Eye For Film >> Festivals >> Tribeca >> 2025 >> Spotlight Documentary
View other Tribeca Festival Films by strand: Documentary Competition , Escape From Tribeca , Galas , International Narrative Competition , Member Exclusives , Spotlight Narrative , Spotlight+ , US Narrative Competition , Viewpoints
Holding Liat and Kerouac’s Road: The Beat Of A Nation
Andy Kaufman Is Me
(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Clay Tweel; Writer: Luis Lopez, Shannon E. Riggs, Clay Tweel; Stars: Andy Kaufman, David Letterman)
World premiere
A rare window into the enigmatic mind of comedy legend Andy Kaufman through his never-before-
heard audio diary recordings.
Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything
(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Jackie Jesko; Stars: Bette Midler, Oprah Winfrey, Joy Behar, Katie Couric, Monica Lewinsky, Cynthia McFadden)
World premiere
Documentary about the US journalist in her own words.
Blue Scuti: Game Crasher
(Country: France, US; Year: 2025; Director: Chris Moukarbel; Writer: Chris Moukarbel; Stars: Mykal Buster, Andrew Artiaga, Daniel Vuong, Justin Yu, Alex Thach, Michael Artiaga, Willis Gibson, Karin Gibson)
World premiere
Thirteen-year-old Willis Gibson’s life changes overnight when he becomes the
first person in human history to beat Tetris.
Bodyguard Of Lies
(Country: Afghanistan, US; Year: 2025; Director: Dan Krauss)
World premiere
Exposes the tangled web of deception spun by the US government during its 20-year war in Afghanistan.
Counting Crows: Have You Seen Me Lately?
(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Amy Scott; Stars: Mary-Louise Parker, Cyndi Lauper, Chris Martin, Jeffrey Ross, Adam Duritz, Steve Kerr)
World premiere
Profile of the San Francisco indie rockers.
The Shadow Scholars and Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore
Culture Club
(Country: US, UK; Year: 2025; Director: Alison Ellwood; Stars: Boy George, Jon Moss, Mikey Craig, Roy Hay)
World premiere
Celebrates the British pop band's story in their own words.
Dear Ms.: A Revolution In Print
(Year: 2025; Director: Cecilia Aldarondo, Alice Gu, Salima Koroma; Stars: Gloria Steinem, Patricia Carbine, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Suzanne Braun Levine, Lindsy Van Gelder, Marcia Ann Gillespie)
World premiere
Documentary about the storied and complex legacy of Ms. magazine.
Empire Skate
(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Josh Swade; Stars: Tony Hawk)
World premiere
Chronicles the colorful rise and enduring influence of New York skateboarding culture.
Holding Liat
(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Brandon Kramer; Writer: Ra'anan Alexandrowicz, Carol Dysinger, Gordon Quinn; Stars: Aviv Atzili, Aya Atzili, Liat Beinin Atzili, Netta Atzili, Ofri Atzili, Chaya Beinin, Joel Beinin, Tal Beinin, Yehuda Beinin)
On October 7th,
during a raid by Hamas on her kibbutz, Israeli-American Liat Atzili was
kidnapped, prompting an urgent and heart-wrenching fight for her release by
her family. Through a deeply intimate lens, parents Yehuda and Chaya cope
with fear and uncertainty as they are thrust into a global conflict unfolding in
real time.
North American premiere
The Inquisitor
(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Angela Lynn Tucker; Stars: Alfre Woodard, Dan Rather, Jasmine Crockett, Barbara Jordan, Jewell Jackson McCabe, Rodney Ellis)
World premiere
Congresswoman Barbara Jordan became the first Southern Black woman to join Congress, one
of many firsts in her career as a trailblazing political leader. This documentary looks at her life
both in and out of the limelight.
It’s Dorothy!
(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Jeffrey McHale; Writer: Jeffrey McHale; Stars: Fairuza Balk, Margaret Cho, Lena Waithe, Ashanti, Shanice Shantay, Rufus Wainwright, Danielle Hope, Nichelle Lewis, John Waters)
World premiere
Exploring the legacy of L Frank Baum's iconic character.
I Was Born This Way
(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Daniel Junge, Sam Pollard; Stars: Carl Bean, Lady Gaga, Billy Porter, Questlove, Dionne Warwick, Maxine Waters)
World premiere
Carl Bean made history by recording his disco hit I Was Born this Way,
celebrated as the world’s first gay anthem, and setting the stage for a revolution
in queer music. This film considers his life and legacy.
Jimmy & The Demons
(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Cindy Meehl; Stars: Guzzy Grashow, James Grashow)
World premiere
Celebrated sculptor James Grashow embarks, at age 79, on a four-year odyssey to complete his magnum opus: a gigantic, intricate wooden sculpture dubbed The Cathedral.
