video Selections at this year’s Tribeca Festival, presented by OKX! From June 4-15, screens across New York City will show some of the year’s most exciting short-form projects. From inventive short narratives to boundary-pushing documentaries, animated films to music videos, our Shorts program delivers big stories in small packages.
With 93 projects from filmmakers across over 30 countries, it’s a packed slate of comedy, drama, music, mystery, horror, heartbreak, love, and… the list goes on. Check out the full lineup here.
To catch all the shorts and secure your seat at the Festival, buy a Hudson pass.
Choose from seven themed programs—there’s something for everyone.
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- Floating Roots: Films focused on Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander heritage in their storytelling.
- Hopes and Dreams: Short films with big dreams.
- Midnight Mash-up: Hell is other people for these late-night shorts.
- Mind & Body: Narrative shorts that explore the connection between the mental and the physical. This program will have open captions and audio descriptions.
- NY Off Peak: In the city that never sleeps, neither do these World Premiere shorts!
- Pick N Mix: A fun and colorful selection of short flavors throughout the festival.
- Showtime!: Get ready for these shorts to take center stage.
World premieres include How I Learned to Die, directed by Manya Glassman and executive produced by Oscar winner Spike Lee, an inspiring story of a 16-year-old girl confronting a life-threatening operation, and Jean Jacket, directed by Maxim Nebeker and Lucy Nebeker, produced by and starring AnnaSophia Robb, a hopeful tale of a woman chasing her dreams through a high-stakes lottery ticket.
Check out the full lineup here.
Dive into one of four eye-opening programs:
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- Common Ground: Explore our connection to land and where we call home.
- Embrace the Music: Get into the groove with these music documentaries.
- Reflections: Powerful portraits that hold up a mirror to the individuals and issues they reflect.
- For the Cause: Short docs that take a stand.
World Premieres include Kiss My Grass, directed by Mary Pryor and Mara Whitehead and executive produced by Rosario Dawson, former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, Nancy Whiteman and Hilary Yu, a story that uncovers the relentless struggles of Black women in the cannabis business; A Drastic Tale directed by Chantel Simpson, which explores the brotherhood between members of Drastic Auto Club, one of the oldest lowrider clubs in NYC; If I Can Dream directed by Luis Cross, following Korean-Swedish Elvis impersonator Andreas Waldem at a tribute competition in South Wales.
Check out the full lineup here.
Curated by Whoopi Goldberg, this year’s selection boasts the largest number of animated short films ever in competition at Tribeca.
The program features powerful stories including: Snow Bear directed by Aaron Blaise, focusing on the yearning for friendship; Avery Kroll’s The Piano, about a lifelong bond that resonates far beyond their final note; and the haunting, hallucinatory solitude of The Quinta’s Ghost, directed by James A. Castillo.
Check out the full lineup here.
Tune in to Playlist, our program block featuring eight music videos (including one World Premiere) from artists such as Jack White, Bonnie McKee, Kid Cudi, and LL Cool J. Or check out NY Off Peak, a narrative shorts program featuring two music videos from independent artists ZEBEDEE and Dola.
Check out the full lineup here.
Will you join us?
Award-winning author Mariana Enriquez-‘FIRST WORD ON HORROR’ (ETCH): View New Clip
Director: Philip Gelatt
Producers: Will Battersby
Director of Photography: Sean Kirby, Composer Peter Scartabello
Editor: April Merl
Sound Designer: Ben Cheah
Documentary series FIRST WORD ON HORROR is now available on Substack and currently featuring episodes from Stephen Graham Jones (The Only Good Indians, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter), Paul Tremblay (The Cabin At The End Of The World), Elizabeth Hand (A Haunting On the Hill, Hokuloa Road, The Cass Neary Crime Novels), Laird Barron (The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All; The Wind Began to Howl; and Not a Speck of Light (Stories)) and Mariana Enriquez (Our Share Of Night, A Sunny Place For Shady People) premiering NEXT WEEK on APRIL 24. Four of the authors featured in the series (Including Enriquez) have recently been shortlisted for this year's prestigious Bram Stoker Awards.
ABOURT MARIANA ENRIQUEZ
Mariana Enriquez is a writer based in Buenos Aires. In English, she has published the novel Our Share of Night and three story collections, A Sunny Place For Shady People, Things We Lost in the Fire and The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, which was a finalist for the International Booker Prize, the Kirkus Prize, the Ray Bradbury Prize for Science Fiction, Fantasy & Speculative Fiction, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Fiction. She has also recently been shortlisted for this year's prestigious Bram Stoker Awards.
ABOUT SANTIAGO CARUSO is an Argentine artist. His work cultivates a language of novel and personal rhetoric, although grounded in the symbolist aesthetics. Among his many works are illustrated versions of Jane Eyre (Folio Society); The Chants of Maldoror (Valdemar); The Dunwich Horror, The Bloody Countess, The Monk and the Hangman´s Daughter, The King of Yellow (Libros del Zorro Rojo); Materia Oscura, El Eco de mis Muertes (Aguijón de la Noche); The Walls of the Castle, The Booking (Black Labyrinth).He has made book covers for Tartarus Press, Actes Sud, Planeta, Sudamericana and Páginas de Espuma. Also he develops album covers for various bands in America and Europe. You can find his artwork in galleries and museums of Argentina, United States, United Kingdom, Slovakia, Brazil, Mexico and Spain.
ABOUT ETCH
Etch is an independent animation and production company run by the award-winning trio of Philip Gelatt, Will Battersby and Morgan Galen King. Specializing in the provocative, intelligent and innovative, as well as fantastical and horrific, Etch seeks to put the dark magic back into moving images.
Etch has expertise in animation, documentary and feature production and a core philosophy of maintaining ownership and creative control through novel approaches to production and distribution.
‘ONE to ONE: JOHN & YOKO’ in IMAX Today!
Magnolia Pictures, HBO Documentary Films & Mercury Studios Present A Plan B/KM
Director: Kevin MacDonald
Producer: Peter Worsley
Editor and Co-directed: Sam Rice-Edwards
Producers: Kevin MacDonald, Alice Webb
Executive Producers: Sean Ono Lennon, Marc Robinson, David Joseph, Steve Condie, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner
Music: Sean Ono Lennon
Director Kevin Macdonald’s ‘ONE TO ONE: JOHN & YOKO’ provides the ultimate behinds the scenes of his monumental One to One Benefit Concert that took place on August 30, 1972t, his one and only full-length concert after the leaving Th e Beatles, to raise money for disabled and abused children, after watching a Geraldo Rivera special on television. A television habit that went to the extreme
It provides an in dept look at their lives, after giving up their 70 acres estate in England to live in a tiny apartment in Greenwich Village, New York
The use of actual audio recording of their telephone conversation, video footage brings them both to life.
Hearing Yoko talk about the verbal abuse she suffered in England, after meeting John, reminds me of what Prince Harry and Dutchess Megahn have suffered after her relationship and marriage. She talked about how she developed a stutter because of the bullying and abuse
Listening to their performances, you think it could not get any better and then, they have these wonderful musical guests that takes things over the top.
One to One: John & Yoko is a great documentary , whose story gives a inside look at the Man and his Lady.