Beyond the 'bougie:' How to make the most of the Tribeca Festival

When I hear “Tribeca Film Festival,” my first thoughts are of bougie thousand-dollar movie passes or famous people schmoozing at The Odeon. But after exploring the last few years, I’m happy to share that the Tribeca Festival (as it’s now officially known) can also be fun for local New Yorkers.

The Tribeca Film Festival was founded in 2002 by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, to draw people downtown and help the city heal after 9/11. After my own return downtown (for post-pandemic office re-openings), I similarly sought a creative outlet for recovery. I casually Googled the Tribeca Festival, and learned that the public can get tickets, and also that most events are actually not in Tribeca, but spread out at different venues across lower Manhattan.

The Festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary and will run from June 3 to 14. No longer solely a “film” Festival, it has added programming on podcasts, TV and games since 2021. I’m not much of a film buff, but for a typically non-social activity (watching movies), I’ve found it to be a surprisingly good way to feel connected to the city. There is a collective buzz of excitement at premieres that comes from being the first to see a new film (like going to a midnight release party, without actually having to stay up until 3am). It’s also fun to see how the audience responds, whether it’s collectively swooning over Logan Lerman’s presence (at the Oh, Hi! premiere) or tearing up about the demolition of a fictional hotel in Chinatown (as in the short film The Hongfu Hotel).

There are the big headliners which you’ll never get tickets to see (like Bruce Springsteen — I still love you anyway!) But what I’ve always loved about the Festival is that you can see NYC from a new angle or perspective.

You can discover a different side of the city on-screen, with more than 40 events featuring New York in some way this year. Other genres include politics, romance, music, LGBTQ, black diaspora and international stories. Some documentaries feature local legends like George Whipple (of NY1 news) or socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein (the “Lion Queen”), or are produced by famous locals like Sarah Jessica Parker. 

Or you can literally see a different physical place in NYC: despite years of going to films in the Angelika East basement, I‘d assumed that the original Yiddish Art Theater auditorium was falling apart and permanently closed. Not true! What a joy to find that the historic theater is actually intact, and used for Tribeca premieres. 

And if like me, you’re not rubbing shoulders with celebs on a daily basis (despite what others might imagine city life to be), this is also your chance to casually spot a celeb on the red carpet outside Angelika East. Or to get a photo of yourself on the red carpet at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center (at BMCC, the Borough of Manhattan Community College), to feel like a celebrity yourself.

Tips 'n tricks

At this point, you may be wondering how to get tickets. The Storytelling Summit, special events or anything at the Beacon Theater will be very very expensive, so don’t bother. 

Here are the realistic options if you’re not an industry-insider:

• Free events: There will be free outdoor screenings of previous Tribeca favorites like Jiro Dreams of Sushi and high-fashion documentary Dior and I next to the Vessel in Hudson Yards. You need to reserve a ticket here. There will also be unreleased video-games for the public to play at Pier 57, with a free reservation here.
• Pre-sale tickets packages: These were on sale in April, so you’re too late — sorry! You'll know for next year. An eight-film pre-sale package is $250, and was on sale for $200 (+ $20 fee), which comes out to $27.50 per ticket. That’s roughly equal to the $26.68 that I paid for Wicked, the last movie I saw at AMC (not even IMAX or 3D. Yikes!). Pre-sale packages can be shared, and redeemed for “regular” movies, TV show screenings, or podcast shows ($29.50 + $5 fee = $34.50) or some movie showings with talkbacks ($42+ $5 fee = $47) for an even better value.
• Find-a-friend: Scour your groupchats to see if any of your friends planned ahead and purchased a pre-sale package. Pre-sale packages are essentially vouchers that can be redeemed at any time (you do not specify which films you want to see when packages are purchased in April). If your friend does not plan to use all of their vouchers, they can transfer the unused redemption code(s) to you to select a movie ticket at the pre-sale price.
• Weekday matinee pass: This is $100 + $10 fee, so $110 total. A matinee movie costs $16 + $4 fee, so the pass is worth it if you plan to see at least six movies. Your choices will be significantly limited to films with a start time between 1pm-5:15pm, but you can catch two Hadestown matinees for a solid NYC-centric pick. 
• Box office: Beginning June 4, you can purchase tickets in-person (credit/debit only, no cash). Box offices open one hour prior to the venue’s first showing each day. Processing fees still apply. There is a 20% discount for students and seniors (62+) or residents of “lower Manhattan”, which is usually determined by the ZIP code on your ID (previously considered below Canal Street, but one can dream that one day they’ll reconsider and expand boundaries this year).
• Rush tickets: Tribeca reserves a certain number of seats at each showing for unlimited pass-holders (people who can go to whatever films they want without reserving tickets beforehand). There’s a good chance that not all seats are filled and that tickets will be sold to the Rush line.
  
