Tribeca Festival Announces the 2023 Short Film Lineup

On April 25th, Tribeca Festival announced its 2023 short film lineup consisting of narrative shorts, documentary shorts, animated shorts, as well as music videos. This year's edition of the Tribeca Festival, taking place from June 7th to June 18th, showcases a total of 12 short film programs of diverse and creative stories.

In total, the 2023 shorts lineup includes 76 selections - 62 shorts in competition, eight music videos, and six special screening shorts from 91 filmmakers across 25 countries. Within the lineup are 48 world premieres, three international premieres, two North American premieres, one U.S. premiere, and 22 New York premieres. Furthermore, this year's shorts lineup includes six directors returning to Tribeca.

This year's shorts lineup was whittled down from 8,096 total submissions that span the four previously mentioned categories - narrative shorts, documentary shorts, animated shorts, and music videos - and are curated to tie into the themes of love, family, LGBTQ+ stories, Expressions of Black Freedom, Latin America, resilience, and more.

Premieres in this lineup include Last Call, directed by Harry Holland and starring Tom Holland about a desperate mother needing to reconnect with her son; Shadow Brother Sunday, Alden Ehrenreich's directorial debut where he plays a down-on-his-luck musician returning home on the day of his younger brother’s movie premiere to steal his computer and sell it to the paparazzi; For people in trouble, which is a relationship drama set against the impending societal collapse, directed and written by Alex Lawther and starring Emma D'Arcy; the documentary short To My Father, where Troy Kotsur details his relationship with his father and how it shaped his life and career, directed by Sean Schiavolin; My Eyes Are Up Here, a romantic comedy starring Jillian Mercado as an international fashion model whose mission of getting the morning after pill is complicated by her disability and her clumsy but caring partner, directed by Nathan Morris; and more.

Additional Misty Copeland's Flower will have its world premiere as part of a special event at Spring Studios. Flower is a tale of community, belonging, and intergenerational equity, directed by Lauren Finerman, and both stars Copeland and is featured as a producer. This screening marks Copeland's return to Tribeca after a hiatus of multiple years. After the screening, there will be live performances by her co-star Babtunji Johnson and a group of NYC hip-hop dances choreographed by Rich + Tone Talauega, who worked on the film as well as a Q&A with Copeland and the filmmakers.

“From a staggering record number of 8,096 shorts submissions, we are thrilled to present an incredible range of storytelling in short films and music videos from around the globe. Thoughtfully curated into 12 distinct programs, my co-programmer VP of Programming Sharon Badal and I hope there is something for everyone. From free-flowing music and dance to crazy late-night comedy, join us for an unforgettable journey through short films.”

-- Ben Thompson, VP of Shorts Programming at Tribeca Festival

As I'm sure you are all aware, recipients of the Tribeca Festival awards for Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary Short, and BEst ANimated Short qualify for consideration in the Academy Awardds' short films category, on the condition that the short film complies with all other Academy rules in place for short film eligibility. In the Tribeca Festival's 21 year history, 36 short films that premiered at the Tribeca Festival went on to be nominated for an Academy Award with 11 of those winning, making the Tribeca Festival a launching pad for emerging filmmakers. Tribeca also grants the Student Visionary Award to a rising filmmaker with emerging talent and potential.

Curating this year’s Tribeca Festival programming are Festival Director and VP of Programming Cara Cusumano, Artistic Director Frédéric Boyer; VP of Programming Sharon Badal and VP of Shorts Programming Ben Thompson; Senior Programmers Liza Domnitz, Faridah Gbadamosi, and Jarod Neece; Programmers José F. Rodriguez, Casey Baron, Jason Gutierrez, and Jonathan Penner; VP of Games and Immersive Casey Baltes and Immersive Curator Ana Brzezińska; Curator of Audio Storytelling Davy Gardner; Music Programmer Vincent Cassous; and Chief Content Officer Paula Weinstein, along with a team of associate programmers.

Keep an eye out for more Tribeca 2023 coverage as we get closer to the festival in June. I’m already sending emails out for potential coverage, so here’s hoping that this year’s coverage is even bigger than last year’s or that I find some hidden gems.

Narrative Shorts

Angelo, (Bolivia) – New York Premiere. Directed and written by Alex Plumb.

Bellybutton, (United States) – New York Premiere. Directed and written by Hilary Eden.

Blackwool, (Scotland) – World Premiere. Directed and written by Eubha Akilada.

Blood, (Australia) – World Premiere. Directed and written by Vathana Suganya Suppiah.

Brenda and Billy (and the Pothos Plant), (United States) – World Premiere. Directed and written by Dave Solomon.

Burrow, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed and written by Leaf Lieber.

Cuarto de Hora, (France, Chile) – World Premiere. Directed and written by Nemo Arancibia.

Daddy Issues, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Matt Campanella and Stephanie Chloé Hepner. Written by Matt Campanella.

Dead Cat, (Canada) – World Premiere. Directed and written by Annie-Claude Caron and Danick Audet.

Ecstasy, (Mexico, United States) – World Premiere. Directed and written by Carolina Costa.

Everybody Dies...Sometimes, (United Kingdom) - International Premiere. Directed and written by Charlotte Hamblin.

Fairytales, (Mexico) – World Premiere. Directed by Daniela Soria. Written by Daniela Soria and Mar Flores.

Feliz Navidad, (Italy) – International Premiere. Directed and written by Greta Scarano.

Ferns, (Chile) – World Premiere. Directed and written by Paz Ramírez.

Fish Out of Water, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Francesca Scorsese. Written by Francesca Scorsese, Megan LuLu Taylor, Savannah Braswell.

Flower, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Lauren Finerman.

