The 24th annual Tribeca Festival has announced the list of winners for 2025. Charliebird, Happy Birthday, and Natchez emerged as the big winners, taking top awards for U.S Narrative, International Narrative, and Documentary competitions, respectively.

The 2025 Festival Jury honored several first-time directors in their selections, with all winners in the U.S. narrative categories coming from debut features. Alongside the film’s Best Narrative Feature win, Charliebird’s Gabriela Ochoa Perez took home the award for Best Performance. The Puerto Rican-produced Esta Isla (This Island) picked up a special jury mention, alongside recognition for Best Cinematography and Best New Narrative Director for co-directors Lorraine Jones Molina and Cristian Carretero. 

Listen to our interview with Molina and Carretero here. 

First-time filmmaker Sarah Goher picked up three awards for Happy Birthday, including Best International Narrative Feature, Best Screenplay in an International Narrative Feature, and the Nora Ephron Award in recognition of exceptional work from a female filmmaker who represents the spirit and vision of its namesake. 

Suzannah Herbet’s Natchez dominated the Documentary Competition, securing the top award as well as special jury mentions for cinematography and editing. 

Andrea Riseborough and Brenda Blethyn shared the International Narrative Performance Award for their work in Dragonfly, contributing to a strong showing from female performers and filmmakers across categories. There was also a significant Latin American contingent among honorees, with A Bright Future, Cuerpo Celeste, Runa Simi, and Kites all receiving awards. 

“Every year at Tribeca, we set out to spotlight the most exciting new voices from around the world,” said Tribeca Festival Director and SVP of Programming Cara Cusumano. “We are thrilled our jury honored this mission with winners that brilliantly represent the vibrancy and diversity of global independent storytelling today.”

Audience Award winners will be announced following the conclusion of the festival on June 15.

Sources: Tribeca Festival

Update Courtesy of Sadbh Boylan

Feature Image from ‘Charliebird’ via Tribeca Festival