There is nothing more difficult and pressuring than trying to balance your day-to-day life and infatuation while trying to be professional in a tense situation. Having its world premiere in the Shorts section of Tribeca Film Festival 2026, the question that Fabric asks of its characters, audience, and story itself, is how far is one willing to go to do the job, meet the girl, and possibly risk it all. Does it feel like a poignant episode of I Love LA (2005) but less catty and fun and more serious and dramatic? Yes, but it is for that exact same reason Frank Sun’s (We Are Kings) writing and direction works here. Nothing is overdrawn, nothing is overstated, nothing is overdone, everything is crafted meticulously and purposely, creating a world for the audience to get into, immediately realize it is wrong, and having us go through a rollercoaster of emotions. Fabric is quick and sharp, just like the sewing needles used to craft the designs for New York Fashion Week, the background for the short.
b as Mack in FABRIC. Photo Credit: Arthur Woo. Photo courtesy of Suncats Studio.
Fabric focuses on Mack (b), an aspiring, ambitious photographer, as she is trying to make her mark by shooting the clients and capturing the glam as much as she can. She finds her muse, as we can tell from her gaze, in Vanessa (Kate Pittard), as she wants to keep shooting her even though they’re being rushed off. The two form an unlikely relationship that explores Vanessa trying to further her rather new modeling career and Mack just wanting to bask in the spotlight with her and be around her, ever-lovingly fascinated by her and intrigued by her presence. The two scurry off shortly after sneaking their way into a shoot/party and “borrow” an incredibly expensive piece for an impromptu photoshoot. The tensions are high, things can go wrong any second, and everything is on the line, but Vanessa and, moreover, Mack don’t seem to have a care in the world because they’re in their own world, having vanished into the delight of the chaos unfolding and the beauty of being model and photographer. However, the other shoe always has to drop, which leads to a very uncomfortable and realistic conclusion , bringing our story to its fateful ending, leaving sorrow and heartbreak by the time the credits roll.
What makes Fabric work so incredibly well is (no pun intended) the weave of the story, direction, and acting presented here. What could be a 90-minute+ feature, without a doubt, by drawing things out, having the stakes get higher and higher, and the consequences staying the same with an impactful explosion for a finish, is solemnly told in a tight 15 minutes over one fateful evening. The devastation that comes by the end of the night is just as impactful as if this were a dynamic that existed for years, and that is a testament to Sun’s script. He packed so much raw, unfiltered emotion into it that it allowed b (Elsbeth) and Pittard (Sweethearts) to sink their teeth into their roles and truly take the audience on an expected journey.
L-R: Kate Pittard as Vanessa and Polina Stogova in FABRIC. Photo Credit: Arthur Woo. Photo courtesy of Suncats Studio.
Kate Pittard as the model who just wants to be recognized and feel pretty, essentially, is exquisite here. She is with her clique; she notices that Mack is paying attention to her and craves the attention and spotlight. Her effortless movement into friendship with a lingering ideology of something more is nothing short of dastardly and pitch-perfect, and doing so without a care in the world is executed flawlessly. While we have b as Mack, who is clearly infatuated with Vanessa, and is willing to do anything to impress her and get closer to her. The way b carries themself as Vanessa puts little glimmers of hope in their eyes and cadence, saying more than anything written could have. The audience is in the palm of b’s hand and, because of this, Fabric hits hard and fast with its emotional rollercoaster.
Screened during Tribeca Film Festival 2026.
For more information, head to the official Tribeca Film Festival Fabric webpage.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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