Anthem Magazine

Cannes materializes each spring on the absurdly beautiful French Riviera. Sundance has its snow-capped mountains—soon, in Boulder… But of all the film festivals in the world, only Tribeca is, well, Tribeca. If you recall, the consumer-facing festival was co-founded by Robert De Niro in 2001 to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of Lower Manhattan following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Now in its 25th year of existence, Tribeca Festival returns with that objective—a trademark community focus spanning a sweeping bill of fare—still very much leading the charge. Over the course of its 12-day run, the annual fête will screen 118 films culled from a record 13,541 submissions. As always, it promises to be an intriguing lineup showcasing key cultural figures, music legends, and stories from both emerging and established voices. It’s a big number, to be sure, which doesn’t include the slate of short films, nor the TV lineup of new season premieres of shows like The Gilded Age and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

It is both a blessing and a curse that, when you’re lowered into the Tribeca fishbowl, you never know what to expect. The films arrive seemingly out of nowhere, in many cases still warm from their editing suites. And since the programming is always so stacked, it can be hard to parse out what’s essential, even if you’re lucky enough to make it downtown. To what will we acclimdate? It is also worth mentioning that, since the festival is incredibly sprawling, no two attendees will have exactly the same experience. As a result, everyone is cast in the role of tastemaker or first lover—collectively setting the tone for what’s important, unique, or simply not worth anyone’s time.

With that said, to give you a more intimate account of our highlights from Tribeca this year, Anthem presents a collection of exclusive portraits, featuring a roll call of some insanely talented individuals that got caught in our crosshairs. Simply put, this is cool people doing cool shit:

Among the musicians showcasing documentaries are Metallica and Billy Idol. Metallica Saved My Life, directed by Jonas Åkerlund, shares stories from die-hard fans across 23 nations who have found strength in music during the darkest of times. This marks Åkerlund’s fourth collaboration with the metal giants, having previously shot music videos for the tracks “Turn the Page,” “Whiskey in the Jar,” and “ManUNkind.” Meanwhile, Billy Idol Should Be Dead, also directed by Åkerlund, provides an all-access pass into one of rock’s most iconic rebels, pulling back the leather-clad curtain on his meteoric rise from sneering punk provocateur to MTV-era pop superstar. Using never-before-seen archival footage and intimate interviews, the film dives deep into Idol’s formative years and the personal chaos that nearly ended it all. Metallica Saved My Life and Billy Idol Should Be Dead both receives world premieres in the festival’s unique Spotlight+ sidebar, which also brings the film experience off-screen with live conversations and performances after each screening. Anthem’s exclusive photoshoot with Åkerlund also welcomes his partner, iconic costume designer and stylist B. Åkerlund, and introduces their Chinese Crested pup, Bootsy.

A pseudo-paternal triangle forms in the crime drama Inside. Charles Williams’ feature debut follows a taciturn youth who, after being transferred from juvenile to adult prison, is taken under the wing of a reluctant, soon-to-be-paroled inmate (Guy Pearce) and a most despised in-for-life criminal (Cosmo Jarvis). The film hurls toward an operatic conclusion as the two men duke it out for the kid’s soul. Inside receives its North American premiere in the Spotlight Narrative sidebar.

Steve Zahn and his daughter, newcomer Audrey Zahn, star in She Dances, a family drama about a father struggling to reconnect with his daughter amid a divorce and tragedy, all while preparing her for the Young Miss Southeast Regional Dance Finals. Rick Gomez makes his directorial debut with this heartfelt feature, which is also his first film with dad Zahn as co-writer under their joint production company Macaroni Art. She Dances world premieres in the Spotlight Narrative sidebar.

Academy Award nominee Andrea Riseborough stars opposite Brenda Blethyn in Paul Andrew Williams’ eerie character study Dragonfly. Disturbed by the state of care that her elderly neighbor is receiving, a young woman offers to help. As their relationship deepens and the pair become trusted confidants, a shocking act triggers a violent chain reaction that threatens to irreparably alter the lives of both women. Dragonfly world premieres in the International Narrative Competition.

Jon S. Baird’s dramedy Everything’s Gonna Be Alright stars Bryan Cranston and Allison Janney as parents overseeing a local regional theater troupe to support their two sons—one a star football player (Jack Champion) and the other a flamboyant Broadway geek (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth). When an estranged relative arrives on their doorstep unexpectedly, years of familial tension unravels. Everything’s Gonna Be Alright world premieres in the Spotlight Narrative sidebar.

The 2025 Tribeca Festival runs from June 4 – 15.