“It is the small hole that sinks the big ship.” This African proverb warns that ignoring small problems can sink something much larger. In 2025, a troubling pattern is emerging in the filmmaking world — one that should ring every alarm in African American, Latino, and South Asian film communities in the U.S. and abroad.
Racism in the film industry isn’t just offensive — it’s financially reckless. A widely cited McKinsey & Company report found that Hollywood forfeits up to $30 billion annually due to racial inequity and underrepresentation. According to the data, the industry loses approximately $10 billion each year by failing to close the African American inequity gap, and an additional $12–$18 billion by consistently undervaluing Latino professionals and audiences.
These findings are echoed in other industry reports, all pointing to the same fact: This financial loss stems from Hollywood’s ongoing failure to engage meaningfully with African American, Latinx, and Asian American/Pacific Islander communities. The business case for equity is clear — and urgent.
That’s what makes this year’s Tribeca Festival so alarming.
At the 2025 Tribeca Festival, Egyptian filmmaker Sarah Goher stood out as the only African director to win in a major category, sweeping three top awards for her film “Happy Birthday.” Puerto Rican filmmakers Cristian Carretero and Lorraine Jones Molina earned jury praise for their narrative debut “Esta Isla” (“This Island”). Yet, despite these achievements, not a single African American filmmaker was honored in the major categories — a silence that was impossible to ignore on a night meant to celebrate global storytelling.
Despite the festival’s branding as an international platform for diverse voices, 2025 saw a notable lack of African American and Latino stories, both in the lineup and among the winners. That absence undercuts the core promise of a festival born from the need to rebuild, represent, and reflect a wider city — and world.
This year’s Founders Award for Best U.S. Narrative Feature went to “Charliebird,” the directorial debut of Libby Ewing, while Gabriela Ochoa Perez earned Best Performance for the same film. All honorees in the U.S. Narrative category were first-time directors, signaling the festival’s continued push to uplift emerging voices.
Goher’s “Happy Birthday” dominated the International Narrative section, winning Best Feature, Best Screenplay, and the Nora Ephron Award — one of the evening’s most prestigious honors. Her film, which centers on a young girl’s quiet reckoning with class and longing, was praised for its nuance and emotional precision.
Meanwhile, Carretero and Jones Molina’s “Esta Isla” (“This Island”) —a politically layered drama set in Puerto Rico — received a Special Jury Mention and the Best New Narrative Director Award. The jury cited its ability to “balance poetic imagery, lush landscapes, and cinematic tension,” calling it “a film that straddles crime fiction and ethnography.”
In the documentary category, Suzannah Herbert’s “Natchez” took the top prize. The film, which centers on a Mississippi town once known for its role in the slave trade, looks at historical erasure and present-day reckoning. Yet, despite the film’s deep roots in African American history, Herbert herself is white — a fact that many in the community found troubling, raising questions about cultural appropriation and the persistent lack of African American voices behind the camera when it comes to telling African American stories.
Also in the spotlight was Manya Glassman’s short film “How I Learned to Die,” which took home the Student Visionary Award. Executive-produced by Spike Lee, the film drew from Glassman’s experience as a teenager facing a life-threatening illness. As reported in the Amsterdam News Curtain Raiser, the film is being developed into a feature and was previously named to the Purple List of top graduate screenplays.
Latin American cinema made its presence felt in several categories — “Cuerpo Celeste” (Chile, Italy), “Kites” (Brazil), “Runa Simi” (Peru), and “A Bright Future” (Uruguay, Argentina, Germany) — but even among this strong showing, no U.S.-Latino filmmakers broke into the winners’ circle.
In addition to film, Tribeca handed out awards for games, branded content, podcasts, and immersive experiences. The inaugural Music Video award went to “Rock the Bells” by LL Cool J, directed by Gregory Brunkalla. The Tribeca Games Award went to France’s “Cairn,” praised for its immersive simulation and narrative design.
The Tribeca X branded content awards recognized “Abnormal Beauty Company” from The Ordinary (Best Feature), “Century of Cravings” from Uber Eats (Best Commercial), and “First Speech” by Reporters Without Borders (Best Short), among others.
Audience Award winners — decided by festivalgoers — will be announced later this week.
Founded in 2001 by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in the aftermath of 9/11, Tribeca has long championed the idea that storytelling can help rebuild and reimagine community. However, this year’s winners list — celebrating talent from Egypt, Puerto Rico, the UK, and beyond — also revealed which communities are still waiting for their stories to be seen.
For a link to the full winners list, visit tribecafilm.com.