Tribeca Enterprises, the company behind New York’s Tribeca Festival, is gearing up to launch the first edition of Tribeca Festival Lisboa.
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Taking place in the Portuguese capital between Oct. 17-19, the European iteration of the festival will mix U.S. independent films and a selection of Portuguese films, podcasts, series, music and talks.
Highlights of the festival’s inaugural edition include this year’s Tribeca top winner “Griffin in the Summer” directed by Nicholas Colia, Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner “Anora” and Alessandra Lacorazza’s Sundance standout “In The Summers.” Portuguese premieres include “Jazzy,” directed by Morrisa Maltz and executive produced by Oscar-nominated actress Lily Gladstone and Tony Goldwyn’s “Ezra,” with an all-star cast that includes Tribeca founder Robert De Niro, Vera Farmiga, Rose Byrne and Whoopi Goldberg.
Goldberg and De Niro will also be in town to speak at panels alongside other prominent industry names such as director Patty Jenkins, actor Griffin Dunne and Tribeca co-founder, CEO, and executive chair of Tribeca Enterprises Jane Rosenthal. On the Portuguese side, panelists include comedian Ricardo Araújo Pereira, actress/director Daniela Ruah and actor César Mourão.
“It just made perfect sense to us,” Festival Director and SVP of Programming at Tribeca Cara Cusumano told Variety of the initial inspiration for the Portuguese iteration of the festival. “We’ve always been an international festival and our audience is truly global. We’ve done events like this going back to Tribeca Doha Festival in 2009, which was maybe the first festival of its kind in seeing a festival launch as international expansion.”
“Lisbon has undergone a creative renaissance in recent years with the city investing meaningfully in its cultural and artistic infrastructure,” added Rosenthal. “Whether we’re in Lower Manhattan or Lisbon, our goal remains the same: discover, amplify, and support the best independent artists from around the world.”
“Lisbon is an exciting place for us to get involved in, with such a cool emerging art and filmmaking scene. Curatorially, it was interesting because we went from planning a 12-day festival with 500-plus events to a 2.5-day festival where we had eight screening slots. How do we present a cohesive film slate and the Tribeca identity? I’m really proud of what we’ve put together and I think the program offers a snapshot of what is happening right now with U.S. independent film.”
Programming-wise, Tribeca Festival Lisboa was curated in a partnership between the Tribeca programming team and Portuguese media conglomerate Grupo Impresa.
“From the very start, this has been a collaborative effort, with multiple teams working in sync to bring one of the world’s largest pop culture events to Lisbon,” Mónica Serrano, CMO at Grupo Impresa told Variety .
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“We sought to create a festival that reimagines the traditional format—one that energizes the city,” Serrano continued. “We envisioned hosting it in a different part of Lisbon, incorporating outdoor elements, and blending urban life with pop culture to create a truly immersive experience. The Beato Innovation District emerged as the perfect setting, with its evolving landscape and laid-back, creative spirit that aligns perfectly with the ethos of Tribeca. It’s like the Tribeca neighborhood of Lisbon.”
Such excitement is also shared by the participating filmmakers. Marlee and Karlee Rodrigues, also known as the Rodrigues Sisters, told Variety that they immediately contacted the Tribeca team when first learning about the nascent festival. Their short film “Os Sonhos Continuam (The Dreams Continue)” will have its world premiere at Tribeca Lisboa, a “dream” to the emerging Portuguese filmmaking duo.
“The impact of having a festival like it in Lisbon is huge,” emphasized Karlee. “A whole pool of filmmakers get to be represented on the Tribeca screen by including our Portuguese stories. We are given this platform not only to amplify our stories as Portuguese people but also those of our ancestors. It’s incredibly affirming and validating to have our stories and community seen on that global stage.”
When asked about the networking possibilities brought by such an event, Karlee said she’s already seen some interest in their work following the Tribeca Lisboa program announcement. “We want to direct a feature next and, since the announcement that our short would be at Tribeca, there has been so much American interest in the Portuguese story we want to tell. It is incredibly fulfilling because we feel like we can be authentically ourselves as Portuguese filmmakers and also be valued amongst the American community.”
“As independent filmmakers, we rely on festivals and enterprises like Tribeca to get our films out there,” “Jazzy” director Morissa Maltz told Variety . “To be able to take it a step further and have this festival in Lisbon where we can meet other filmmakers and people in the industry is a very important thing.”
“As independent filmmakers, we are going a little bit against the system in trying to push those boundaries for ourselves,” Maltz added. “It’s amazing what Tribeca is doing in creating different opportunities and audiences and making the world of independent film bigger.”
As for the future, Serrano is hopeful that the collaboration between countries can “evolve into a long-lasting partnership,” while Rosenthal highlighted the festival’s mission: “The revitalization of any city is always through the arts, and we’re seeing a lot of opportunities to collaborate with like-minded partners across the globe. There’s definitely more on the horizon for Tribeca.”
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