7 LGBTQ+ films we can't wait to see at Tribeca Film Festival 2025Courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival This week theTribeca Film Festival kicks off in NYC — and once again it’s packed with some of the most exciting, daring, entertaining, and queer films coming this year.
From a gay zombie apocalypse and a gay comedy to a sapphic road trip thriller and a bevy of powerful, moving documentaries, this year's offerings look set to have us perched on the edge of our seats. In fact, the festival, which pared down its programming list of 118 feature films from a record-breaking number of submissions (13,541), is perhaps its most diverse yet. “This year’s program includes 94 world premieres, 135 filmmakers, and 36 countries. Forty-eight (40%) of the features are directed by women and 42 (36%) are directed by BIPOC filmmakers. Forty-four filmmakers are making their feature debut at this year’s Tribeca Festival and 32 directors are returning with their latest projects,” according to the fest’s official details.
That’s a much bigger task than we faced while selecting our most anticipated films, but ours was a challenge nonetheless. That being said, here’s what we will certainly be seated for this week as they premiere at the festival.
The Tribeca Film Festival runs June 4 – 15 in New York City andpasses are on sale now.
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If any young, first-term congressperson is worthy of a documentary it's Sarah McBride, who made history as the the first openly transgender individual to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, particularly in our current fraught political climate. Director Chase Joynt follows McBride’s first year in Congress, documenting her moments of victory followed by becoming a target of MAGA Republicans who try everything in their power to use her as a political wedge, banning her from restrooms, misgendering her, and grandstanding at every opportunity. It's also a story of McBride weathering this onslaught with a sense of resilience and hope, putting the work her constituents voted her into office to do first. No doubt this doc will prove to be equal parts infuriating and inspiring.
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Queer joy meets the zombie apocalypse in this big gay horror movie written and directed by Tina Romero, daughter of the late horror icon George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead). The film sees drag queens, club kids, and queerdos facing off against a horde of the undead when an outbreak of zombies crashes a Brooklyn warehouse party. Not only does the setup sound like a blast, but we’re excited to get back into the “Of The Dead” universe. On top of that, the cast is packed with some of our favorite gaymous celebs: Katy O’Brian, Jaquel Spivey, Nina West, Tomás Matos, Margaret Cho, Jack Haven, Cheyenne Jackson, and Riki Lindhome all star in the horror comedy, which may just be the most fun an audience could possibly have at the end of the world.
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I’m getting big “be gay, do crime” vibes from this thriller directed by Josalynn Smith. In it, Paula (Briana Middleton) is a young queer from the Midwest with big dreams and a bigger crush on her high school classmate Sloane (Stella Everett). A chance meeting leads to the two hitting the road on a spontaneous road trip where friendship blossoms into romance — until “unforeseen consequences” turn their trip into something more dangerous and steer the film into thriller territory. Yep, I couldn’t be more excited for this one.
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I can't wait to be utterly devastated by this Tig Notaro-produced documentary about poet and activist Andrea Gibson and her partner (and fellow poet) Megan Falley’s life-upending experiences after Gibson was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The film follows both Gibson’s medical journey as well as its impact on their relationship, which only grows deeper as the reality of mortality sinks in. I’m going to need all the tissues for this one, but queer love in the lightest and darkest of times is always worth celebrating.
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Dylan O’Brien has quickly become one of the most engaging and intriguing actors working, so naturally his quirky queer romance dramedy Twinless is one I won’t be missing. In it, O’Brien meets another man during a twin bereavement meeting and the two strike up a powerful bond. This is the flick I’m counting on to give me a good laugh after some of the heavier films in this year’s programming.
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If you were a child of the ‘90s, you knew the SNL character Pat, played by Julia Sweeney, whose androgynous appearance and the confusion surrounding them was, well, the entirety of the joke. While Pat’s a character that would never fly today, their impact on pop culture is undeniable. In this doc, transgender filmmaker Ro Haber has a more nuanced take on the character. In particular, Haber was obsessed with how Pat’s refusal to adhere to strict gender lines made those around them uncomfortable. That obsession persisted, and so Haber, along with a who’s who of queer and trans comedians — as well as Sweeney herself — debate the value and power of Pat.
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Bookending with State of Firsts is The Inquisitor, which focuses on another queer political trailblazer, Barbara Jordan, who truly smashed her way through glass ceiling after glass ceiling. Jordan was not only Texas's first Black state senator and the first Southern Black woman to join Congress, but she was also the first woman to deliver a keynote address at a Democratic National Convention — and much more. Her impact cannot be overstated. This documentary highlights both her public and private life and is voiced by actress Alfre Woodard. This feels like a particularly poignant and necessary watch in 2025 as it not only serves as a reminder of what queer people have accomplished but of what we still can accomplish, even now.
