2025 Tribeca Festival to Open With World Premiere of Billy Joel Documentary

The 2025 Tribeca Festival is set to open with the world premiere of Billy Joel: And So It Goes, a two-part HBO documentary.

The doc explores Joel’s life and music, including how the love, loss and personal struggles he has experienced fuel his songwriting. The project includes never-before-seen performances, home movies and personal photographs as well as exclusive interviews.

The Tribeca opening night event will take place on Wednesday, June 4, at New York’s Beacon Theatre.

“For nearly 25 years, the Tribeca Festival has celebrated the artists who give New York its heart and soul, and on the opening night of the 2025 Festival, we are thrilled to honor Billy Joel — an artist who has embodied that very spirit,” festival and Tribeca Enterprises co-founder and CEO Jane Rosenthal, who announced this year’s Tribeca opening night film onstage Sunday at the NAB Show’s Business of Entertainment event, said in a statement. “Paying tribute to the legendary performer who captured the essence of a ‘New York State of Mind’ is a perfect way to kick off this year’s celebration of creativity and inspiration.”

And So It Goes director and producer Susan Lacy added, “I and my co-director, Jessica Levin, couldn’t be more thrilled about our film Billy Joel: And So It Goes opening the esteemed Tribeca Festival. Our thanks go out to Jane Rosenthal and the Festival team and to HBO and the wonderful folks there who have supported us throughout in our efforts to bring an in-depth, honest, and musically expressive portrait of this complex talent. We are beyond appreciative of Billy Joel’s trust in us to bring his story to the screen. There is no better place for this film to premiere than at the Beacon Theatre, the venue for so many historic musical events for decades, and in the city so important to Billy Joel.”

Billy Joel: And So It Goes is directed and produced by Emmy winners Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin and will air on HBO this summer and be available to stream on Max.

The 2025 Tribeca Festival is set to take place from June 4-15 in New York, with this year’s full lineup expected to be announced soon.