For the first time in its 23-year history, the Tribeca Festival has launched a dedicated program to honor the music video as a true cinematic medium. Music Videos: Playlist brings eight striking, visually inventive music videos to the big screen, reframing them as cinematic works meant to be felt, not just watched. With booming sound and larger-than-life visuals, the program showcases the artistry, storytelling, and raw emotion embedded in today’s best music videos.

One of the program’s most anticipated highlights is the world premiere of Neverland, a gory vampire love-story from Kid Cudi, directed by Ti West. Starring Cudi alongside Kiernan Shipka, Brittany Snow, Cary Elwes, and Haley Joel Osment, the film immerses viewers in a gothic romance with a pulse. Other standouts include Grace Bowers’ Madame President, a politically charged rock anthem with swagger, and Qué Más Quieres by all-female powerhouse The Warning, delivering a gritty, high-octane blast of modern rock.

Pop star and director Bonnie McKee delivers an impressive tale with Forever 21, her chaotic, candy-colored take on a wedding gone wrong. “It is inspired by my journey to sobriety,” McKee explains. “You wouldn’t know it by listening to it, because it’s a sparkly pop bop, but underneath there’s a lot of depth and a lot of layers.” She added, “When you make a music video, you need to tell a narrative story without having the crutch of dialogue… I needed to be in an environment where you can really see someone unraveling and breaking social norms, and a wedding felt perfect for that.” McKee, who co-directed with David Richardson, says their creative trust made the shoot possible: “It’s very hard to direct myself when I’m on camera… he’s my eyes on set. I know I can trust him.”

Another long-awaited moment comes from hip-hop legend LL COOL J, whose 1985 track Rock The Bells finally gets a proper music video treatment. Shot in striking black-and-white by director Gregory Brunkalla, the video is a love letter to New York, featuring locals rapping the verses on the very streets where hip-hop was born. “The city and the people were the inspiration,” Brunkalla said. “Some of this stuff I shot alone, just me, our cinematographer Luke [McCoubrey], and our producer Conrad [Lenski].” Reflecting on his collaboration with LL, he added, “He just let me do my thing… and when it’s playing somewhere like Tribeca, that kind of seals the deal.”

From vampire tales to pop satire to hip-hop homage, Music Videos: Playlist shows that the music video is more than just a promo tool, it’s a medium where artists, filmmakers, and musicians can break rules, bend genres, and bare their souls. As McKee puts it, “Music saves lives.  Music gives us community.  Music gives us catharsis. Music helps us find ourselves and our own identity… And I feel like a lot of people wouldn’t be here if they didn’t have music to escape into. That’s really why I do it, to help people.”

By: Janine Silver