7 International Films Debuting At Tribeca Film Festival [2025]

Every June, New York City transforms into a cinematic playground when the Tribeca Film Festival takes over downtown Manhattan. This year's festival, running from June 4-15, brings together international films that'll make you laugh, cry, and maybe even inspire you to pick up a new language.

In this post, we rounded up 7 standout international films perfect for anyone learning a new language. Who knows...maybe the next time you watch these, you might just understand it if you start learning with Lingopie today.

What Is Tribeca Film Festival?

Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff created Tribeca Film Festival in 2003 to revitalize their neighborhood after 9/11. What started as an act of healing became one of the world's most influential platforms for emerging voices.

Since then, Tribeca has launched careers, sparked cultural movements, and introduced audiences to stories they never knew they needed. With 118 films from 36 countries this year, it's become the film festival where tomorrow's inspiring stories gets discovered.

What makes it special for language lovers? The festival actively seeks out authentic multilingual storytelling, making it the perfect hunting ground for films that show you what you're missing when you only speak one language.

Must-Watch Foreign Films From The Tribeca Film Festival

Rosemead - English, Mandarin

Rosemead tells the heartbreaking true story of Irene, a Chinese immigrant mother facing a parent's worst nightmare. When Lucy Liu's character discovers her teenage son's disturbing fixation with mass shootings while battling her own terminal illness, she's forced into desperate measures to protect both him and others.

This gripping drama explores mental health within Asian communities (a taboo topic) while seamlessly weaving between English and Mandarin to capture the authentic immigrant experience.

Key Mandarin Chinese words you'll hear:

• 妈妈 (māma) - Mom/Mother
• 儿子 (érzi) - Son
• 害怕 (hàipà) - Afraid/scared
• 家庭 (jiātíng) - Family
• 帮助 (bāngzhù) - Help

After This Death - English, Spanish

Passion and mystery collide in After This Death, starring Mía Maestro and Lee Pace in a sultry drama that feels like a fever dream. When Isabel encounters the enigmatic Elliott during a hike, their intense affair spirals into obsession after he vanishes without a trace, leaving her to navigate toxic fans and fractured ideals.

The film's blend of English and Spanish reflects the complex emotional landscape of desire and identity, making it perfect for those drawn to psychological thrillers with authentic bilingual storytelling.

Key Spanish words you'll hear:

• amor - Love
• deseo - Desire
• corazón - Heart
• secreto - Secret
• pasión - Passion

The Square - Korean, Swedish

This stunning animated romance breaks new ground by bringing together two seemingly impossible worlds: a young Swedish diplomat stationed in Pyongyang and a North Korean traffic officer who captures his heart. The film's delicate handling of geopolitical tension through the lens of personal connection makes it both visually striking and emotionally resonant.

The Square uses animation to explore forbidden love across political divides, with Korean dialogue and Swedish cultural elements creating a unique viewing experience.

Key Korean words you'll hear:

• 사랑 (sarang) - Love
• 비밀 (bimil) - Secret
• 안녕하세요 (annyeonghaseyo) - Hello (formal)
• 위험 (wiheom) - Danger
• 마음 (maeum) - Heart/feelings

Dead Language - English, Hebrew

From the Oscar-nominated short film "Aya" comes Dead Language, an expanded meditation on chance encounters and human connection. When a woman waiting at an airport is mistaken for someone else, she impulsively decides to play along with a complete stranger, sparking an unexpected intimacy that disrupts her comfortable routine.

This Czech-Israeli co-production weaves English and Hebrew naturally through its exploration of longing, meaning, and the courage it takes to step outside our everyday lives.

Key Hebrew words you'll hear:

• שלום (shalom) - Hello/peace
• אהבה (ahava) - Love
• משפחה (mishpacha) - Family
• חלום (chalom) - Dream
• לב (lev) - Heart

Yanuni - English, Portuguese

Juma Xipaia has survived six assassination attempts for defending her people's Amazon homeland, but Yanuni becomes something else entirely when she discovers she's pregnant. Suddenly, she's not just fighting for Indigenous land rights, she's fighting for her unborn child's future.

Leonardo DiCaprio's powerful documentary captures Juma speaking in determined English to international press and tender Portuguese with her husband Hugo, a Special Forces ranger whose love story with this fearless chief proves that the personal is always political.

Key Portuguese words you'll hear:

• amor - Love
• família - Family
• terra - Land/earth
• luta - Fight/struggle
• floresta - Forest

Pinch - Hindi

Pinch marks the impressive feature debut of Uttera Singh, who wrote, directed, produced, and stars in this darkly comic exploration of power and trauma. When travel blogger Maitri is sexually assaulted by her landlord during a festival trip, her impulsive response creates ripple effects throughout her tight-knit community.

This Hindi-language film tackles serious subject matter with sharp wit and energy, representing the first Indian film to compete in Tribeca's International Narrative Competition in three years.

Key Hindi words you'll hear:

• माँ (maa) - Mother
• परिवार (parivaar) - Family
• सच (sach) - Truth
• डर (dar) - Fear
• ताकत (taakat) - Strength/power

Runa Simi - English, Quechua, Spanish

Perhaps the most heartwarming story of linguistic preservation comes through Runa Simi (which means "people's language" in Quechua). This touching documentary follows Fernando, an indigenous Peruvian voice actor, and his young son as they undertake an ambitious project: dubbing Disney's "The Lion King" entirely into Quechua to help preserve this endangered language.

What starts as Fernando's viral online hobby becomes a cultural mission, beautifully demonstrating how entertainment can become a vehicle for keeping traditions alive across English, Quechua, and Spanish.

Key Quechua words you'll hear:

• ayllu - Family/community
• tayta - Father
• mama - Mother
• sumaq - Beautiful
• kawsay - Life

Why Films In Foreign Languages Work

When you watch Yanuni and hear Juma speaking Portuguese to her husband while seeing the Amazon rainforest, your brain processes language the same way it did when you were a child: through context and emotion. Researchers call this "comprehensible input," where your mind naturally absorbs language patterns when you understand the overall story, even if you don't catch every word.

Films provide the perfect conditions for this:

• real conversations
• cultural context
• emotional stakes

Multiple studies comparing film-based learning to traditional classroom instruction consistently show the same results: students who learn through subtitled films acquire vocabulary faster and retain it significantly longer. This isn't just theory too since brain imaging shows that people learning through films develop the same neural patterns as native speakers, while classroom learners remain stuck in analytical, non-fluent processing.

Watch And Learn A New Language Today

If any of these stories made you wish you could understand what's really being said, then I have good news! That's your instinct telling you to learn languages with Lingopie! Lingopie turns that curiosity into fluency, letting you learn languages through the same kind of compelling content that makes these Tribeca films unforgettable.

Curious? Give Lingopie a try today! Remember, the most interesting conversations in the world are happening in languages you don't speak yet. The question is, how long are you willing to stay on the outside?