Tribeca Film Institude

Social media creators working across platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram are being invited to submit to Tribeca Festival in what organisers said was a first.

Submissions will be welcomed as part of the expanded Tribeca NOW (New Online Work) category at the 25th edition running June 3-14, 2026.

Tribeca NOW was established in 2014 to champion cutting-edge online storytelling, and has showcased creators behind the digital series High Maintenance prior to its HBO acquisition and other projects including Lena Waithe’s Hello Cupid and Elvira Lind’s The Letter Room, which was nominated for a best live-action short film Oscar in 2021.

Tribeca said submissions will be evaluated holistically, celebrating the individual piece and the creator’s “full body of work and storytelling voice”.

“Today’s creators are among the most inventive storytellers working in any medium. Expanding Tribeca NOW honours how audiences experience stories today – on every screen, in every form. That spirit of reinvention is what Tribeca was built on,” Jane Rosenthal, co-founder and co-chair of the Tribeca Enterprises board, said.

The festival launched its Creator Vertical in 2024 in partnership with Whalar Group and debuted the UpNext Creators initiative as a digital showcase spotlighting talent across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. At this year’s edition UpNext Creators granted industry access to 12 creators.