At the transition point after Cannes launches the international market for cinema in the year ahead, Tribeca kicks off the summer at the start of June. This year’s festival is happening across New York City from June 4-15, celebrating a variety of artistic mediums and genres from film and television to music and immersive experiences. There’s a lot to explore at Tribeca every year in both feature-length and short format across its many categories, which include U.S. Narrative, International Narrative, Documentary, Viewpoints, Escape from Tribeca, and Shorts.
This year, we have three journalists covering the festival, sharing some of their most anticipated titles:
Danny Jarabek
For this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, I’m centering my coverage on films that engage with environmental themes–projects that examine our relationship to the natural world and how we’re processing the realities of the climate crisis through storytelling. I’m particularly interested in work that challenges the boundaries of traditional environmental narratives, whether it’s fiction, documentary, or hybrid formats, and that offers new ways of seeing, feeling, and understanding ecological collapse, resilience, and adaptation.
My goal is to not only write about the films themselves but also connect with the filmmakers behind them. I’ll be conducting interviews with directors who are using their work to interrogate how climate anxiety, environmental justice, and ecological awareness are being represented on screen. As someone deeply invested in how media shapes public perception, I’m excited to explore the intersection of art, activism, and ecological thought, and how Tribeca is spotlighting these stories at a moment when they’re more urgent than ever.
YANUNI, directed by Richard Ladkani
The first film to spotlight is the festival’s Closing Night Gala. The film’s press notes read: “YANUNI is a cinematic portrait of Juma Xipaia, an Indigenous chief from the Brazilian Amazon who rises from a remote village to the frontlines of climate justice. After surviving six assassination attempts, she is appointed Brazil’s first Secretary of Indigenous Rights–while her husband, a federal IBAMA agent, leads dangerous operations against illegal gold miners. As Juma navigates political power, growing threats, and impending motherhood, she is forced to confront the personal cost of resistance. At once intimate and epic, YANUNI is a powerful story of Indigenous sovereignty, love, and the urgent fight to protect the planet we call home.”
Directed by Richard Ladkani and produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, who has made clear his intentions to support climate activism in his career, it’s a bold selection for the Closing Night that speaks to the intersection of global politics and environmental justice from the perspective of Indigenous activists.
The Wolf, The Fox, and The Leopard, directed by David Verbeek
The Wolf, The Fox, and The Leopard is part of the International Narrative Competition and is one of the most explicitly climate crisis-aware offerings in the Tribeca lineup. “A feral young woman raised by wolves is captured and thrust into modern society, only to be rescued by a radical couple who isolate her on an abandoned oil rig. As she uncovers the lies of her new “parents”, she is forced to stand on her own two feet and ultimately decide whether to integrate into society or return to the wild.”
David Verbeek directs a wonderful performance from Jessica Reynolds, who is at the epicenter of moral and environmental questions faced by the world around her. French author Frédéric Boyer calls it “a penetrating examination of what it means to be human, interrogating the boundary between nature and culture as the former seems poised to forever engulf the latter.”
Animals in War directed by Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi
As part of the festival’s Member Exclusive Events program, Animals in War is an anthology film consisting of seven short stories, most of which are based on real events and feature animals affected by the war in Ukraine. Oscar-winning actor and Ukraine’s ambassador Sean Penn plays the lead role in the short story The Eagle, directed by Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi. All the stories in this anthology are drawn from real events, underscoring once again that environmental disasters transcend state borders; they are inherently international issues. Unlike man-made buildings, unique nature reserves can’t be rebuilt; they simply vanish.
The film is a compelling collection of vignettes that embraces the intersectionality of geopolitics and ecological impact to devastating effect, highlighted by the imagery of animals as central figures and the diverse artistic styles used to present them.
Arleigh Rodgers
The films I will cover this year at Tribeca relate to personal and national identity. I sought films that speak to the individual struggle for self-authenticity and validation while reckoning with cultural changes, reclamations, or retellings.
I’m especially curious to incorporate films across genres, languages, and media, including animated films and those not in the English language. I plan to support these reviews with filmmaker and actor interviews so our readers can understand how and why these films emerge the way they do, just as the stories themselves teach us about the characters’ decisions, actions, and emotions.
