Hammer to Nail’s 15 Most-Anticipated Films at Tribeca 2025
The New York City Mayoral race may be between Cuomo and Zohran, but this year’s Tribeca Festival has its own fierce competition. Who will win the coveted Nora Ephron prize? As always, there is a strong selection of non-fiction features, many of which made our list below. Hammer to Nail will have boots on the ground and lots of coverage in the works. The 2025 iteration (the 24th, so far) runs June 4-15, with 188 feature films from all over the world, along with additional special events and screenings, and many short films, too. What follows are recommendations of what to see (15 in total) from contributors Kaitlyn Hardy and M.J. O’Toole, lead critic Christopher Llewellyn Reed, and editor-at-large Matt Delman. While nobody can see all of them, you can’t go wrong with any of these selections:
In Backside, documentarian Raúl O. Paz Pastrana (Border South) takes us on a behind-the-scenes tour of Kentucky’s Churchill Downs racetrack, where grooms and “hotwalkers”—most of them Latine—take care of the horses. We watch as they apply compresses, braces and bandages to their charges, occasionally doling out treats, as well. Offscreen is where the mainstream action takes place—including the Kentucky Derby (it’s 2022, so long shot Rich Strike’s year)—though our attention is squarely on the vital work of our protagonists. Using gentle observational footage, Pastrana crafts a moving portrait of the unsung heroes (men and women, both) of this ancient pastime. (Christopher Llewellyn Reed)
In the canon of competition docs, there have been chess teams, step teams, science fairs, but surprisingly none about A capella. Until now, that is. The strength of these films often comes down to their extraordinary subjects, and Abraham Troe and Angelique Molina’s Just Sing has plenty of starpower. They follow USC’s SoCal VoCals, who have won 5 of the 25 national championships since the collegiate competition was established. Of the diverse group, none are more impressive than Tiffany Galaviz, whose stage presence and vocal talents recall a mix of Selena Quintanilla and Linda Ronstadt. Once the credits roll, don’t rush off to your next screening because the Tribeca premiere will be followed by an unmissable live performance from the group. (Matt Delman)
Argentinian writer-director Lucio Castro made a stunning feature debut in 2019 with the sublime queer romance, End of the Century. Now he trades the setting of sunny Barcelona for the dimly lit backwoods of Upstate New York in After This Death, fresh off its world premiere at Berlinale. Castro’s second feature stars fellow Argentinian Mía Maestro as Isabel, a voiceover actress in an unsatisfying marriage whose life changes when she falls into a fleeting love affair with a hippyish underground musician (Lee Pace). When her lover mysteriously disappears, things spiral for Isabel as she encounters physical threats and confronts her hidden desires. Aided by a superb supporting cast including Gwendolyn Christie, Rupert Friend, and Philip Ettinger, Castro’s psychodrama carries intrigue with its Hitchcockian/Lynchian vibes. (M.J. O’Toole)
A still from THE SCOUT
The general picture of the notorious “New York City film” (e.x.Taxi Driver, Do the Right Thing, After Hours, and Dog Day Afternoon) is one riddled with sweat, grime, grit, and chaos where we, the audience, get caught in the pinball machine that is the Big Apple. The Scout, however, captures the other characteristic (and, might I say, allure) of the city: the small moments, the one-of-a-kind strangers, and the stories threaded in this chaos. In her debut feature, Paula González-Nasser follows Sofia, a location scout in New York City as she “slips in and out of strangers’ homes, capturing fleeting moments of intimacy, curiosity, and vulnerability,” as the Tribeca synopsis for the film states. González-Nasser– herself once a scout for films and series including High Maintenance, Search Party, and Never Rarely Sometimes Always – crafts a meditative, methodical peek into the world of strangers and neighbors, emphasizing the connection that comes through awareness. À la Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days, The Scout challenges the idea that routine is defined by monotony; rather, it’s the quotidian, seemingly insignificant moments that weave the fabric of humanity. (Kaitlyn Hardy)