For people in trouble, (United Kingdom) – World Premiere. Directed and written by Alex Lawther.

A Fox In The Night, (United Kingdom) – New York Premiere. Directed and written by Keeran Anwar Blessie.

Hafekasi, (Australia) – World Premiere. Directed and written by Annelise Hickey.

HEARTBEAT, (Switzerland) – North American Premiere. Directed by Michèle Flury. Written by Michèle Flury and Martha Benedict.

Il Fait Beau, (Netherlands) – World Premiere. Directed and written by Leonardo Cariglino.

In Passing, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed and written by Hillia Aho.

Konpa, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed and written by Al'Ikens Plancher.

The K-Town Killer, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed and written by Healin Kweon and Vahan Bedelian.

Last Call, (United Kingdom) – World Premiere. Directed by Harry Holland.

Let Liv, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Erica Rose. Written by Olivia Levine.

Mars, (United Kingdom) – North American Premiere. Directed by Abel Rubinstein. Written by Chris Bush.

My Eyes Are Up Here, (United Kingdom) – New York Premiere. Directed by Nathan Morris. Written by Arthur Meek.

Nuit Blonde, (Canada) – United States Premiere. Directed and written by Gabrielle Demers.

Proof of Concept, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed and written by Ellie Sachs.

Rustling, (New Zealand) – New York Premiere. Directed and written by Tom Furniss.

Schettinimous, (Argentina) – International Premiere. Directed by Tomás Terzano. Written by Tomás Terzano and Macarena Rubio.

Sealed Off, (China, Macau, United States) – World Premiere. Directed and written by Tianyu Jiang.

Shadow Brother Sunday, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed and written by Alden Ehrenreich.

Somewhere In Between, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed and written by Kyle Vorbach.

The Sperm Bank, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Margaux Susi. Written by Rob Scerbo and Jeremy Culhane.

Spinning, (Mexico) – New York Premiere. Directed by Isabel Vaca and Arturo Mendicuti. Written by Mara Vaca

Thaw, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed and written by Alex Bush

They Grow Up So Fast, (United States) – New York Premiere. Directed and written by John F. Beach.

Tits, (Norway) – World Premiere. Directed and written by Eivind Landsvik.

Upsidedown, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed and written by Razan Ghalayini.

Voice Activated, (Australia) – New York Premiere. Directed by Steve Anthopoulos.

Documentary Shorts

Ayenda, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Marie Margolius.

Black Girls Play: The Story of Hand Games, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Joe Brewster and Michele Stephenson.

Cam's Mementos, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Cam Archer.

Cruzan Cowboys, (United States, US Virgin Islands) – World Premiere. Directed by Douglas Wesley Segars.

Deciding Vote, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Jeremy Workman and Robert Lyons.

Dragon Boys, (United Kingdom, Ghana) – World Premiere. Directed by Tom Ringsby.

Goodbye, Morganza, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Devon Blackwell.

In the Shadow of Palms, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Mischa Meyer.

Letter to Rosie, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Ariel Danziger.

Merman, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Sterling Hampton IV.

Miss Brown, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Christina Burchard.

Over The Wall, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Krystal Tingle.

The Right to Joy, (United States) – New York Premiere. Directed by Tim Kressin.

Savi the Cat, (United States) – New York Premiere. Directed by Bryan Tucker and Netsanet Tjirongo.

Then Comes the Body, (Nigeria, United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Jacob Krupnick.

To My Father, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Sean Schiavolin.

What Next?, (France) – World Premiere. Directed by Cécile Rogue.

The Winterkeeper, (United Kingdom) – World Premiere. Directed by Laurence Topham and David Levene.

Animated Shorts
Tribeca's unique Spotlight+ events bring the film experience off the screen with live events, performances, and conversations after each screening.

American Sikh, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by Ryan Westra and Vishavjit Singh. Written by Ryan Westra.

Corvine, (Canada) – New York Premiere. Directed and written by Sean McCarron.

A Cow in the Sky, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by C. Fraser Press and Darren Press. Written by C. Fraser Press.

The Night Doctrine, (United States, Afghanistan) – World Premiere. Directed by Mauricio Rodriguez Pons and Almuneda Toral.

Regular Rabbit, (Ireland) – New York Premiere. Directed and written by Eoin Duffy.

Restless Is the Night, (United States) – New York Premiere. Directed by Yuehan Tan and Xiaoxue Meng.

Starling, (United States) – World Premiere. Directed by and written by Mitra Shahidi.

Witchfairy, (Belgium, Bulgaria) – New York Premiere. Directed by David Van de Weyer. Written by Brigitte Minne.

Music Videos

Anoana, (Norway) – New York Premiere. Directed by Line Klungseth Johansen. Written by Line Klungseth Johansen and Øystein Moe.

Bugs, (United States) – New York Premiere. Performed by The Vindys. Directed by Peter-John Campbell.

I Guess I'm Changing, (United Kingdom) – New York Premiere. Performed by Someone. Directed by David Spearing. Written by Tessa Rose Jackson.

The Light, (United States) – New York Premiere. Performed by Lunarcode. Directed and written by Vincenzo Carubia.

Special, (United States) – New York Premiere. Performed by Lizzo. Directed by Christian Breslauer.

To The Desert, (Israel) – New York Premiere. Performed by Dana Ivgy. Directed by Asaf Yecheskel. Written by Dana Ivgy.

Wait in the Truck, (United States) – New York Premiere. Performed by Hardy. Directed by Justin Clough. Written by Michael Hardy and Justin Clough.

Wild Child, (United States) – New York Premiere. Performed by The Black Keys. Directed by Bryan Schlam.

Until next time!