Five Films to See at Tribeca 2026

Once again, I am headed to the Tribeca Festival, which runs June 3-14 with 118 feature films in its slate. This is the 25^th anniversary of the annual event. The opening-night movie is Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s latest documentary, Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial VS That’s the Weight of the World). Other screenings that I hope to catch include Zach Woods’ The Accompanist (starring Aubrey Plaza and Susan Sarandon), Edward Burns’ Finnegan’s Foursome (starring himself and Brian D’Arcy James), David Wain’s Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass (starring Zoey Deutch and Jon Hamm), Ellie Sachs’ Lucy Schulman (starring herself and David Cross), and Turkish director Alphan Eseli’s Mutter: The Diary of a Mother. Any of those may prove to be among my favs of the fest, but for now, the below five films look especially promising (actually, I’ve already seen one of them). All titles are hyperlinked to the movie’s page on the Tribeca website.

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AI: Probably Nothing to Worry About (Nick Holt)

I saw The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist at this year’s SXSW, and though the documentary did not convince me that we have nothing to worry about (I think we very much do), at least it was thoroughly entertaining. If we’re going to go out soon, let’s do it with a bang, rather than a wimper. Now comes Nick Holt’s AI: Probably Nothing to Worry About, which purports to chronicle the development of AI from the beginning and to offer a clear-eyed assessment of the current state of affairs. I won’t say I’m excited, but I’m eager for more information. Bring it on.

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Funk (Aly Muritiba)

I really dug Brazilian director Aly Muritiba’s 2021 Private Desert and that is the primary reason I am looking forward to his latest. This time, he sets his story in the musical world of “kinky funk” (called “putería in its native land). Narrratives about driven upstarts trying to make it in a not-always-friendly world hold the potential for very compelling drama, and I’m hoping that Funk, which follows the ambitions of one such young woman, Sabrina (Duda Santos), proves as engaging as Muritiba’s prevous work.

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The Lorraine (Sam Pollard)

The Lorraine Motel, in Memphis, Tennessee—now the site of the National Civil Rights Museum—was once a premier destination for Black travelers in the south (primarily during the Jim Crow era). It is also where the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. In The Lorraine, director Sam Pollard (Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes) explores the history of this famous/infamous location and how it changed into its current shape. As with all Pollard’s movies, it is well-made and gripping. I’ve seen this one and can therefore vouch for it.

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Playing Potus (Josh Greenbaum)

The world needs more comedy, especially as everything crumbles around us. Let me revise my earlier statement: if it’s the end, let’s greet it with a hearty laugh. In Playing Potus, director Josh Greenbaum (Will & Harper) examines the way comedians have portrayed our political leaders. Given that one of the first things Russia’s Vladimir Putin did when he came to power was to squash the satirical show “Kukly,” and that we are seeing similar attempts now here in the USA to also attack politically minded jokes, it’s a good time to take stock of the power of smart comedy to shape public opinion. We may soon find ourselves without these humorists; let’s enjoy them while we can.

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Time Warp (Allison Berg)

Growing up, I was very much a fan of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, heading down to my local theater on the weekends to enjoy myself with my best friend and hopefully get in for free thanks to my (rather simple) costume of a blue bathrobe (I was Brad). It was only later, in college, that I discovered that most places by then had their own spectacle in front of the screen (we just yelled out the alternate lines on our own and came up with new ones). While I missed the joy of pure improvisation that came without an acting troupe lip-syncing to the movie, I’ve always been fascinated by the folks—this “shadow cast”—who put on that extra performance. In her documentary Time Warp, director Allison Berg profiles one such ensemble, in Rock Springs, Wyoming. Looks like it’s tine to do the “Time Warp” again.