The 2025 Tribeca Film Festival has completed its annual run. With 118 feature films from 36 countries, the festival delivered an extensive selection of features, documentaries, and shorts. I sought out to see as many Latino projects as I could and am happy to report that I was overwhelmed with the sheer number of films that come from our community – both stateside and abroad.

In fact, there are three takeaways from the Tribeca Film Festival for me. First is the large number of first-time directors who had features this year win awards. Second, how many of those films were from Latin America. And, finally, how much quieter and subtler the latter are. So, with that in mind, here are seven of our most notable Latino films at the Tribeca Film Festival – many of which happened to be my favorites.

Charliebird

Charliebird, by first-time director Libby Ewing, won the U.S. Narrative Feature. The feature co-stars Gabriela Ochoa Perez as Charlie, a 17-year-old terminal patient in a Texas children’s hospital. She crosses paths with Al (Samantha Smart who also serves as a screenwriter and producer on the film), a music therapist. Together the two form a bond that is complex and challenging. The film isn’t shot in a traditional cinema 16:9 format and captures a beauty that aches in the deepest part of your heart.

Set in Texas, the film features Latino culture naturally and marks the feature film debut for Ochoa Perez who was born in Florida, but raised in Cali, Colombia. Also Mexican-American actress Maria Peyramaure is part of the cast as Charlie’s mother Elena.

Charliebird is an impressive film, refusing to shy away from the certain death that awaits these tiny sick patients without being manipulative. Ochoa Perez anchors it all and deservedly won the Best Performance in a U.S. Narrative Feature.

Cuerpo Celeste

From our Chilean and Italian familia comes Cuerpo Celeste. On the surface, it’s a coming-of-age story of a 15-year-old young woman in 1990 Chile – yes, during the dictatorship. For surface viewers, the film is solid. For those who know the history, Cuerpo Celeste is sensational.

Writer-director Nayra Ilic Garcia masterfully threads two stories – one of a young woman who is losing her innocence and another of her country coming to terms with its individuality. What I love so much about this film is that the politics are ever-present without hitting you over the head. It’s subtle while screaming at the same time.

Cuerpo Celeste is held together by the incredible performance of Helen Mrugalski (Hasta Encontrarte) who plays Celeste. The film took home a special jury mention in the International Narrative Feature Category.

Esta Isla

At its core, Esta Isla is also a coming-of-age story. A tale of young love between two kids on different sides of the Puerto Rican islands as it were. Zion Ortiz is Bebo, a fisherman with a less than legal sidehustle. Fabiola Brown is Lola, a privileged and beautiful young woman who is largely ignored by her wealthy padres. After an incident, the two go on the run and must make decisions well beyond their year.

Esta Isla, from first-time directors Cristian Carretero and Lorraine Jones Molina, also won the Best New Narrative Director Award, Best Cinematography in a U.S. Narrative Feature (Cedric Cheung-Lau), and a special jury mention of Best U.S. Narrative Feature.

Rebecca

“I once heard someone describe me as, ‘The biggest pop star you’ve never heard of,’ and I thought, ‘Damn,’” says Becky G in the opening minute of her documentary Rebecca.

Mexican-American singer Rebecca Marie Gomez, better known as Becky G, is the latest pop star to get the documentary treatment. Rebecca is a deeply personal look at the 28-year-old’s life. Gabriela Cavanagh and Jennifer Tiexiera, who directed the doc, set it against her first headlining tour and the buildup to her 2023 album “Esquinas.” The documentary accomplishes a lot in a short amount of time. Primarily, it hits all the correct notes of any music doc with prerequisite studio scenes and behind-the-scenes tour footage. It also drives home the weight of the pressure a kid star faces to provide financially for an entire family on their own.

Personally, we gotta imagine that Rebecca did what Becky G herself intended it to do – give fans a look at her familia. Throughout the doc, we see her grandparents and get a sense of why they are at the foundation of all she does. Becky G does not shy away from the rocky relationship she endured with her father. For the chismosas out there, it even addresses her relationship with soccer player Sebastian Lletget and the drama that surrounds the couple.

As an older Chicana, I can tell you that Becky G appears to be full of love and pride for our community in this doc, and that makes her a hermana in my book.

Backside

Of all the docs I saw, Backside was the standout. Taking place during the season of the famed Kentucky Derby, Backside gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the backbreaking seven-day-long work weeks put in by the largely migrant community of groomers, feeders, and trainers.

I recognized tios, tias, abuelos, and even abuelas while watching Backside. Their relentless, never-ending labor is reminiscent of so many of our own who are absent from our daily lives because of work. Still, watching it, I felt proud of our Latino community. Proud that we make being of service paramount. That hard work isn’t an option, it’s a constant 24/7 choice. Forget the post office, Latinos come to work come rain or shine. We do it in the cold, in the heat, and even while we ourselves suffer. What’s more is that we do it with little thanks and even less respect.

Backside is a perfect example of how our nation could not and would not be the country we are today without the migrant community. Director Raúl O. Paz Pastrana (Latinos Are Essential) is a triple crown winner in my book.

A Bright Future

Over in the Viewpoints category is A Bright Future. From Uruguay, Argentina, and Germany comes a film about Elisa. The 18-year-old is one of a very select few in her cold, desperate and poor community to be chosen to go work in the North – a place full of hope and prestige. But beware, it is also filled with secrecy and those who do go, don’t come back. Played by Martina Paseggi, Elisa is intuitive and astute and she knows that something is amiss.

Director Lucía Garibaldi (The Sharks) captures a dystopian future in silent ways that speak volumes. It’s “off” without being ridiculous – dogs are extinct and when it comes to the natural human smell, the smellier, the better. This tone comes through in the rich colors onscreen and the blocking of the frames.

A Bright Future hopefully has one in store for itself. The film was awarded the Viewpoints award.

All We Cannot See

Venezuelan director Alberto Arvelo (A House With a View) brings us All We Cannot See. This bewitching film is quiet and beautiful, following two women whose lives are changed forever after they casually meet in a bathroom.

Anchored by Spanish actresses María Valverde (Aroa) and Bruna Cusí (Miquela), All We Cannot See drops you in the moments when we as women become ourselves. The moments we battle with trust, grace, and honesty are effortlessly projected onscreen without any fuss. The ease and confidence of which these two women navigate not only the road, but their lives is truly remarkable.

Visually the film takes advantage of the sprawling Spanish countryside in a way that makes me wanna book a trip to Portugal ahora. And, if I happen to come across a woman in need in a bathroom who needs help, well that is alright with me.