NYWIFT Announces 16 Projects By Members At 2025 Tribeca Festival

New York Women in Film & Television has revealed 16 projects from 16 members have been officially selected for the 2024 Tribeca Festival. The festival takes place June 5-15, 2025, both virtually and in-person in New York City.

The 16 projects span 10 categories and feature members of the NYWIFT community as directors, producers, executive producers, archival producers, screenwriters, editors, actors, casting directors, production managers, and more. Among the varied range of selections are a sci-fi narrative podcast, two documentaries spotlighting the transgender community, an indie comedy series about a kidney transplant, a queer zombie horror film, an exploration of NYC skateboarding culture, and the star-studded opening night film, Billy Joel: And So It Goes, directed and produced by NYWIFT Member Susan Lacy - to name just a few.

This wildly imaginative selection of projects from members working across the board of media industry roles demonstrates the vitality of NYWIFT's creative community. NYWIFT is currently running its Spring Membership Drive, offering a discount on membership as it encourages industry professionals to support the organization's mission of advancing women in media while taking advantage of exclusive networking, professional development, marketing, and thought leadership opportunities.

"Congratulations to the 16 NYWIFT members with projects at Tribeca! We are so proud to see so many creatives in our community recognized on this prestigious platform. Each project has its own unique perspective, expanding our hearts and enriching our minds. It's no surprise to see so many thoughtful, intelligent, impactful projects born out of the NYWIFT community," said NYWIFT CEO Cynthia Lopez.

NYWIFT will spotlight some of its members headed to Tribeca at the "Behind the Lens: NYWIFT Filmmakers In Focus at Tribeca" panel conversation, presented in partnership with Kaufman Astoria Studios and The NYC Mayor's Office of Media & Entertainment (MOME) at Kaufman Astoria Studios (34-12 36th Street, Astoria, NY 11106) at 6:30 PM on Thursday, May 29, 2025. Networking reception to follow. Featured speakers will include Lois Drabkin (Co-Producer & Casting Director, Ride or Die), Susan Lacy (Director & Producer, Billy Joel: And So It Goes), Chantel Simpson (Director, A Drastic Tale), Marcella Steingart (Producer, Barbara Walters Tell Me Everything), NYWIFT CEO Cynthia Lopez (Moderator), and MOME Commissioner Pat Swinney Kaufman (Welcome Remarks).

"Our office has a long-standing relationship with the Tribeca Festival, as we share a common mission to foster diverse voices in the creative industries, and we are proud to continue that support with the 'Behind the Lens: NYWIFT Filmmakers In Focus at Tribeca' panel conversation on May 29," said Commissioner of the NYC Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment Pat Swinney Kaufman. "In partnership with NYWIFT, this event will be a memorable celebration of the 16 women with projects in this year's festival, and the City of NY that serves as inspiration, backdrop and home to so many of them."

NYWIFT Board Member Gretchen McGowan is Executive Producer of The Best You Can, which will make its world premiere in the Spotlight Narrative category. The film features 2023 NYWIFT Muse Honoree Kyra Sedgwick. For the first time in 20 years, Sedgwick and husband Kevin Bacon return together on screen - this time as two halves of an unlikely friendship between a security guard and a urologist whose chance encounter blooms into something deeper.

"When Victoria Hill and Andrew Mann brought Michael Weithorn's script to us, I thought: we're all ready for Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon to appear on the screen together again. This is something the world could use right about now," said Gretchen McGowan.

The full listing of NYWIFT member projects by category includes:

Gala:

Billy Joel: And So It Goes (Director and Producer Susan Lacy)

Spotlight+:

State of Firsts (Executive Producer Ruth Ann Harnisch)

We are Pat (Executive Producer Ruth Ann Harnisch)

Spotlight Narrative:

The Best You Can (Executive Producer Gretchen McGowan)

Spotlight Documentary:

Barbara Walters Tell Me Everything (Producer Marcella Steingart)

Empire Skate (Producer Carolyn Hepburn)

The Inquisitor (Producer Trevite Willis)

Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore (Executive Producer Ruth Ann Harnisch)

U.S. Narrative Competition:

Ride or Die (Co-Producer and Casting Director Lois Drabkin)

Documentary Competition:

For Venida, For Kalief (Archival Producer Mattie Akers)

Maintenance Artist (Director, Producer, and Screenwriter Toby Perl Freilich)

Escape from Tribeca:

Queens of the Dead (Background Actor Eileen A. Zyko Wolter)

Shorts:

A Drastic Tale (Director, Producer, Screenwriter, and Editor Chantel Simpson)

Fire at Will (Production Manager Beatriz Barbieri)

Podcast Official Selections:

Last Resort (Director and Producer Melanie Armer, and Cast Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen)

Indie Episodic (NOW):

Mother, May I Have a Kidney? (Project Creator, Screenwriter, and Executive Producer Veronica Reyes-How)