  Lines begin forming up to one hour before each screening, I do not recommend arriving earlier. While Broadway Theater rush lines tend to be full of tourists elated to have the quintessential NYC experience of waiting on a long line, for Tribeca, it seems to be more locals who you can commiserate and chat with. Another chance to make friends!
• Bring cash: If you’re nostalgic for the days before the Ticketmaster app, you’re in luck. The Tribeca e-tickets are a QR code in email or Apple Wallet format, which is easy to screenshot and transfer by text. Trading tickets comes with inherent risk, but I have successfully bought and sold tickets in-person while waiting at the Box Office or the Rush line just by asking or offering. Sometimes, your friend just bails or you don’t have the energy for a double-feature. Bring $20 bills with you and refer to the prices above to make a fair offer. 
• Loitering: While typically discouraged, I’m here to advocate for some good old-fashioned loitering, AKA hanging out in the East Village outside movie theaters. Stroll over to the Angelika East on Second Avenue to take in the vibes outside the theater, and see what happens. Have random strangers offered me free tickets? Yes. Is it because they worked on the film? Possibly. It all adds to the festive atmosphere! Note: do not attempt this outside BMCC, because the entrance is on the West Side Highway and you may be hit by a car.

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Lights, camera, movies!

The Tribeca website lineup can be filtered by event genre, type, or location. Regularly-priced films that stood out to me this year include:

To discover NYC’s past:

• IX XI, a documentary about 9/11 from the perspectives of 12 diverse New Yorkers.
• Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story, a documentary on Robin’s sex-positive NYC TV show. 
• Mario, a documentary on Mario Cuomo, and New York in the 1980s.
• The Last Play at Shea (free), a 2010 documentary about Billy Joel’s final shows at Shea Stadium before it was demolished.
• Alicia Keys: Girl from Hell’s Kitchen, a documentary including Alicia’s childhood in NYC.

To feel the city's present:

• Human Theories, a comedy on how difficult it can be to find connection in New York City.
• Here I’m Alive, a drama following “underbelly” characters throughout one night.
• Deepfake, a comedy on how we filter our lives through social media.
• Making it Here, short films on navigating the city.

For nostalgic millennials:

• Doc Meets World, a documentary for fans of the ‘90s TV show Boy Meets World.
• Happy Hours, a New York romantic drama featuring stars from Dawson’s Creek.
• Never Change, a comedy about returning to high-school in your 30s (with a local cast, including Groove-favorite Jo Firestone).
• Lucy Shulman, a comedy about finding yourself again (in New York) after a breakup.

And lastly, foreign films for cosmopolitan New Yorkers:

• Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony, an inspiring documentary on a girls gymnastics team in Pakistan.
• Seven O’Clock Breakfast Club for the Brokenhearted, a romantic drama based in Seoul, South Korea.
• Zejtune, for a fictional road-trip to settle an inheritance in Malta.
• Vanishing Tracks, a documentary drama following a nomadic shepherd family in Iran.
• Sad Girlz, an “adolescent drama” following two teenage girls in Mexico.

Now you know, you don’t need to be an entertainment mogul or have a personal invitation to experience a Hollywood-like staycation.