Starring Hryhoriy Fesenko, Yana Novikova and Roza Babiy, the film is set in a boarding school for deaf teenage students, where a novice scholar is drawn into an institutional system of organized crime involving robbery and prostitution.

[19] On 2 July 2014, Drafthouse Films acquired from Alpha Violet the distribution rights to The Tribe in the United States, with a planned 2015 theatrical release.

[25] Upon the acquisition, CEO of Drafthouse Films Tim League spoke highly of the piece and showered it with praise stating that he was witnessing "something truly special".

[24] On 28 October 2014, Metrodome Group had announced that it had picked up the United Kingdom rights for Slaboshpytskiy's film, with a planned 2015 release date.

"[27] Drafthouse Films has announced for plans to release The Tribe in select theatres across North America in 2015, as well as additionally on a variety of VOD platforms and digital, DVD, and Blu-ray formats.

[28] Additionally it was announced that the deal was negotiated by Alpha Violet's Virginie Devesa and Keiko Funato, and Drafthouse Films's James Emanuel Shapiro and Tim League.

while too praising Slaboshpytskiy's ability to "[draw] on Samuel Beckett or Peter Brook to create a universal language of anxiety", while concluding the sentiment, "What an intriguing film".

[36] Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter praised the piece, stating, "The use of sign language, deafness and silence itself adds several heady new ingredients to the base material, alchemically creating something rich, strange and very original."

[32] Eric Kohn of indieWIRE gave the film an "A−" rating, adding, "While the specifics remain uncertain, it's never particularly difficult to keep up with the movie's pace, since their actions speak plainly enough -- and sometimes add far more expressiveness than any verbal exchanges could provide."

[21] Fred Topel wrote, in his review for CraveOnline, "The piece de resistance is a taboo subject that unfolds in an elaborate single take.

Topel praised the cast as "made up of non actors but you wouldn't suspect that" adding, "They are full of life and energy" [39] Jessica Kiang of The Playlist gave the film an "A−" rating and wrote, "It might sound glib, but it's the literal truth: "The Tribe" left us speechless.

"[40] Electric Sheep Magazine's Greg Klymkiw granted the film a score of five out of five, stating "A sad, shocking and undeniably harrowing dramatic reflection of Ukraine with the searing truthful lens of a stylistic documentary treatment (at times similar to that of Austrian auteur Ulrich Seidl)".

"[41] Luke Y. Thompson of Topless Robot spoke most highly of the film, declaring, "Compelling, upsetting, brutal and brilliant, The Tribe is one of the best works of cinema of the year - a familiar template recreated in what, for most, will be an entirely new world."