I also plan to cover the festival as a whole, including awards announcements, distribution coverage, and shorter reviews of more films worth highlighting.
Dog of God, directed by Raitis and Lauris Abele
When a mysterious and prized religious relic disappears, accusations of witchcraft wrack a seventeenth-century Livonian village at the heart of the frenzied and eerie Dog of God (Dieva suns). The Latvian film’s rotoscope animation lends a tangible yet uncanny quality to its ancient and folkloric atmosphere, with a story delivered in German and Latvian. Meanwhile, the story’s hallucinogenic and whimsical quality provides a visceral counterpoint to the rotten core of the film’s bleak setting and characters. The film will make its World Premiere at Tribeca on June 6.
Lemonade Blessing, directed by Chris Merola
With its world premiere in the US Narrative Competition on June 5, Chris Merola’s Lemonade Blessing follows a Catholic school devotee, John (Jake Ryan), on a journey of spiritual re-examination under the direction of his crush, Lilith (Skye Alyssa Friedman), who hates her religious upbringing. Ryan’s offbeat and comedic roles in Asteroid City and Eighth Grade make him a compelling star of Merola’s full-length debut, with Friendman’s character an intriguing inclusion on their journey.
Twelve Moons, directed by Victoria Franco
The world premiere of Twelve Moons (Doce Lunas) in the International Feature Competition on June 7 is an entry from Mexico that charts the agonized self-discovery of a woman with infertility and addiction. Ana de la Reguera leads this Spanish-language film as Sofia, whose life we follow after Sofia exits a rehabilitation center and wanders through the city streets, wondering what might be next for her uncertain life.
Sara Ciplickas
In a stunning turn of events, my primary goal of this festival is to cover Documentaries. Working as an editor now for three years, I find that documentaries are often overlooked in the film discussion with my colleagues, with the exception of the occasional film that makes its way into the conversation right before the Oscars.
Tying into my passion for elevating female-led stories, and with a shameless plug to TRT’s Ladies Night episodes, I searched for stories about women and films crafted by women. And with an unexplainable fascination with the current state of our socio-political climate, I am also interested in speaking with a few filmmakers whose documentaries are on subjects that are actively taking place or are still alive and working. What is the impact of a film that shows us the same headlines we are seeing in the news right now?
Dear Ms.: A Revolution in Print, directed by Cecilia Aldarondo, Alice Gu, and Salima Koroma
For over 50 years, Ms. magazine has played a pivotal role in shaping public perceptions of women and advancing gender equality. Dear Ms.: A Revolution in Print explores this crossroads between feminism and journalism by weaving together archival footage, in-depth analyses of the magazine’s most iconic cover stories, and candid interviews with the trailblazing women behind it. The film celebrates Ms.’s most impactful moments while offering a thoughtful reflection on its missteps along the way.
State of Firsts, directed by Chase Joynt
Described as an all-access documentary following Sarah McBride’s historic run to
become the first transgender member of Congress, the documentary looks at the campaign and work of McBride and the target on her back placed by MAGA Republicans.
Director Chase Joynt stated: “debates. I approached this film understanding that Sarah McBride’s run for Congress would reveal the pressures and contradictions of working within systems destined to – and designed to – fail minoritized communities…It is from this intimate position within her campaign that we consider the enduring impact of the personal and political contexts shaping the future of trans life.”
It’s Dorothy!, directed by Jeffrey McHale
Returning to Tribeca, Jeffrey McHale takes a look at the formation of a cultural icon 125 years in the making. Featuring a chorus of cultural icons, unforgettable music, and a fusion of archival footage and art, this film centers the voices of women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ communities. Through the lens of a beloved character reimagined across generations, it honors Dorothy as a timeless symbol of hope—and a guide in our collective journey to soar beyond the rainbow and rediscover the meaning of home.
The film will make its World Premiere Saturday, June 7th at 5:00 pm.
Article Courtesy of Sara Ciplickas, Danny Jarabek, & Arleigh Rodgers
Feature Image from Tribeca Film Festival