Scholastic News: Tribeca Film Festival

On Saturday, April 30, two pre-adolescent kids were seen onstage presenting an award. Those two kids (among many others) have met famous people, filmmakers, and stars, and gone to a film festival—all without paying. The cool thing was, I was one of those two kids.

I had an amazing experience covering the Tribeca Film Festival as a reporter for Scholastic News Online. I learned the ropes for journalism; I met remarkable people; and, most important, I had a good time. I wrote two articles (this will be my third). I saw all sorts of people attending, including actors, sponsors, filmmakers, directors, and just all-around celebrities.

The first part of the festival I attended was the Weston Woods animation shorts. It wasn't a contest, but more of a showing of their newer works. It was a collection of seven converted-from-book movies for ages 3-10. It was held at the Scholastic Auditorium in Manhattan. The movies were all educational but were made interesting to little kids with bright colors, soft voices, and simple plots.

One very interesting thing about the Weston Woods Festival was that the little kids watching the movies subconsciously rated the movies. If the tykes expressed amusement, or stared at the screen, wide-eyed and amazed, they liked the movie. If they started chattering among themselves, fidgeting, or started ignoring the movie, they disliked it.

The next event I attended was a series of interviews of people involved in Tribeca '05 (filmmakers and jurors). One really cool person was comedian Paul Reiser, creator and protagonist of the NBC show Mad About You. He was down-to-earth and genuinely interested in what three kids (myself, Juliette Kessler, and Christopher Santos) had to say.

Interviewing people professionally was a fascinating experience. I had to dig up information on the people who were going to come (some of which was very hard to find). I noticed that if one of us asked a good question the answer would be just as interesting. It showed that some famous people are just talented, regular folks who caught a break.

Overall, the interviews were a fun and new experience. I met people I have read about in the newspaper and dreamed about meeting. I also learned a lot more about journalism in general because the interviews were the first time I had actually interviewed somebody professionally.

My final event and the last event of this year's Festival was the award ceremony. First, another reporter (the aforementioned Juliette Kessler) and I interviewed famous attendees of the award ceremony. We met some of the people we already interviewed, and some new faces. One such person was Michael Imperioli, of Shark Tale and Sopranos fame. He was a juror for the Festival.

I will always remember learning how to use the teleprompter. The speaker had to look at the screen but make it look like his gaze was on the audience. Juliette needed glasses, so I lent her mine for the ceremony.

After that, Juliette and I waited backstage in the greenroom. When it was our turn we walked on stage along with Deborah Forte, president of Scholastic Media. We presented the Kid's Pick Award to Mathew Manson for Spandex: A Father's Tale. After we exited the stage, the greenroom was a big mess. There were people of all statures walking around with some unknown purpose. The people backstage were either Tribeca staff or people presenting awards (like us).

The experience was amazingly fun. I learned so much about filmmakers, interviewing people, and journalism in general. I really liked working for Scholastic, as well. I hope I can work with them again—and attend the Tribeca Film Festival next year too.