May 5th, 2026 Press Materials Available Here2026 TRIBECA FESTIVAL UNVEILS EXPANDED INDUSTRY PROGRAMMING, REINFORCING ROLE AS YEAR-ROUND ENGINE FOR STORYTELLERS
Storytelling Summit, 10th Annual Creators Market, and Works in Progress Showcase Offer End-to-End Support Across Development, Financing, Production, and Distribution
Storytelling Summit Will Feature Conversations With Rebecca Miller and Josh Safdie, Zach Woods, Zach Braff, Myha'la, Lily Rabe & Hamish Linklater, Plus Live Podcast Recordings of IndieWire's Screen Talk with Special Guest Ronan Farrow and Entertainment Weekly's The Awardist
Creators Market Announces 40 Projects Across Film, Series, and Audio Highlighting Award-Winning Talent, Tribeca Alumni, and the Next Wave of Storytelling
Storytelling Summit passes are available now at TribecaFilm.com, offering affordable access to the Festival's dedicated hub for industry programming, events, and networking opportunities
New York, NY - May 5, 2026 - The 25th Tribeca Festival, presented by OKX, today announced its full slate of industry-focused programming, reinforcing the Festival's role as a comprehensive platform for storytellers at every stage of their work-not just premiere.
Spanning the Storytelling Summit, the 10th annual Creators Market, and Works in Progress Showcase, this year's industry offerings bring together filmmakers, creators, financiers, distributors, and executives for programming designed to develop projects, build careers, and shape the future of storytelling across film, television, audio, and emerging media.
At a moment of rapid transformation across the media and entertainment landscape, Tribeca continues to invest in the creative ecosystem, offering not only a stage for finished work, but a pipeline for projects in progress and a forum for the ideas, relationships, and strategies that move them forward. Storytelling Summit passes are available now at TribecaFilm.com, offering affordable access to the Festival's dedicated hub for industry programming, events, and networking opportunities.
The Tribeca Storytelling Summit, hosted at Spring Studios from June 4-13, anchors the Festival's industry program as an accessible cross-disciplinary gathering for anyone looking to engage with the industry-whether emerging creators, established filmmakers, or curious audiences seeking a deeper understanding of the craft and business behind the work. Designed as a low-cost, high-value entry point into the Festival's professional community, the Summit offers open access to conversations, networking opportunities, and a dedicated on-site lounge, creating space for connection, collaboration, and discovery within the heart of the Festival. Through conversations, case studies, and live events, the Summit delivers practical insight into the realities of making and sustaining creative work today.
At its core, the Storytelling Summit is about expanding access and creating a space where creators at every stage can connect directly with industry leaders, gain practical insight, and build relationships that truly move careers forward, said Shayna Weingast, Tribeca Festival Programmer. This year's program brings together an incredible range of voices-from visionary filmmakers and showrunners to innovators across distribution, AI, and emerging platforms-offering an inside look at how storytelling is evolving in real time.
The Summit's Luminaries series features leading voices including Rebecca Miller and Josh Safdie, Zach Woods, Zach Braff, Myha'la, Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater, Philip Barantini, Ron Perlman and Willie Morris, Dan Houser, Michael Sarnoski, and Ted Hope, offering firsthand perspective on navigating careers across independent and studio systems, evolving between mediums, and sustaining creative authorship.
The Summit's Creativity Unbound track centers on the art and craft of storytelling, with in-depth sessions on casting, writing across different mediums, from late night, to animation, and situational comedy. Featured participants include Award-winning casting directors Ellen Lewis and Ellen Chenoweth, alongside longtime Late Night with Seth Meyers writers Amber Ruffin, Alex Baze, and Sal Gentile. The track also brings together comedy writers and showrunners Dan Goor and Tracey Wigfield-the creative forces behind Brooklyn Nine-Nine and 30 Rock-to unpack the decisions that shape performance, tone, and voice. Rounding out the program are K-Pop Demon Hunters co-writers Danya Jimenez and Hannah McMechan, and the showrunner and creator of the recent Netflix hit series Something Very Bad is Going to Happen, Haley Z Boston.
The Inside the Industry track tackles the mechanics of the business-from financing and distribution to exhibition and short-form storytelling-with speakers including Tim League (Founder, Alamo Drafthouse; Founder and CEO, Metro Cinema), Tabitha Jackson (Director, Film Forum), John Vanco (Head of Theatrical Programming, Netflix), Adam Goldman (Founder & Executive Director, The Necessary Foundation), Bill Guentzler (Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Obscured Releasing), Rob Williams (President, Sumerian Pictures), Munir Atalla (Head of Production & Acquisitions, Watermelon Pictures), Paul Moakley (Executive Producer, The New Yorker), Katya Ochagavia (Executive Producer, The Guardian), Alexandra Garcia (Executive Producer, The New York Times Op-Docs), John Gibson (VP, Public Affairs & Industry Relations, Motion Picture Association), Commissioner Rafael Espinal (Commissioner, NYC Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment), and an AMPAS-led panel on the Academy's artist development programs. Together, these sessions offer fresh perspectives on the most pressing topics shaping the industry today.
Looking ahead, the Summit's Next Wave track explores the expanding landscape of storytelling acros
