The 2025 Tribeca Festival has set its selection of shorts across narrative, documentary, animated works and music videos.
Expanded eligibility to projects previously screened in New York or online for out-of-competition consideration led to record submissions and 93 short films this year, a high among major fests.
The music video lineup curated by Sharon Badal, spans the world premiere of Kid Cudi’s new short film Neverland, directed by Ti West and produced by Monkeypaw Productions; Rock the Bells from LL Cool J; Jack White’s That’s How I’m Feeling; and Madame President by Grace Bowers.
Tribeca, which runs June 4–15 in NYC, is also deepening its investment in shorts by introducing the inaugural Shorts Cinema screening room at its Spring Studios festival hub to allow more filmmakers and fans to discover the next generation of independent film, where shorts are often a first stop.
“This year we received a staggering number of short submissions, and while it certainly made our job as programmers more challenging, we are confident our programs will reflect the quality, variety and imagination of the films we received from around the world” said Ben Thompson, VP of Shorts Programming. “I am proud that we have expanded our programming, selecting the highest number of short films of any of the major film festivals. Our aim is to make shorts and music videos a major focus at Tribeca, with storytelling that dazzles and delights our audiences.”
Over the years, Tribeca’s shorts have spotlighted voices from Sinners director and Oscar nominee Ryan Coogler (2009), Emmy winner David Gelb (2006) and Oscar winner Domee Shi (2018).
The 2025 lineup features selections from 105 filmmakers, including 82 films in competition and 10 music videos, spanning 30+ countries with fest debuts from Ecuador, Zimbabwe and Curaçao. There are 49 world premieres, five international premieres, eight North American premieres, and 19 New York premieres.
World premieres include How I Learned to Die, directed by Manya Glassman and executive produced by Spike Lee; Jean Jacket, directed by Maxim Nebeker and Lucy Nebeker,produced by and starring AnnaSophia Robb; and Kiss My Grass,directed by Mary Pryor and Mara Whitehead and executive produced by Rosario Dawson, former NFL football quarterback Colin Kaepernick, Nancy Whiteman and Hilary Yu.
Whoopi Goldberg’s curated animated shorts program includes Snow Bear directed by Aaron Blaise; The Piano directed by Avery Kroll; and The Quinta’s Ghost directed by James A. Castillo.
2025 TRIBECA FESTIVAL SHORTS SELECTION
NARRATIVE SHORTS
/HAAW/ (United States) – New York Premiere. Directed by Joey Scoma.
A Brighter Summer Day For The Lady Avengers (Taiwan, United States) – New York Premiere. Directed by Birdy Wei-Ting Hung.
A West Side Story Story (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Aditya Joshi.
African Family Dinner (Norway, Sudan, Somalia) – North American Premiere. Directed by Ibrahim Mursal.
Aimee Comes First (United States) – New York Premiere. Directed by Aimee Garcia.
Al Fresco (Spain) – New York Premiere. Directed by Ignacio Rodó.
Almost Graduated (Chile) – New York Premiere. Directed by Samantha Copano, Florencia Peña.
Apocalypse Besties (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Kristen Buckels Cantrell.
ATTAGIRL! (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Klimovski.
āyí (United States, China) – World Premiere. Directed by Jiayi Li.
Baby Blues (Norway) – World Premiere. Directed by Helen Komini Knudsen.
Baby Tooth (United States) – Directed by Olivia Accardo.
Beyond Silence (Netherlands) – International Premiere. Directed by Marnie Blok.
Chasing the Party (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Jessie Komitor.
Cherry-Colored Funk (United States) – New York Premiere. Directed by Chelsie Pennello.
Cocoon (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Sujin Jung.
Fame and Other Four Letter Words (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Miranda Kahn.
Fire At Will (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Morgan Gruer.
Gloria (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Kim Blanck.
God’s Lonely Magician (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Walker Higgins.
How I Learned to Die (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Manya Glassman.
I Want To Feel Fun (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Jessica Sanders.
In Jeff We Trust (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Blake Jarvis.
Jean Jacket (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Maxim Nebeker, Lucy Nebeker.
Kisses and Bullets (United States, Iran) – New York Premiere. Directed by Faranak Sahafian.
Little Monsters (France) – New York Premiere. Directed by Pablo Léridon.
LOUD (Canada) – World Premiere. Directed by Adam Azimov.
My Dad, the Rockstar (Canada) – World Premiere. Directed by Kevin Jin Kwan Kim.
New York Day Women (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Fredgy Noël.
Pirateland (Greece, Norway, France) – North American Premiere. Directed by Stavros Petropoulos.
Poreless (United States) – New York Premiere. Directed by Harris Doran.
Red Egg & Ginger (UK) – World Premiere. Directed by Olivia Owyeung.
Rise (Zimbabwe) – World Premiere. Directed by Jessica J. Rowlands.
Sister! (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by John Onieal.
