27/04/2023 - From riveting dramas to insightful documentaries, the New York-based event celebrates the creativity and talent of the continent’s filmmakers, with 68% of its competition films directed by women

The 2023 Tribeca Film Festival (7-18 June) has unveiled a rich line-up of fiction features, documentaries and animated works. This year's features programme includes 109 films by 127 directors from 36 countries, with a considerable number of European works taking centre stage. The gathering boasts an impressive 43 first-time helmers and 29 directors returning to Tribeca with their latest projects. European filmmakers are well represented in the selection, with 41% of all feature films directed by women, more than half of the competition films directed by women, and 36% of features helmed by BIPOC filmmakers, including two indigenous ones.

As Tribeca Film Festival co-founder and Tribeca Enterprises CEO Jane Rosenthal states, “Over the course of 12 thrilling days, we invite audiences to explore the magic of storytelling as a powerful tool of democracy, activism and social awareness.” The 2023 Tribeca Film Festival is set to appeal to audiences with a robust slate of European films and co-productions, highlighting the diversity and creativity of the continent's filmmakers, from riveting dramas to thought-provoking documentaries.

In the International Narrative Competition, several European films stand out, such as Anna Roller’s coming-of-age road movie Dead Girls Dancing [+see also:
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interview: Katarina Stark
film profile]. This German-French production follows four recent secondary-school graduates as they explore an abandoned Italian village and test the boundaries of their newfound freedom. The Finnish drama Je'vida [+see also:
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film profile] by Katja Gauriloff tells the story of a Sámi elder confronting her past and the systemic racism she experienced, ultimately leading to a life-changing epiphany. Meanwhile, the French biopic Marinette [+see also:
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interview: Virginie Verrier
film profile], written and directed by Virginie Verrier, follows the journey of French female football star Marinette Pichon as she fights for respect in her homeland after achieving success in the USA. The Berlinale Panorama title Silver Haze [+see also:
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film profile] by Sacha Polak (Netherlands/UK) and Richelieu [+see also:
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film profile] by Pier-Philippe Chevigny (Canada/France/Guatemala) round off this strand.

In the Documentary Competition, four notable European films are worth mentioning: The Gullspång Miracle [+see also:
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film profile] by Maria Fredriksson (Sweden/Norway/Denmark), a stranger-than-fiction doc that explores the mysterious connection between two religious sisters, a divine sign and the person selling their new apartment; Maestra by Maggie Contreras (USA/France/Poland/Greece), which follows women from diverse backgrounds as they compete in the first all-female conducting competition; Rule of Two Walls [+see also:
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film profile], a Ukrainian documentary directed by David Gutnik that examines the war in the country through the eyes of artists; and Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed [+see also:
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film profile] by Stephen Kijak (USA/UK/New Zealand).

European flicks are scattered throughout several other sections as well. The Spotlight Narrative sidebar will play host to Shane Atkinson’s dark comedy LaRoy [+see also:
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film profile] (Ireland/UK), which follows three close friends who have never left the outskirts of Dublin as they embark on the journey of a lifetime – a visit to Lourdes (see the news). Waad Al-Kateab’s We Dare to Dream (UK), an inspirational, intimate story of resilience and freedom that follows athletes on their journey to become part of the refugee Olympic team in Tokyo 2020, will get an airing in Spotlight Documentary. Finally, One Night with Adela [+see also:
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interview: Hugo Ruiz
film profile] by Hugo Ruiz (Spain), which portrays the title character as she goes on a drug-fuelled, violent rampage of furious revenge against those who have ruined her after her night shift ends, will have its world premiere in the Midnight section.