Winner of Best New York Short at Tribeca 2026, director duo Scrap Metals – Michael Gugger and Varvara Kanellakopoulou – gives voice to one of New York City’s most iconic objects, the MetroCard, for the comedy short Insufficient Fare. Defending its legacy against a city that’s now moved on, a discarded MetroCard traces its cultural rise since its 1994 debut, before facing obsolescence – eventually retired from use in January 2026.

- Scrap Metals

Narrated by U.S. playwright, poet and actor Lemon Andersen, Insufficient Fare reflects on the purpose of a piece of plastic that once held the key to the city, shot on 16mm film to capture the sense of nostalgia behind its 32-year history. Mirroring the bold character and graphic, recognizable design of the MetroCard itself, and the New Yorkers it connected, Gugger and Kanellakopoulou cast actors, comedians, and native New York personalities – from dance group W.A.F.F.L.E. Crew, to puppeteer Jonothon Lyons as Buddy the Rat – in a love letter to the city, its work ethic, and the unstoppable pace that drives it.