Angela Bassett, Debra Messing, and Chloë Sevingy are among the 50 actors, filmmakers, and entertainment industry professionals who will judge the Tribeca Film Festival. Now in its 18th year, the annual film celebration will unfold in downtown Manhattan from April 24 through May 5.
Other judges include director Rebecca Miller, comedian Tig Notaro, actor Justin Long, and IndieWire editor-in-chief Dana Harris.
“At 18, we’re proud of our lineup of talented and diverse filmmakers and welcome our extraordinary jury,” Jane Rosenthal, co-Founder and CEO of the festival, said in a statement.
Angela Bassett (“Black Panther,” “American Horror Story”) will judge the International Narrative Competition contestants, while Chloë Sevigny (“The Dead Don’t Die,” “Boys Don’t Cry”) and Debra Messing (“Will & Grace”) will be on the committee to hand out the Nora Ephron award, created in honor of the late filmmaker, journalist, and writer.
David Cross (“Arrested Development”) will judge the new documentary director competition, and Justin Long (“Frank and Lola”) will assess the contestants for new narrative director competition. Other jurors include Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Maureen Dowd, Topher Grace (“That 70’s Show”), and DeWanda Wise from the Netflix remake of “She’s Gotta Have It.”
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This year, Tribeca Film Fest officials will introduce changes to their Tribeca X Award, which jurors will assess based on four categories (best feature film, short film, episodic, and virtual reality) for excellence in branded storytelling. Among the other categories include awards for best new narrative director, best short documentary and student visionary, and best new documentary director as the Festival honors and awards “up-and-coming” storytellers. The winners for each of the ten categories will be announced on May 2.
The Tribeca Film Festival was originally founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in 2001 to encourage economic restoration in a part of the city that had been devastated by the 9/11 attacks.