Copyright Variety
Tribeca Festival Lisboa wrapped its second edition on Saturday after hosting a bevy of U.S. talent, led by Meg Ryan, Kim Cattrall, Edie Falco, Giancarlo Esposito, Ed Westwick and Daniela Ruah and Piper Perabo and director Stephen Kay, her husband. The co-organizers – Tribeca Enterprises and Portuguese media group Impresa – said they’re delighted by the way that the spirit of the New York festival is bringing fresh energy to the Portuguese film and TV sector. “We thought we were only going to do one festival, back in 2002 and now we’re now going to be 25 years old!” commented Jane Rosenthal, Tribeca co-founder and CEO. “Continuous learning is what makes any festival a living breathing organism. We look forward to bringing more of our expertise here, especially through our mentorship programs. She added: “Like New York, Lisbon is a very international city. I feel very much at home here. I have my own Portuguese connection from my childhood in Providence, Rhode Island, where one of our most famous senators was Claiborne Pell, whose father served as U.S. ambassador to Portugal and of course I was lucky to grow up around great Portuguese bakeries!” Francisco Pedro Balsemão, Impresa CEO, explained that with the success of Tribeca Lisboa and after attending two editions of Tribeca in New York, he would now like to organize a year-round program of Tribeca-linked initiatives and incorporate the associated mentoring expertise into the wider producing strategy of the Impresa Group: “For this year’s edition we made sure that there are more screening venues, more talks focusing on a wide array of filmmaking skills, bringing it closer to the New York festival, where the Tribeca neighborhood itself is also a key element.” Various fruits of the Tribeca-Lisbon connection were highlighted during the fest’s second edition, including Chazz Palmentiri who after attending last year’s edition with his documentary, “A Bronx Tale: The Original One Man Show,” now plans to return to Lisbon to stage the first live performance of his show outside the U.S. “We’ve upgraded this year’s event,” explained Tony Gonçalves, former AT&T-exec, who is one of the fest’s executive producers. “We’ve changed from a one-size-fits-all festival pass to individual ticketing, and most of the films are sold out.” “There’s a lot of resonance between New York City and Tribeca,” says Cara Cusumano, Tribeca’s Festival Director and senior vp of programming. “Our flagship event filled a need of both the city and the local industry. I think that Tribeca Festival Lisboa has that potential as well.” Held in Lisbon’s Beato Innovation District over Oct. 30–Nov. 1, Tribeca Lisboa showcased five films from the flagship Tribeca festival, together with other U.S. independent films and Portuguese films. “The timing of this festival is perfect to raise awareness, in the buildup to the Awards season,” says Cusumano. “Last year, the Portuguese premiere of ‘Anora’ put us clearly on the radar.” Julian Schnabel’s ‘In the Hand of Dante’ opened this year’s fest, in a ceremony that included a tribute to Impresa Group founder, Francisco Pinto Balsemão, who died Oct. 21. Other titles, that didn’t previously screen in Tribeca in New York, included Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Bugonia,” and Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut, “Eleanor the Great.” Mexican director Michel Franco attended for the Portuguese premiere of “Dreams.” Two films from Tribeca’s New York line-up have a direct Portuguese connection: Lilian T. Mehrel’s dark comedy, “Honeyjoon,” shot in the Azores, and Alberto Arévelo’s Spain-to-Portugal road movie, “All We Cannot See.” “Honeyjoon,” which won Tribeca’s AT&T 2024 Untold Stories $1 million award, was produced by Portuguese producer, Andreia Nunes, and had its world premiere at Tribeca in June. “It feels very full circle,” explained Mehrel, “It’s so rewarding to see a film that is inspired by real life, real grief, real love, based on my original trip to the Azores, to be celebrated in New York and now here.” Foreign talent attending the event heaped praise on Portugal. Meg Ryan said she wants to travel to Nazaré, after watching Chris Smith’s documentary series “100 Foot Wave,” featuring Garrett McNamara. “Are those waves real?” she asked. The event also served to showcase rising international interest in Portuguese film and TV, with one of the highlights being discussion of Netflix’s “Turn of the Tide,” featuring director Augusto Fraga and the lead cast, including José Condessa and veteran actor Joaquim d’Almeida. Almeida recently returned to Portugal after a four decade career in Hollywood. Fluent in five languages, he confided that he gets more nervous when acting in his native tongue. Other Portuguese films screening during the fest included Antonio Ferreira’s colonial war pic, “The Scent of Things Remembered,” Duarte Neves’ feature debut, “Match,” and Fernando Vendrell’s aviation pioneers drama, “Além do Horizonte – A Travessia,” based on his series “Star Sailors.” Casting directors Cindy Tolan, Lucy Bevan and Patricia Vasconcelos provided a masterclass and held a series of casting sessions with Portuguese actors in the build-up to Passaporte Lisboa, a casting festival that runs in November. Vasconcelos who curated this year’s talks, said she’s delighted to program such a wide array of topics, including how to leverage Portugal’s tax incentives. Podcasts were curated by Joana Beleza, who invited various well-known podcasters to the festival, making it possible to reach beyond the immediate fest audience. Latvian producer Matiss Kaza discussed making “Flow,” that won the 2025 Animation Feature Academy Award, and how smaller countries such as Latvia and Portugal can put together international co-productions. Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas concluded that he’s delighted by this year’s edition: “I want to create dynamism for our city and want to create a dream, and Tribeca is an integral part of that dream.”
