The 2023 Tribeca Festival, presented by OKX, announced April 18 its lineup of feature narrative, documentary, and animated films. This year’s Festival, which takes place June 7-18, showcases the best emerging talent from across the globe alongside established household names.
The 2023 features program includes 109 feature films from 127 filmmakers across 36 countries. The lineup includes 93 world premieres, one international premiere, eight North American premieres, one U.S. premiere, and six New York premieres. There are 43 first-time directors and 29 directors returning to Tribeca with their latest projects. 41% (45) of all feature films are directed by women and, for the first time, more than half of competition feature films are directed by women at 68% (19). Additionally, 36% (39) of feature films are directed by BIPOC filmmakers, including two indigenous filmmakers.
This year’s Festival also includes a notable number of films directed by actors: world premiere of First Time Female Director by Chelsea Peretti; world premiere of Maggie Moore(s) by John Slattery; world premiere of Bucky F*cking Dent by David Duchovny; world premiere of Downtown Owl by Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater; world premiere of Eric LaRue by Michael Shannon; world premiere of Fresh Kills by Jennifer Esposito; North American premiere of The Listener by Steve Buscemi; New York premiere of Shortcomings by Randall Park; and more.
There are 53 documentary features across all categories including the world premiere of Marvel’s first original documentary Stan Lee by Tribeca alumnus David Gelb as well as world premieres from Academy Award winners and nominees including Julie Cohen, Waad al-Kateab, Morgan Neville, Sam Pollard, Rob Epstein, and Jeffrey Friedman. As an activist festival rooted in the foundational belief that art can inspire change, the 2023 Tribeca Festival showcases numerous documentary features that shine a light on the ongoing war in Ukraine as well as the silencing of artists in Iran.
For the third year, the Tribeca Festival continues its commemoration of Juneteenth through the “Expressions of Black Freedom” program, sponsored by Indeed, which includes a festival-wide celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, the world premiere of All Up in the Biz, a documentary about New York hip-hop legend Biz Markie, and the world premiere of Cinnamon, directed by Bryian Keith Montgomery Jr. and starring Damon Wayans and Pam Grier.
“The Tribeca Festival is a celebratory event that honors artists and uplifts attendees, and this year is no exception with a lineup of 109 feature films from 127 filmmakers. Over the course of 12 thrilling days, we invite audiences to explore the magic of storytelling as a powerful tool of democracy, activism, and social awareness,” says Tribeca Festival Co-Founder and Tribeca Enterprises CEO Jane Rosenthal.
“We’re also proud to highlight the 50th anniversary of hip-hop as a culture-defining genre that originated right here in New York City, with insightful world premieres about beat-boxing legends and live performances from today’s top-charting musicians.”
The 2023 “Spotlight+” category includes a series of live events that bring the film experience to life following each premiere. A performance from She Is The Music artists, curated by Alicia Keys, will follow the world premiere of Uncharted; Sara Bareilles will give a special performance following the world premiere of Waitress, the Musical – Live on Broadway!; the one and only Gloria Gaynor will perform following the world premiere of Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive; a conversation with Peabody Award-winning news anchor Dan Rather and director Frank Marshall will follow the world premiere of Rather; Gogol Bordello will perform following the world premiere of Scream of My Blood: A Gogol Bordello Story; a songwriting masterclass by Indigo Girls will follow the New York premiere of It’s Only Life After All; a musical Q&A with Marc Rebillet will follow the world premiere of Songs About Fucking; and a group of dancehall legends will perform following the world premiere of Bad Like Brooklyn Dancehall.
Picture from archive of 2022 festival.
“This year’s slate of films is a joyful celebration of everything we love about the big screen experience,” says Tribeca Festival Director and VP of Programming Cara Cusuamno. “We are bringing to New York eye-popping 3D films and rousing music docs, white-knuckle thrillers and knee-slapping comedies, independent edge and old Hollywood glamour. And as potent as the work is on-screen, we are equally excited to ‘plus up’ the moviegoing experience off-screen with an incredible lineup of live experiences in ‘Spotlight+’.”
The Tribeca Festival is expanding its “Midnight” offering with the introduction of “Escape from Tribeca,” a psychotronic sidebar presenting genre movies from across the globe, including the world premiere of India’s big-budgeted visual feast Adipurush, directed by Om Raut and starring Prabhas and Kriti Sanon. Festival-goers are also invited to a 50th anniversary screening of the global phenomenon Enter the Dragon followed by a talk with co-star Angela Mao and producer Andre Morgan about superstar performer and choreographer Bruce Lee and the production of the film.
The Tribeca Festival is also proud to announce that the second annual Human/Nature Award, a prize established to amplify a film that best exemplifies solution-oriented environmental storytelling, goes to Common Ground, directed by Rebecca and Josh Tickell, and will world premiere at the Festival.
Angelis Bettis as Nurse Mandy. Pic courtesy of TFF 2020
Once again, movie fans can enjoy selections from the Tribeca Festival from the comfort of their homes immediately following the Festival, from June 19 through July 2, via the “Tribeca at Home” online platform: Tribecafilm.com.
The Tribeca Festival is curated by Festival Director and VP of Programming Cara Cusumano, Artistic Director Frédéric Boyer; VP of Programming Sharon Badal and VP of Shorts Programming Ben Thompson; Senior Programmers Liza Domnitz, Faridah Gbadamosi, and Jarod Neece; Programmers José F. Rodriguez, Casey Baron, Jason Gutierrez, and Jonathan Penner; VP of Games and Immersive Casey Baltes and Immersive Curator Ana Brzezińska; Curator of Audio Storytelling Davy Gardner; Music Programmer Vincent Cassous; and Chief Content Officer Paula Weinstein, along with a team of associate programmers.
The full feature film lineup is so huge that the announcement is in several parts. For more updates on programming follow @Tribeca and #Tribeca2023 on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and to purchase passes and ticket packages for the 2023 Tribeca Festival, go to tribecafilm.com/festival.
About the Tribeca Festival
The Tribeca Festival, presented by OKX, brings artists and diverse audiences together to celebrate storytelling in all its forms, including film, TV, music, audio storytelling, games, and XR. With strong roots in independent film, Tribeca is synonymous with creative expression and entertainment. Tribeca champions emerging and established voices, discovers award-winning talent, curates innovative experiences, and introduces new ideas through exclusive premieres, exhibitions, conversations, and live performances.
Legendary Jamaican Vocalist Ken Boothe. 2019 Festival: From WORD TFF archives.
The Festival was founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in 2001 to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of lower Manhattan following the attacks on the World Trade Center. The annual Tribeca Festival will celebrate its 22nd year from June 7–18, 2023 in New York City.
In 2019, James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems bought a majority stake in Tribeca Enterprises, bringing together Rosenthal, De Niro, and Murdoch to grow the enterprise.
About the 2023 Tribeca Festival Partners
The 2023 Tribeca Festival is presented by OKX and with the support of our partners: AT&T, Audible, Black Women on Boards, CHANEL, City National Bank, Diageo, Expensify, Indeed, NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, National CineMedia, ServiceNow, Spring Studios New York, The Wall Street Journal, Tubi, and Variety.
End of Announcement, Part 1
Editor, Writer Gregg W. Morris can be reached at gregghc@comcast.net, profgreggwmorris@gmail.com