In Holding Liat, director Brandon Kramer (The First Step) trains his camera and outrage on the horrors of the war in Gaza, following the relatives of the titular Liat Atzili as they work to obtain her release from Hamas. She was one of the many kidnapped on October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian terrorist organization invaded Israel and attacked communities along the border with Gaza. The film offers a surprising perspective on these events, given that Liat’s father (along with other relatives) is a progressive dual American-Israeli citizen who has very little tolerance for Benjamin Netanyahu or his right-wing government, unwavering in his belief that Israel exacts disproportionate revenge on Palestinian civilians for the actions of Hamas. A complex meditation on a fraught set of circumstances, Holding Liat never fails to ask vital questions, eschewing all simplistic answers. (CLR)
There exists a vibrant subculture of ‘urban explorers’ who go places beneath street view that hold secrets beyond the consciousness of the people walking above. There are also scientists looking for that elusive ‘dark matter’ that may be floating somewhere below our earth’s crust. Robert Petit’s documentary Underland follows these intrepid weirdos (affectionately) over 79 minutes in a slightly experimental, but also educational, and oddly calming style–with the exception of the cave divers who squeeze through some anxiety-inducingly small spaces. At times, the film can feel like a museum exhibit, but the majesty and mystery of our underworld are certainly worthy of the big screen. (MD)
Being a teenager isn’t easy, especially if you’re one in Catholic school. Writer-director Chris Merola’s feature debut, Lemonade Blessing, is a raunchy coming-of-age comedy about figuring out what you believe in and what you’re willing to compromise for the sake of love. Jake Ryan, who charmed audiences in Eighth Grade and Asteroid City, applies the same nerdiness as a (now slightly older) teenager John, who’s tossed into Catholic school. There, he falls for rebellious Lillith (Skye Alyssa Friedman), who disdains her religious background. As their so-called relationship blossoms, she pushes the mild-mannered John to fulfill a series of uncomfortable and sacrilegious tasks/dares, all in the name of love. If the tones are well-balanced, hopefully, we’ll be in for a top-notch teen comedy with just the right amount of sweet and spicy. (MJ)
Not to get too deep into my psychology, but I am a sucker for GirlDad films: stories that dig into the awkward, unique, sometimes thorny dynamic that exists between a daughter and her father. Take Aftersun, Eat Drink Man Woman, and Eighth Grade. In She Dances, Jason (Steve Zahn) and his teenage daughter Claire– played by Zahn’s actual daughter Audrey Zahn in her debut feature – embark on a road trip, their destination being Claire’s regional dance competition. Setting a tone that I can only imagine as the unbridled quirk of Little Miss Sunshine combined with the searing and uncomfortable accuracy of last year’s Good One, She Dances will act as a heartwarming road trip comedy and a nostalgic gut punch to daughters everywhere. With Zahn’s own daughter cast as his on screen daughter, I look forward to seeing their existing relationship brought to screen, held up or molded by fiction. (KH)
A still from NATCHEZ
Natchez, Mississippi, is home to a vast array of old plantation mansions, many of which offer “pilgrimage” tours. The majority of guides offer a sanitized view of history from a white perspective, but not all. Director Suzannah Herbert (Wrestle) delivers a documentary where tradition and truth mix, mingle, and clash, with African American narratives increasingly presenting alternatives—welcome or not—to the formerly mainstream views. The city, run by Mayor Dan Gibson, who appears to welcome the changes, has a vibrant LGBTQ community, and one of the most interesting and astonishing facets of the film is how being a member of one marginalized group does not necessarily translate into empathy for another. Gays can be racist, it turns out. Still, given the plurality of voices on display, it seems there might just be hope for this divided nation of ours. (CLR)
The Degenerate: The Life and Films of Andy Milligan
The exploitation cinema of unsung director Andy Milligan is catalogued in horror fanatics Josh Johnson and Grayson Tyler Johnson’s The Degenerate. Regarded as an eccentric genius by John Waters, ArtForum nicknamed Milligan, ‘the Fassbinder of 42nd Street’. Beginning in 1965 with his 30-minute ‘Vapors’, his career continued over dozens of low-budget horror films with titles such as ‘The Naked Witch’ and ‘Gutter Trash’. Though some of his early cinema has mostly been lost, there is a 9-disc Blu-ray Milligan box set available from Severin Films, which is likely to sell out as soon as this documentary drops. (MD)
