Your official guide to Tribeca Festival’s 2026 lineup: 118 feature films, a spotlight on podcasts, iconic retrospectives, and expert discussions with the best of the best

The Tribeca Festival returns this year for its 25th anniversary, and from June 3-14, film fans, industry attendees, and more will fill venues across New York in celebration of storytelling across film, TV, music, podcasts, digital content, and beyond.

Founded in 2001 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro, and Craig Hatkoff as “an act of healing” after the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center, Tribeca is still on “a mission to reunite our community through the power of storytelling,” Rosenthal said in a statement.

“Today, that purpose feels more urgent than ever,” she said. “As we navigate an increasingly divided world, the same spirit that rebuilt our city after 9/11 now fuels a new generation of artists and storytellers.”

Tribeca Festival will screen a whopping 118 feature films this year (103 of those are world premieres, setting a new record for the festival), plus 86 short films. Rosenthal said this 2026 lineup “includes stories from filmmakers who make us think, feel, laugh, cry, and ask why.”

“Tribeca remains dedicated to the artists’ voices and diverse perspectives that challenge us to see one another more clearly,” she added.

Tubefilter will have more details about Tribeca X, the festival’s two-day slate of special programming for the creative advertising industry and our digital content industry, over the next couple of weeks.

For now, though, we have a preview of the major tentpoles Tribeca Festival attendees will get to see. Folks interested in attending can pick up tickets here.

Opening night with Questlove, Earth, Wind & Fire, and The Roots

The 2026 festival will kick off June 3 at Beacon Theatre, with the world premiere of HBO original documentary Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial VS That’s the Weight of the World).

Directed by Academy Award- and Grammy Award-winner Questlove (aka Ahmir Thompson), the film follows its titular iconic band through their long journey as generation-defining artists. Its premiere will be followed by live performances from both Earth, Wind & Fire and The Roots.

“We are thrilled to welcome Questlove to the Festival to premiere a film that represents everything Tribeca stands for: creative pioneers at the top of their game in front of and behind the camera, showcasing the joy and community that great art manifests,” Cara Cusumano, Tribeca Festival’s Director and SVP of Programming, said in a statement. “Paired with a rare live performance from Earth, Wind & Fire and The Roots, Opening Night will be a once-in-a-lifetime New York event that reflects the energy, creativity, and communal experience that has defined Tribeca for 25 years.”

Questlove added that it is “an absolute honor to bring this project to the Tribeca Festival.”

118 feature films, 86 short films

This year’s lineup includes a record-setting 103 feature-length film world premieres, with an overall slate that “balances high-profile premieres with breakout discoveries, reflecting Tribeca’s role as both a launchpad and a showcase,” festival organizers said.

Some highlighted performances and in feature-length films include:

• Susan Sarandon and Aubrey Plaza in The Accompanist
• Katie Holmes writing, directing, and starring in Happy Hours alongside Joshua Jackson
• Alicia Vikander and Wagner Moura in The Last Day
• Paul Rudd and Jeremy Sisto in Rain Reign
• Sofia Boutella, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lizzy McAlpine, Simon Pegg, and Quentin Tarantino in Only What We Carry
• Zach Braff in Clean Hands
• Alison Brie, André Holland, Tom Sturridge, and Dustin Hoffman in The Revisionist

Highlighted documentaries include:

• Carmelo Anthony in Born Melo
• Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova in Chris & Martina: The Final Set
• Bob Odenkirk and David Cross in Bob and David Climb Machu Picchu
• Rider Strong, Danielle Fishel, and Will Friedle in Boy Meets World‘s 30th anniversary lookback Doc Meets World
• Will Ferrell, Maya Rudolph, and Dana Carvey in Playing POTUS
• Former New York governor Mario Cuomo in Mario
• IX XI, from debut filmmaker Sean Wilsey, follows 12 stories from September 11
• Miss Representation: Rise Up, followed by a post-screening discussion with Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, Dr. Safiya Noble, Nina Jankowicz, and Jim Steyer

Among highlighted first-time directors are:

• Sean Ono Lennon with threeASFOUR: Full Circle
• Zach Woods with The Accompanist
• Gabriel Basso with Iconoclast
• Quinn Whitney Wilson with Jean-Michel (co-directed by Viridiana Lieberman)
• Doron Max Hagay with She Keeps Me Young
• Ellie Sachs with Lucy Schulman
• and Lara Everly with Selah

Tribeca will also showcase music videos (highlights: Linda Perry’s Beautiful from Sara Gilbert, Jack White’s Archbishop Harold Holmes starring John C. Reilly, Benson Boone’s Mr. Electric Blue, and 5 Seconds of Summer’s new Everyone’s a Star) and, last but certainly not least, offer a sizable roster of short films.

2026’s short film program is “organized around thematic blocks spanning hope, humanity, and resilience,” the festival says, with “standout performances” from:

• Alan Cumming in Kiloran Bay
• Nina Dobrev in General Admission
• and Asante Blackk and Malia Pyles in You Tryna Say You Love Me?

