04-06-2025
10 Must-See Movies at the 2025 Tribeca Festival
From spring into the start of summer, the festival season keeps on rolling. Cannes just gave a jumpstart to the movie year ahead, but the 24th edition of the Tribeca Festival, happening all over New York City June 4 through 15, is here with another ambitious, genre-crossing lineup. This year's festival — celebrating film, television, immersive storytelling, music, audio storytelling, iconic movie revivals, and more — boasts nearly 120 features across narrative and documentary forms. Tribeca also boasts a massive shorts program.
The festival, which understandably dropped 'Film' from its name in 2022 two decades after starting in 2002 from Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff as a way to boost Lower Manhattan after September 11, offers its most musically inclined programming yet this year. Tribeca launches Wednesday, June 4 with the world premiere of opening nighter 'Billy Joel: And So It Goes,' an ode to the hit-making piano man. Elsewhere, Miley Cyrus' visual album 'Something Beautiful' also premieres (fun fodder for IndieWire readers: It's produced by 'Mandy' director Panos Cosmatos). Additional music documentaries include films about Counting Crows and Culture Club, while Billy Idol, Becky G, and Eddie Vedder will also perform following the world premieres of their documentaries.
More from IndieWire
'John Candy: I Like Me' Documentary to Open 2025 Toronto International Film Festival
Tom Cruise to Be Celebrated at MoMI with 'Above and Beyond' Retrospective Festival
'She Dances' First Look: Ethan Hawke Helps Steve Zahn Navigate Being a Girl Dad in Tribeca Feature
Tribeca this year closes with the world premiere of Richard Ladkani's documentary 'Yanuni,' produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and centered on Indigenous chief Juma Xipaia, who has survived six assassination attempts as she leads the fight to defend her people's land.
On the narrative side come new features led by Ethan Hawke ('She Dances'), Rose Byrne and Octavia Spencer ('Tow'), Bryce Dallas Howard and Orlando Bloom ('Deep Cover'), Bryan Cranston and Allison Janney ('Everything's Going to Be Great'), Maika Monroe ('In Cold Light'), Guy Pearce and Cosmo Jarvis ('Inside'), Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman ('Oh, Hi!'), Logic ('Paradise Records'), Riz Ahmed ('Relay'), Nick Offerman ('Sovereign'), Finn Wittrock ('Westhampton'), and many more indie and blockbuster names.
As for documentaries, highlights include 'Andy Kaufman Is Me,' a deep-dive into the comedy legend; the needs-no-explaining journalism documentary 'Barbara Walters Tell Me Everything'; Berlin winner 'Holding Liat,' produced by Darren Aronofsky; 'It's Dorothy!,' a portrait of the iconic 'Wizard of Oz' character through culture and history; 'Kerouac's Road: The Beat of a Nation,' about the influence and legacy of Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road'; and many more.
Meanwhile, the festival features competitions for U.S. Narrative, International Narrative, Documentary, Best New Narrative Director, Viewpoints, and Shorts, with a starry lineup of jurors from in front of and behind the camera. Plus, join talent for in-person Q&As with reunions and retrospectives for films including 'American Psycho,' 'Casino,' 'Best in Show,' 'Kundun,' 'Meet the Parents,' 'Requiem for a Dream,' 'Shivers,' and more.
IndieWire's staff has picked 10 films we've deemed must-sees or that we're most looking forward to — though the festival, of course, has much more to offer.
Samantha Bergeson, David Ehrlich, Kate Erbland, Ryan Lattanzio, and Christian Zilko contributed to this story.
Best of IndieWire
The Best Thrillers Streaming on Netflix in June, from 'Vertigo' and 'Rear Window' to 'Emily the Criminal'
All 12 Wes Anderson Movies, Ranked, from 'Bottle Rocket' to 'The Phoenician Scheme'
Nightmare Film Shoots: The 38 Most Grueling Films Ever Made, from 'Deliverance' to 'The Wages of Fear'
