Every year, Tribeca sets the tone for what conversations in film will look like next, and 2026 is no exception. This year’s lineup leans into bold storytelling, fresh perspectives, and the kind of films that stay with you long after the credits roll. From breakout directors to familiar names taking creative risks, the festival once again feels like a snapshot of where cinema is headed. These are the films already building buzz, the ones we can’t stop thinking about before the festival even begins.

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ICONOCLAST

Directed by Gabriel Basso

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.

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ACT ONE

Directed & Written by Sophia Takal

Hannah Packer, an innocent and sheltered seventeen-year-old, lives for the stage. But when she's not cast in her high school play, her dreams of becoming an actress seem impossible. Until she discovers Act One Studios.

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SARA BAREILLES: GOOD GRIEF

Directed & Written by Josh Alexander

Seven years after her Grammy Award-winning Amidst the Chaos, Sara Bareilles reunites with her closest collaborators to record a new album. What emerges is an intimate, cinematic process that lays bare the musician’s deep connections and inspirations in Tribeca alum Josh Alexander's moving music documentary.

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HOLO

Directed by Alexander DeSouza

When her abusive partner dies, Claire contacts Looking Glass, a company specializing in artificial encounters by means of an actor and facial technology to confront him and gain closure.

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THE ACCOMPANIST

Directed by Zach Woods

When 9-year-old Emily is removed from the care of her aging grandfather by a rookie child-welfare agent, she is placed with the witchy, funny, and unpredictable Sylvia. As the two build a surprising bond, they find that forging a new family is not without risk.

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IN MEMORIAM

Directed by Rob Burnett

What is the one thing that a dying man feels will prove his life was worth something? A place in the Academy Awards® “In Memoriam” segment, of course. A unique, heartfelt dramedy about waking up in life before it’s too late.

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THE LAST DAY

Directed by Rachel Rose

July 4th, New York City: Two mothers navigate the city on different tracks that briefly intertwine before diverging dramatically, in this interpretation of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway.

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NEXT LIFE

Directed by Drake Doremus

When Ivy meets a handsome jazz musician on the train one fateful morning, two distinct timelines emerge: one where she falls in love with this stranger and the other where she reconnects with her ex-fiancé. Which life gives Ivy everything she wants, which love is truer, and how is she supposed to know which one to choose?

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ONLY WHAT WE CARRY

Directed by Jamie Adams

Long-buried secrets and emerging romances bubble up and boil over between a dancer, her sister, her former choreographer, and his visiting friend in this improvisational drama shot in six days on the Normandy coast.

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MOTHER FUTURE SELF

Directed by Tori Lancaster

An experimental dance camp in rural Maine sure sounds like a great place to have a long-awaited reunion, no? Sofi and Jordan rekindle friendships and more against a gorgeous backdrop as the pendulum swings between reconciliation and rupture.

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PONDEROSA

Directed by Rob Rice

When the buffet where Zeke's mom works closes down, he's forced to entertain the wild advances of a rich regular who is weirdly and vehemently obsessed with becoming his father.

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SUMMER OF THREE

Directed by Carlitos Ruiz-Ruiz

Returning home to his native Puerto Rico after years away, 17-year-old Javi meets Luife and Kiki, two social misfits who flip his entire world upside down.

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You can get your tickets to the festival here.