The festival also notes several female-led short documentaries (White Belt and Couture to the Max), plus themes of activism and social justice (The Baddest Speechwriter of All

from Ben Proudfoot and Stephen Curry, The Second Life of Freddie Nole from Dana Nachman), as well as “imagining a sometimes sinister version of humanity’s future and its relationship with technology” (Holo, directed by Alexander DeSouza and starring Shane West and Zelda Williams).

Whoopi Goldberg once more curated a lineup of animated short films for Tribeca; 2026 attendees can expect to see:

• Apart, directed by Pola Maneli and written by Spike Lee
• Me, Myself, and Mary, voiced by Chris O’Dowd and directed by John Michell
• and The Upstairs Neighbors by Connie Qin He

“Twenty-five years in, Tribeca remains a festival built on discovery and cultural conversation,” Cusumano said in a statement. “This year’s film program once again brings together global premieres, iconic talent, and daring new voices to transform screenings into unforgettable shared experiences. From legends and trailblazers to bold emerging artists, these films reflect the creativity, vitality, and diversity of New York and the world, and a festival that continues to evolve alongside the creators shaping what comes next.”

TV and podcasts

Tribeca’s programming also includes TV and the ever-expanding world of podcasts.

Cusumano said this year’s TV and podcast roster “reflects a creative landscape where stories move fluidly across formats and expands the Festival beyond the screen into shared, live moments of discovery. Together, they embody Tribeca’s commitment to interdisciplinary storytelling and to championing the voices shaping culture today, wherever and however those stories are told.”

TV programming will highlight new series, documentaries, and comedies, “anchored by live conversations with the creators and casts behind them,” organizers said.

Featured shows and conversations include:

• Survivor‘s 50th anniversary
• Alejandro Sanz: When No One Sees Me
• Not a Very Good Murdered and The Palladino Files, both from Ronan Farrow with Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato
• FX’s Adults season 2
• Netflix’s final season of Survival of the Thickest
• Hulu’s Alice and Steve
• Amazon Prime Video’s Every Year After
• and the BBC’s Dear England

For podcasts, Tribeca describes 2026 as its “largest and most ambitious” year to date, “transforming the Festival into a live stage for the medium’s most influential voices.”

As Davy Gardner, Tribeca’s Head of Podcasts & Audio, explained, “This year marks our most expansive program yet, deepening our focus on independent podcast discoverability and creating even more opportunities to celebrate exceptional new work.”

The Tribeca Podcast Stage is a dedicated space for live events throughout the festival. Those will include:

• The New York Times’ Cannonball with Wesley Morris
• Vox Media’s On with Kara Swisher with host Marc Maron
• Slate’s Death, Sex & Money with host Anna Sale (in conversation with Peter Dinklage and Erica Schmidt)
• and WNYC’s The New Yorker Radio Hour with David Remnick

The Tribeca Festival’s push for more podcast programming includes an expansion into Spanish-language shows and the debut of the Showcase List, “a new curated section recognizing exceptional independent podcasts released since last year’s Festival.”

Bringing everyone together: talks, reunions, and retrospectives

Fresh film screenings are obviously an enormous part of Tribeca, but the festival also offers numerous talks with creative celebrities and experts, plus reunions and retrospectives looking back at masterpieces and cultural touchstones.

As part of these talks, Tribeca will award Bruce Springsteen with the 2026 Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice Award, an honor established by Tribeca’s former Chief Content Officer, the late Paula Weinstein. Per Tribeca, the award recognizes artists who “don’t just speak out, but actively use their platform to advance equality, dignity, and human rights.”

Springsteen will mark his reward reception onstage in a chat with longtime friend and fellow activist Bono.

Retrospectives and reunions to look forward to include:

• Taxi Driver‘s 50th anniversary, with a screening and conversation ft. Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese
• Bridget Jones’s Diary‘s 25th anniversary, with a conversation ft. director Sharon Maguire and star Renée Zellweger
• a 4K presentation of Daft Punk’s Electronica, celebrating its 20th anniversary with a conversation from member Thomas Bangalter
• iconic lesbian neo-noir Bound‘s 30th anniversary, with a conversation ft. director Lilly Wachowski and stars Gina Gershon and Joe Pantoliano
• the 20th anniversary of documentary Small Town Gay Bar

Tribeca is also bringing back its Storytellers Series, which will feature conversations with Paul Rudd, Dwayne Wade, Finneas, Sean Penn, Este Haim, Anthony Willis, Keke Palmer, and Whoopi Goldberg.

“Tribeca Festival has always been a home for artists and audiences to connect through meaningful storytelling, and this 25th anniversary festival is no different,” Meredith Mohr, Tribeca Festival’s Senior Vice President of Artist Relations, said in a statement. “This year’s conversations, reunions, and retrospectives celebrate the creative voices and cinematic moments that continue to shape how we experience film, music, and culture.”

As we mentioned above, folks interested in attending and experiencing this wealth of programming can pick up tickets at this link. We’ll see you there!

 

The Tribeca Festival is a Tubefilter partner.