“Bob And David Climb Machu Picchu”
Michael LaHaie directs this documentary following Bob Odenkirk and David Cross as the longtime comedy partners attempt one of the world’s toughest hikes and, inevitably, each other. The film is framed as a meditation on friendship, mortality, and absurd comedy. Odenkirk and Cross are not obvious high-altitude endurance candidates, which gives the premise its hook. It is celebrity access with an actual physical challenge and a built-in comic relationship.
Tribeca Section: Spotlight Documentary
“Chris & Martina: The Final Set”
Rebecca Gitlitz directs this Netflix documentary about tennis icons Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. The film traces their careers, rivalry, friendship, and shared experience of cancer treatment. Evert and Navratilova’s rivalry was athletic, stylistic, cultural, and symbolic, which gives the documentary more than a standard sports-legend framework. Their rivalry, friendship, and shared experience with cancer give the film a richer frame than a conventional sports documentary.
Tribeca Section: Spotlight Documentary
“Jean-Michel”
Quinn Whitney Wilson and Viridiana Lieberman co-direct this documentary about Jean-Michel Basquiat, made with full participation from his family. Basquiat has been mythologized endlessly—downtown prodigy, art-market comet, fashion image, tragic genius—but family involvement gives the film a potentially different lane. The question is whether it can cut through the familiar crowns, auction records, and shorthand to reach the person underneath. Tribeca’s New York identity makes this a natural venue for a premiere.
Tribeca Section: Documentary Competition
“Playing POTUS”
Josh Greenbaum directs and produces this documentary about presidential impressions and the comedians who have shaped American political image-making. The film stretches from Chevy Chase’s Gerald Ford to Maya Rudolph’s Kamala Harris, looking at how parody responds to politicians and helps define them. Greenbaum has moved easily between broad comedy and documentary work, and the subject gives him a rich archive of performance, media, power, and political memory.
Tribeca Section: Spotlight+
“Doc Meets World”
Chris Levitus and Zane Rubin direct this documentary, which reunites Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, and Rider Strong 30 years after “Boy Meets World.” The film follows their rewatch podcast and national tour, with Tribeca hosting the final live performance of “The Kids Wanna Jump Tour” after the premiere. The nostalgia hook is obvious, but the sharper angle is what happens when actors publicly revisit, reassess, and complicate a beloved sitcom for fans who still want comfort.
Tribeca Section: Spotlight+
Honorable Mentions: “Finnegan’s Foursome” (Spotlight Narrative—Edward Burns writes, directs, and stars in an Irish American golf comedy with Brian D’Arcy James); “Act One” (Spotlight Narrative—Sophia Takal directs Ella Beatty, Ari Graynor, and Nate Mann); “That Friend” (Spotlight Narrative—Harvey Guillén, Billie Lourd, and Josh Brener star in a Palm Springs comedy); “Young Washington” (Spotlight Narrative—Jon Erwin directs William Franklyn-Miller, Mary-Louise Parker, Kelsey Grammer, Andy Serkis, and Ben Kingsley); “Lucy Schulman” (U.S. Narrative Competition—Ellie Sachs directs and stars opposite David Cross, Thomas Mann, and Hasan Minhaj); “Caity” (U.S. Narrative Competition—Lindsay Calleran directs Chiara Aurelia, Morgan Spector, Zach Cherry, and Michelle Mao); “Ponderosa” (U.S. Narrative Competition—Rob Rice directs Jack Dylan Grazer, Alexis Bledel, and Bill Camp); “Born Melo” (Spotlight Documentary—Jake Rogal directs the official Carmelo Anthony documentary); “Mario” (Spotlight Documentary—Peter Kunhardt, George Kunhardt, and Teddy Kunhardt direct a documentary about former New York Governor Mario Cuomo); “The Lion Queen” (Spotlight Documentary—Alden Nusser and Ben Fries direct an HBO Documentary Films portrait of Jocelyne Wildenstein); “The Lorraine” (Spotlight Documentary—Sam Pollard directs a film about the Lorraine Motel and its owners, Walter Bailey and Loree Bailey); “House Of Criticism” (Spotlight Documentary—Alison Chernick profiles art critics Roberta Smith and Jerry Saltz); and “Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story” (Documentary Competition—Jyllian Gunther and Stephanie Schwam direct an HBO Documentary Films portrait of New York City public-access icon Robin Byrd).
