The 2025 Tribeca Festival returns to New York City today, celebrating international storytellers in cinemas and online through June 15. We have rounded up the festival’s 10 science or technology-themed features below, categorized by festival section, with descriptions quoted from the festival program.
Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and Sloan grantee Darren Aronofsky – whose film THE FOUNTAIN won the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize at the Hamptons International Film Festival in 2006 – has a strong presence at the festival this year. In addition to a 25th Anniversary screening of his acclaimed REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, Aronofsky also produced Robert Petit’s UNDERLAND, screening at the festival in the Documentary Competition section.
Aronofsky also serves as an Executive Producer on fellow Sloan grantee Eliza McNitt’s short film ANCESTRA, making its world premiere at Tribeca Festival 2025. In May 2025, it was announced that Aronofsky’s creative technology studio Primordial Soup had partnered with Google DeepMind to produce three short films which integrate emerging AI tools – such as Google’s video generation model Veo – into their creative process. Inspired by the true events of McNitt’s birth, ANCESTRA will be the first film to be released under the partnership.
SPOTLIGHT+
MATTER OF TIME. Directed by Matt Finlin. World Premiere. “Set against the backdrop of a powerful and emotional benefit performance by Eddie Vedder, MATTER OF TIME chronicles the fight to cure epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a rare and often fatal genetic disease.”
SPOTLIGHT NARRATIVE
RELAY. Dir. David Mackenzie. U.S. Premiere. “Elusive professional fixer Ash has his skills put to the test while protecting whistleblower Sarah Grant from increasingly ruthless corporate mercenaries in this breathless, New York-set thriller.”
SPOTLIGHT DOCUMENTARY
BLUE SCUTI: TETRIS CRASHER. Dir. Chris Moukarbel. World Premiere. “Thirteen-year-old Willis Gibson’s life changes overnight when he becomes the first person in human history to beat 'Tetris.' This coming-of-age story explores grief, the power of community and the rise of an unexpected internet legend.”
TITAN: THE OCEANGATE DISASTER. Dir. Mark Monroe. World Premiere. “TITAN: THE OCEANGATE DISASTEr plunges into the chilling 2023 submersible tragedy, peeling back the layers of ambition, arrogance, and a lack of oversight that led to catastrophe.”
U.S. NARRATIVE COMPETITION
CHARLIEBIRD. Dir. Libby Ewing. World Premiere. “Al is a devoted music therapist at a children’s hospital in Texas. Charlie is the rebellious teen patient assigned to work with her. When Charlie reveals a secret passion project, and professional lines begin to blur, the two forge an unexpected bond that will teach them both how to live.”
INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE COMPETITION
THE WOLF, THE FOX AND THE LEOPARD. Dir. David Verbeek. World Premiere. “A feral girl who has spent her life living among wolves is taken on an odyssey through contemporary human life while the threat of climate apocalypse looms.”
MEMBER EXCLUSIVE EVENTS
ANIMALS IN WAR. Dir. Sviatoslav Kostiuk. World Premiere. “ANIMALS IN WAR is a poignant anthology film inspired by true stories of animals impacted by the war in Ukraine.”
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
THE END OF QUIET. Dir. Kasper Bisgaard, Mikael Lypinski. World Premiere. “A meditative documentary that offers a glimpse into one of the few inhabited places on Earth where Wi-Fi and phone signals are not allowed to reach.”
THE LAST DIVE. Dir. Cody Sheehy. World Premiere. “Terry Kennedy has lived several lifetimes—as a Navy Seal, a Hell’s Angel, and, most memorably, as the unlikely friend to a giant manta ray named Willy.”
UNDERLAND. Dir. Robert Petit. World Premiere. “Follow explorers into places rarely glimpsed by human eyes: caves, flooded drains and underground laboratories, revealing hidden worlds beneath our feet.”
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