Oscar-nominated director Jim Sheridan (In the Name of the Father; My Left Foot) returns to the helm in his native Ireland to explore one of the country’s most shocking unsolved murders. Co-written and directed with David Merriman, Re-Creation is a fiction-docu hybrid that tackles the 1996 murder of French filmmaker Sophie Toscan du Plantier in County Cork. Even though the suspected murderer was convicted in absentia by the French government, he was never convicted in Ireland. This is where Sheridan and Merriman set the stage for a cinematic “what-if” trial, featuring a judge, jury, and defendant consisting of the talented ensemble of Vicky Krieps, Aidan Gillen, Colm Meaney, and more. By navigating the complexities of this decades-long case, Sheridan and Merriman call out the sensationalism of true crime while also hoping to bring a sense of closure to those involved and affected by this case. (MJ)
Dear Ms.: A Revolution in Print
This year’s Tribeca is rife with emerging talent, and the documentary, Dear Ms.: A Revolution in Print is a three for one deal. Centered around three of Ms. Magazine’s legendary cover stories, the film highlights the talents of three filmmakers, Salima Koroma, Alice Gu, and Cecilia Alarondo. Launched in 1972 and co-founded by journalist and activist Gloria Steinem, Ms. was both a product of and manifesto for the feminist movement. As a trailblazing publication for feminist journalism, the magazine engaged in controversies ranging from porn to domestic abuse to abortion. True to Ms.’s credo, the film works to support the works of female artists while bringing in multiple perspectives. In a time when both women’s liberties and free press are under attack, this film could not be more necessary. (KH)
Throughout Yanuni, documentary director Richard Ladkani (Sea of Shadows) examines the fight for indigenous rights in Brazil, with his main focus on Juma Xipaia, who in 2009 became the first woman chief of the Xipaya people’s Middle Xingu region. Though times are tough under former President Jair Bolsonaro, the situation improves once leftist leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (aka just “Lula”) is elected in 2023. In fact, Xipaia is brought into the government’s new Ministry of Indigenous People, while her husband, Hugo Loss, pursues illegal mining operations in the Amazon as an agent of IBAMA (the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources). Increasingly, illegal mines have devastated what was once pristine wilderness, and it is impossible to support indigenous rights without also protecting the environment, as this film well makes clear. It’s a sharp, and often action-packed, look at a vital issue of our day (given the Amazon’s importance to everyone on Earth). (CLR)
A still from THE TRAVEL COMPANION
There’s nothing like a good old New York City-set cringe comedy. Tribeca is the perfect place to premiere Alex Mallis and Travis Wood’s feature debut, The Travel Companion. Tristan Turner, recently seen in Netflix’s The Residence, shines as Simon, a self-absorbed, struggling documentary filmmaker who relies on his kinder best friend’s (Anthony Oberbeck) airline employee benefits for free flights. But when the friend starts dating a rising filmmaker (Naomi Asa), Simon falls into jealousy, obsession, and ego as he desperately tries to hang onto his free flight privileges, even if it means meddling in his best friend’s burgeoning relationship. This exploration of the need for validation and the growing pains of a longtime friendship, sprinkled with the right amount of deadpan humor, makes Mallis and Wood’s debut a must-see of the festival. (MJ)
Let’s be honest, we could all use a little silence right now. Whether it’s the drone of TikTok videos at full blast on your morning commute, the knock-knock-knock of a Slack message, or the dreadful ping of an Apple News notification that is sure to bring forth only bad news, sometimes we want it all to just stop. The End of Quiet, a documentary by filmmakers Kasper Bisgaard, Mikael Lypinski, does just that. The film takes viewers into “The Quiet Zone,” an area in the remote town of Green Bank, West Virginia and “the only place in the U.S. where Wi-Fi and cell phone signals are not permitted.” This delicate, ruminative documentary raises questions about human nature, isolation, and technology’s role in society – whether it’s really as necessary as we feel it is day to day. (KH)
– Christopher Llewellyn Reed (@ChrisReedFilm), Matthew Delman (@ItsTheRealDel), M.J. O’Toole (@mj_otoole93), Kaitlyn Hardy
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