Sorry I’m late (but I brought a choir) (Norway) – North American Premiere. Directed by Håkon Anton Olavsen.
Sunny (Curaçao) – International Premiere. Directed by German Gruber Jr.
Terror Keeps You Slender (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Daniel Serafini-Sauli.
Terror Night (Sweden) – International Premiere. Directed by Jakob Arevärn.
The Hicks Happy Hour (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Kate McCarthy.
The Lord of All Future Space & Time (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Chris Paul Russell.
The Rebirth (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Connie Shi.
The Singers (United States) – New York Premiere. Directed by Sam Davis.
The Wrath of Othell-Yo! (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Kwesi Jones.
Truckload (UK) – World Premiere. Directed by Aella Jordan-Edge.
Wannabe (Ecuador) – World Premiere. Directed by Kat Cattani.
We are Kings (United States) – New York Premiere. Directed by Frank Sun.
Womb (New Zealand) – World Premiere. Directed by Ira Hetaraka.
Zodiac (Belgium) – North American Premiere. Directed by Hans Buyse.
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
A Drastic Tale (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Chantel Simpson.
Ask Me Anything (Netherlands) – International Premiere. Directed by Wyneke van Nieuwenhuyzen.
Black Tide (France) – New York Premiere. Directed by Kim Yip Tong.
Doc Albany (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Ben Proudfoot.
Expiration Date (United States) – New York Premiere. Directed by Giles Perkins.
Freeman Vines (United States) – New York Premiere. Directed by Tim Kirkman, André Robert Lee.
I hope this email finds you well. (Palestine) – World Premiere. Directed by Asia Zughaiar.
If I Can Dream (UK, Wales) – International Premiere. Directed by Luis Cross.
Kiss My Grass (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Mary Pryor, Mara Whitehead.
Monster Slayer (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Catie Skipp.
Natasha (Italy, Russia) – World Premiere. Directed by Mark Franchetti, Andrew Meier.
Neith Armstrong and the Lanholmites (UK) – World Premiere. Directed by Duncan Cowles.
Oh Yeah! (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Nick Canfield.
Pavilhão (Brazil) – World Premiere. Directed by Victoria Fiore.
Songs of Black Folk (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Haley Watson, Justin Emeka.
The Ban (Ireland, Northern Ireland, UK) – New York Premiere. Directed by Roisin Agnew.
The New Indigo Wave (Puerto Rico) – North American Premiere. Directed by Karla Claudio.
The Patel Motel Story (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Rahul Rohatgi, Amar Shah.
This Land (United States) – New York Premiere. Directed by Mike Bradley.
Watch Over Us (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Carlos Garcia de Dios.
ANIMATED SHORTS
A Night at the Rest Area (Japan) – Directed by Saki Muramoto.
Awaiting the Lightning Bolt (Italy, UK) – Directed by Marco Russo.
Captain Zero: Into the Abyss Part II (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Z Cher-Aimé.
How A River is Born (Brazil) – North American Premiere. Directed by Luma Flôres.
Lily (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Kate Siegel.
Linie 12 (Germany) – World Premiere. Directed by Sarah Schulz.
Ostrich (Switzerland) – World Premiere. Directed by Marie Kenov.
Ovary-Acting (Norway, Sweden, UK) – World Premiere. Directed by Ida Melum.
Petra and the Sun (Chile) – North American Premiere. Directed by Malu Furche, Stefania Malacchini
Playing God (Italy, France) – New York Premiere. Directed by Matteo Burani.
Snow Bear (United States) – New York Premiere. Directed by Aaron Blaise.
Still Moving (Canada) – North American Premiere. Directed by Rui Ting Ji.
The Piano (United States)– World Premiere. Directed by Avery Kroll.
The Quinta’s Ghost (Spain) – World Premiere. Directed by James A. Castillo.
Tigre (Mexico) – World Premiere. Directed by Maria Victoria Sanchez.
MUSIC VIDEOS
Call Me a Liar (United States) – Performed by Dola. Directed by Jivensley Alexis, Reece Daniels.
Carpinteria (United States) – Performed by Rae Khalil ft. Freddie Gibbs. Directed by Anderson .Paak.
Even Better (Australia) – Performed by GRASS. Directed by Kieren Barber Wilson, Walter Mather.
Fast Edee (United States) – Performed by ZEBEDEE. Directed by Zebedee Row.
Forever 21 (United States) – Performed by Bonnie McKee. Directed by Bonnie McKee, David Richardson.
Madame President (United States) – Performed by Grace Bowers. Directed by Athena Kulb.
Neverland (United States) – Performed by Kid Cudi. Directed by Ti West.
Qué Más Quieres (Mexico) – Performed by The Warning. Directed by Paulina Villarreal, Iban Chabes.
Rock the Bells (United States) – Performed by LL Cool J. Directed by Gregory Brunkalla.
That’s How I’m Feeling (United States) – Performed by Jack White. Directed by Jack White.