Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the Tribeca Festival, presented by OKX, today announced the 2026 NOW (New Online Work) lineup, Tribeca’s dedicated platform for digital-first storytelling. Tribeca NOW, in partnership with The Lighthouse (part of Whalar Group), takes place during this year’s Festival from June 3–14 in New York City. Passes and ticket packages are on sale now at TribecaFilm.com, with the Hudson Pass offering the premier festival experience, including VIP access and an invitation to Opening or Closing Night. Single tickets go on sale April 28.

With the expansion of Tribeca NOW, Tribeca becomes the first major film festival to open official submissions to social media creators across platforms including TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, signaling a broader industry shift in how storytelling is discovered, evaluated, and elevated. The 2026 slate features ten boundary-pushing creators whose work spans genres, formats, and platforms, united by distinct voices and a cinematic approach to digital storytelling. Submissions were evaluated holistically, recognizing not only standout individual pieces but each creator’s broader body of work, storytelling voice, and cultural impact.

This year’s Official Selections include: And They Were Roommates (@atwrtheseries), a New York City rom-com series; Shanked (@shankedshow), a chaotic country club workplace comedy; BK Coffee Shop (@bkcoffeeshop), a viral Gen Z satire set in Brooklyn; VHS Dates (@vhsdates), found-footage comedy about dating in the ‘80s; Sideline Archive (@sideline.archive), which uncovers forgotten stories through vintage sports memorabilia; That’s That on That (@tajrani), deep-dive portraits of the uncredited architects of Black history; Emmy Award-nominated journalism from Retache (@retachemedia); 15 Second Film (@15secondfilm), a micro-filmmaking experiment turning strangers into storytellers; Mechanical Pencil (@amari.k.jones and @palmerwilliams3), coming-of-age stories rooted in ‘90s Black cinema; and TIME 100 Creator and Emmy Award-nominated host Taylor Cassidy (@taylorcassidyj).

"Tribeca has always been at the forefront of how storytelling evolves, from early online series to today's creator-driven ecosystem, and Tribeca NOW reflects that legacy in motion," said Tribeca Festival Senior Programmer Jarod Neece. "What began as Up Next has grown into a program that recognizes these artists for who they truly are: world-builders, community architects, and pioneers of an entirely new pathway into the industry."

In addition to the Official Selections, Tribeca NOW will host a series of live events, including a screening and conversation with Keke Palmer (@keke) and Lawrence Murray (@lawrencesmurray) centered on KeyTV’s The Rise & Fall of DivaGurl, moderated by NOW Creator Taj Rani (@tajrani). The program also features the world premiere of two episodes of Keep The Meter Running from Kareem Rahma (@kareem), the beloved New York City taxi series making the leap from short-form social video to long-form storytelling on YouTube. The screening will be followed by a conversation with Rahma and producer Adam Faze (@adamfaze), moderated by New York Times pop music critic and Popcast host Jon Caramanica (@joncaramanica).

Returning for its third year, Whalar Group brings two dynamic live conversations to Tribeca NOW at The Lighthouse, Brooklyn’s premier campus for creators, spotlighting the evolving relationship between digital storytelling and Hollywood filmmaking. The signature Tribeca NOW conversation convenes leading voices from across film and creator ecosystems to explore how these worlds are converging in real time. In addition, Whalar Group and The Lighthouse also present “What’s Next,” a reunion panel with New York-based creators from Tribeca’s 2025 “Up Next” cohort, returning one year later to reflect on momentum, growth, and what comes after the breakthrough moment.

“The expanded programming of Tribeca NOW meaningfully reflects every stage of the creator journey,” said Tribeca Festival Programmer Tiana Harris. “Our KeyTV event, highlighting Keke Palmer’s digital platform, underscores the role digital plays in shaping and sustaining a career, even for established A-list talent. Kareem Rahma’s return to Tribeca with his new series exemplifies the power of consistent, iterative, entertaining content—work that evolves in real time, engages audiences, and deepens the connection. Meanwhile, our NOW Showcase features a dynamic slate of storytellers we are eager for broader audiences and the industry to discover, champion, and continue to follow as their work evolves.”

This milestone builds on Tribeca’s long-standing leadership at the intersection of technology, culture, and storytelling. Since launching Tribeca NOW in 2014—the first festival platform dedicated to online work—the Festival has consistently identified and elevated breakout digital creators early, including those behind High Maintenance prior to its HBO acquisition, alongside Lena Waithe’s Hello Cupid, Shaina Feinberg’s Dinette, Elvira Lind’s Academy Award®-nominated The Letter Room, and Barret O’Brien and Mark Duplass’ The Long Long Night.

That track record reflects Tribeca’s broader history of meeting storytelling at its key inflection points—from early mobile filmmaking experiments with the Nokia 6682 in 2005, to YouTube-native series through a 2012 Maker Studios partnership, to short-form storytelling on Vine in 2013 and Snapchat in 2016–2017—consistently identifying where storytelling is going next.

The 2026 program builds on that foundation while accelerating Tribeca’s investment in the creator economy. Recent initiatives include the launch of its Creator Vertical in 2024, in partnership with Whalar Group, and the UpNext Creators program, which made its in-person debut in 2025, bringing digital creators onto Tribeca’s red carpets and stages.

Tribeca’s track record of identifying emerging talent continues to expand. UpNext alumni, including Veronika Slowikowska (TF ‘24), who recently joined the cast of Saturday Night Live; Kareem Rahma (TF ‘24) of Subway Takes; and Public Opinion (TF ‘24), the team behind Track Star exemplify the growing pipeline between digital platforms and traditional entertainment.

Now in its 25th year, Tribeca continues to evolve alongside the industry it helped shape, expanding its definition of storytelling while maintaining its core mission: discover what’s next and give it a global stage.

Defined by originality and voice, this year’s Tribeca NOW creators are not just building audiences, they are reshaping how stories are told, distributed, and sustained in a rapidly changing media landscape. Tribeca NOW honors the enduring power of cinema while embracing the platforms defining the future of storytelling. The full 2026 Tribeca NOW lineup is detailed below.