Just Kids
(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Gianna Toboni; Writer: Gianna Toboni, Jacqueline Toboni, Samantha Wender; Stars: Susan Stryker, Andrea Jenkins)
World premiere
Three families with transgender children face an impossible choice in states banning gender-affirming care: stay at home and risk their children's well-being or uproot entirely.
Kerouac’s Road: The Beat Of A Nation
(Country: UK, US; Year: 2025; Director: Ebs Burnough; Writer: Eliza Hindmarch; Stars: Josh Brolin, Michael Imperioli, Matt Dillon, W Kamau Bell, Natalie Merchant, Jay McInerney, Kim Jones, Diana Langley, Joyce Johnson, David Amran, Tenaj Melendras, Karlynne Staten, Faustino Melendras, Ann Charters, Amir Staten)
Jack Kerouac's On the Road finds new relevance as modern travellers including Josh Brolin, W. Kamau Bell and Natalie Merchant reveal how his quest for authentic experience resonates powerfully in our screen-saturated era.
World premiere
The Last Guest Of The Holloway Motel
(Country: UK, US; Year: 2025; Director: Nicholas Freeman, Ramiel Petros)
World premiere
Once-star British footballer Tony Powell begins to reconcile the life he’s made for himself as the lonesome manager of a now-shuttering Hollywood motel with the one he forsake decades ago.
Long Live The State
(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Matthew Perniciaro; Stars: Kerri Kenney, Ken Marino, Thomas Lennon, Joe Lo Truglio, Michael Showalter, David Wain, Robert Ben Garant, Michael Ian Black, Michael Patrick Jann, Kevin Allison, Todd Holoubek)
World premiere
Consideration of a reunion of the 90s comedy troupe.
Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore
(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Shoshannah Stern; Stars: Marlee Matlin)
New York Premiere
In 1987, Marlee Matlin became the first Deaf actor to win an Academy Award and was thrust into the spotlight at 21 years old. This documentary explores the complexities of what it means to be a trailblazer.
Mugaritz: No Bread, No Dessert
(Mugaritz: Sin Pan, ni postre)
(Country: Spain; Year: 2024; Director: Paco Plaza; Writer: Mapa Pastor, Paco Plaza)
International premiere
Documentary opens the doors to Mugaritz, the exclusive avant-garde fine dining restaurant in San Sebastian, during its off-season.
My Mom Jayne
(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Mariska Hargitay; Stars: Mariska Hargitay, Jayne Mansfield, Zoltan Hargitay, Mickey Hargitay Jr., Ellen Hargitay, Rusty Strait)
World premiere
Mariska Hargitay was three years old when her mother, Jayne Mansfield, tragically died in a car accident at the age of 34, now the Law & Order: SVU actress considers her mothers public and private legacy.
Room To Move
(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Alexander Hammer; Stars: Jenn Freeman, Ian Stuart, Sonya Tayeh, Barry Gans, Alexander Hammer, Amy Schumer)
World premiere
Dancer and choreographer Jenn Freeman, recently diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, embarks on the creation of her first evening-length dance piece as a transformative journey of self-discovery through movement.
The Shadow Scholars
(Country: UK; Year: 2024; Director: Eloïse King; Stars: Patricia Kingori)
Oxford professor Patricia Kingori uncovers Kenya's hidden essay mills where highly educated yet
underemployed writers produce academic papers for wealthy Western
students.
North American premiere
She Runs The World
(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Matthew O'Neill, Perri Peltz; Stars: Allyson Felix, Jackie Joyner, Bob Kersee, Wes Felix, Joanna Hayes, Marlean Felix, Paul Felix, Pat Connolly)
World premiere
Premiere. Allyson Felix is the
most decorated track and field athlete of all time. At the peak of her career, she
faced a life-threatening pregnancy and saw her sponsorships slashed by 70%
by companies with no maternal protections. But Felix, ever the champion,
turned her battles into a movement.
Surviving Ohio State
(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Eva Orner; Writer: Jon Wertheim)
World premiere
Delves into the sexual abuse scandal surrounding athletics doctor Richard Strauss, whose two-decade tenure at Ohio State University saw the abuse of hundreds of students, and the ongoing quest for justice and accountability by his survivors.
Take The Money And Run
(Country: Denmark; Year: 2025; Director: Ole Juncker; Writer: Ole Juncker)
North American premiere
Tracing the life of Danish artist Jens Haaning in the aftermath of his
controversial artwork, “Take the Money and Run.”
Titan: The OceanGate Disaster
(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Mark Monroe)
World premiere
Documentary about the 2023 submersible tragedy.
59th New York Film Festival early bird highlights Futura, Jane By Charlotte, James Baldwin: From Another Place and The Velvet Underground
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