The 2026 Tribeca Festival – celebrating its 25th edition this year – returns to New York City tomorrow showcasing a diverse breadth of storytellers through June 14. We have rounded up the festival’s 12 science or technology-themed features below, categorized by festival section, with descriptions quoted from the festival program.
In addition to the exciting features below, the shorts program at this year’s festival also boasts the world premiere of Noam Argov’s Sloan-supported film VERSE. The 18-minute narrative, which earned a Sloan Production grant at NYU in 2024, tells the story of seventeen year-old Adam, who is forced to confront where his virtual persona ends and his real self begins when he decides to finally meet his VR girlfriend in real life.
SPOTLIGHT +
MISS REPRESENTATION: RISE UP. Dir. Jennifer Siebel Newsom. World Premiere. “Filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom expands on her acclaimed 2011 documentary MISS REPRESENTATION by examining the rising backlash against women’s progress and the hostile landscape of technology designed to harass and, ultimately, silence women.”
SPOTLIGHT NARRATIVE
ICONOCLAST. Dir. Gabriel Basso. World Premiere. “Gabriel Basso (THE NIGHT AGENT) writes, directs and stars in this tightly coiled psychological thriller. A reclusive loner’s obsession with a live-streaming influencer reshapes his entire existence through one unsettling choice at a time.”
SPOTLIGHT DOCUMENTARY
THE A-WORD: THE FUTURE OF AGING. Dir. Greg Kohs. World Premiere. “Modern medicine treats diseases one-by-one, but what if aging itself is the root cause? THE A-WORD: THE FUTURE OF AGING follows visionary scientists racing to extend lifespan and the rescue dog whose bond with an 87-year-old widower demonstrates the stakes of life extension.”
JUST LOOK UP. Dirs. Betsy Hershey, Emma Wall. North American Premiere. “This propulsive documentary follows Climate Defiance and founder Michael Greenberg’s unabashedly disruptive protests, expressing their fervent and urgent demands for climate action in the spaces — and faces — of industry executives and politicians exacerbating the crisis.”
ODYSSEY. Dir. Avi Belkin. World Premiere. “This remarkable archival documentary captures America’s greatest adventures in space: from the rise of NASA to the gripping rescue mission of Apollo 13, told entirely through over 2,500 hours of rare archival material including much never before available to the public.”
PROBABLY NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT. Dir. Nick Holt. World Premiere. “The definitive documentary on AI’s origins, told by the people who built it. A thriller-paced reckoning with ambition, rivalry and the question that now haunts everyone: Will artificial intelligence save humanity or destroy it?”
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
RETRIEVAL. Dir. Tracy Jarrett. World Premiere. “If science allowed you to hold onto a piece of someone you lost, would you? When Christina’s fiancé dies suddenly, she faces the unexpected decision of whether or not to carry on his legacy via postmortem sperm retrieval.”
THE SIEGE OF PARADISE. Dir. Gar O’Rourke. World Premiere. “THE SIEGE OF PARADISE cheekily scrutinizes the annual tourist season at Cinque Terre in Italy, “the most beautiful place in the world,” including the arrival of TikTokers and influencers — and the conflict that it generates with locals.”
VIEWPOINTS
CROCODILE. Dir. The Critics, Pietra Brettkelly. North American Premiere. “In Kaduna, Nigeria, a group of kids turn a backyard into a sci-fi universe using a single phone and boundless imagination. Filmed over thirteen years, CROCODILE follows their homemade film collective as creativity becomes a lifeline and a bold act of rewriting their futures.”
DEEPFAKE. Dir. Matt Eames. World Premiere. “After a breakup, rudderless millennial Jane hires a team of Gen-Z consultants to reinvent her life. But what begins as a makeover soon spirals into a sharp social media satire about image, app culture, and the cost of becoming someone else.”
ESCAPE FROM TRIBECA
BREEDER. Dir. Alex Goyette. World Premiere. “An eccentric poodle breeder lures a broke college student to her remote ranch with a promise of research funding. But, as he soon learns, there’s a catch.”
DEATH BOOM. Dir. Jessica Chandler. World Premiere. “Eighty years ago, the ‘Baby Boom’ led to a massive uptick in births. Now, we’re seeing the inevitable end of that surge as those tens of millions of people pass away. This fascinating doc explores the dilemma now facing the funeral industry and the many inventive solutions being pioneered.”
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