The 2026 Tribeca Festival has announced its competition winners, with Cotton Fever, Labrador – Autopsy of Silence and Jail Time Records taking the leading honors in the festival’s major categories.
Cotton Fever received the top award in the U.S. narrative competition, while Labrador – Autopsy of Silence was named the winner of the international narrative competition. In the documentary competition, the top prize went to Jail Time Records.
Several of the winning films earned multiple honors. Labrador – Autopsy of Silence picked up two additional prizes, including best cinematography and best performance in an international narrative feature for Christopher Angatookalook.
Jail Time Records also had a strong showing, winning best documentary cinematography as well as the Albert Maysles Award for best new documentary director.
In the U.S. narrative section, Summer of Three earned recognition for its cast, with Marcel Ruiz, Paolo Schoene and Kiki Montilla sharing the best performance award. The film also won best screenplay, while Cotton Fever added another prize for best cinematography in a U.S. narrative feature.
Tribeca Festival director and senior vice president of programming Cara Cusumano praised this year’s honorees, saying the winners reflected the festival’s commitment to bold, boundary-crossing storytelling. She noted that, as Tribeca marks its 25th year, the selected films show how cinema can build empathy, widen perspectives and connect audiences through unexpected human stories.
The festival’s Audience Award winners, chosen through attendee voting during the event, will be revealed separately.
The 25th edition of the Tribeca Festival opened on June 3 and continues through June 14 in New York.
In addition to the competition prizes, select winners received a Tribeca Festival art award from a group of artists organized by curator Zoe Lukov. The initiative was supported by Chanel, with participating artists contributing works for the honored filmmakers.
