IT'S A WRAP!

The 2006 Tribeca Film Fellows, Staff and Jeffrey Wright at the conclusion of the program.

TRIBECA FILM FELLOWS CULMINATING EVENT

Liam Ahern and his mentor, TAA Connects' Aleta Chappelle talking shop

When they joined us, the Film Fellows each came up with an idea for a film. Throughout the program, each fellow learned how to write a proposal with the aid of former TAA Connects participant, Natalia Almada. The Fellows then drafted a proposal, developed and refined their ideas further with the aid of an experienced filmmaker mentor and then synthesized their film ideas into two minute pitches.


Film Fellow Richard Memminger and his mentor, Tribeca Film Festival Director Eric Steel, discussing the finer points of filmmaking


Film Fellow Jazmin Fernandez and her mentor, Marrakech/Tribeca Filmmaker Exchange Participant Lenina Nadal, get ready for the afternoon's presentation.

By the end of the festival and the program, each Film Fellow had an idea and a pitch for a film that they then presented for their friends, family and mentors. Acclaimed actor Jeffrey Wright was on hand to hear their ideas, to present them with offical 2006 Tribeca Film Fesival Certificates of Completion and to speak with the young artists about pursuing their dreams.



Friends, Family, Mentor and Fellows gather for the culminating sharing





Film Fellows Desiree Gordian, Naeema J. Muhammad, Casey Feldman and Luis Cabanillas present their pitches to the crowd.

Being a Film Fellow is a huge opportunity for me. The program is great because it is a rare experience with great kids. The directors of the program and all of Tribeca don’t treat us like kids; they treat us like filmmakers in the Festival. In the program, we go to screenings, have discussions with people in the business and we have a mentor to help us out with our film ideas. We learn all the things that go into a film festival such as reviews, line ups, setting up, ads, getting people to come, transferring the movies to HD, viewing the movies, arranging the theaters and much more. Additionally, we also learn all the aspects of making a movie.

On Sunday we saw a few short films, which were interesting because I have been making shorts, so this was another good learning experience. After the short films, we had a Q&A from the cast of Torte Bluma. A lot of great questions were asked and I learned a lot.

On Monday, we saw Word.Life, the Hip Hop Project, it was inspiring as it made me understand all of the opportunities I have and reminded me not to be lazy. It was a great documentary.

We went to the Mission Impossible 3 premier. The premier was fun, it was a little too crazy for me but it was still exciting being a part of it. I met my mentor on Saturday; she is great, and very knowledgeable about filmmaking. She helped me a lot with my idea. She was easy to talk to and interesting.

Today we are speaking with Whoopi Goldberg and I am looking forward to her insight and thoughts on movie making.

I went to go see the screening of the movie, Follow my Voice: With the Music of Hedwig. A film following the lives of four gay teenagers and their struggle to fit into society and finding a place safe for them. Hetrick-Martin Institute created the Harvey Milk High School program in New York, so that those teens and others like them had a place to be safe, to be themselves.

I thought the film was good and it is an important issue that must get across to the nation, but I had some issues with it. All the females in the film were depicted as masculine and all the males were depicted as feminine. I understand how a lot of gay people are just like that, but there is such a thing as being a masculine gay guy who is also attracted to masculine guys, and a feminine lesbian attracted to feminine females. The film I felt could have explored that aspect of homosexuality, the way the film depicted homosexuals seemed sort of stereotypical.

I'm not saying all this to sound harsh or homophobic, I only wished that the characters of the film were not so stereotyped. They seem also kind of exploited, because of their depiction. Overall the film was good, like I said it is an issue that needs to get across the nation, just not so stereotypical all the time.

Our City, My Story: April 29, 2006

During the 2006 Tribeca Film Fellows program, the Fellows had the opportunity to be a part of Tribeca Film Institute's Annual Youth Media Screening, Our City, My Story. Our young filmmakers staffed the event, serving as ushers, guest hosts, photographers, videographers and general representatives of Tribeca Film Festival.


Film Fellows Max Rosenbaum and Magen Rodriguez practice for their Our City, My Story hosting job


Desiree Gordian serves as the photographer for the night



Film Fellows Liam Ahern, Elvir Lekperic, and Luis Cabanillas work with resident videographer Joshua Bee Alafia to document Our City, My Story

The screening featured 9 short films, all made by young New York City filmmakers and were presented to highlight the excellence of the youth media being created in New York and to bring together the larger community.


Our City, My Story filmmakers participate in a Q&A session following the program

Naeema J. Muhammad reviews Word.Life

Throughout the festival, I have had the honor of watching many documentaries, but nothing struck me the way Matt Ruskin and Scott Rosenburg's Word.Life (AKA The Hip-Hop Project) did. Not only does it make me want to listen and appriciate the hip-hop culture for what it truly is, but I can relate to those dreams of trying to "make it" like the teens that were involved in this project.

Chris "Kharma Kazi" Rolles recruited teens from off the streets to develop more then then lyrical skills they possessed; he taught them how to channel their feelings using writing. He was also giving back to the community and devoted himself to the young people that he took under his wing to teach them things about life, using his own broken childhood as an example. The young people that he worked with through the Art Start Organization learned what it took to create an album that would reflect on who they were, and not who they were trying to imitate. Their inspirational stories, including Kazi's, were shown on screen with beautiful cinemotography, strong lyrics, and good editing that not only makes it appealing to listen to, but joyful to look at as well. This is a documentary that many should see, because anyone could relate to different aspects of it.

The Fellows' First Weekend in Pictures

Over the past week, the 2006 Tribeca Film Fellows have been busy!

In just a week, they checked in to the festival as filmmakers, met for the first time with their filmmaker mentors, learned about the inner-workings of the Festival by meeting with staff members from various departments, staffed the Our City, My Story Youth Media Gala Screening and much much more. Here are a few shots of our Fellows in action:

Orientation Day!

The Fellows check into the festival as filmmakers, recieve their badges, learn about the following weeks events and get to know each other.

Elvir Lekperic checks out his filmmaker folder.

Paolo Marchica lounges on a Fatboy beanbag in the Film Fellow Lounge.

Camera work!
A look at the Fellows documenting their own experience.

Liam Ahern films outside of Tribeca Cinemas

Jonan Everett capturing his subject on camera

Festival Tour
The Film Fellows get a chance to see how a film festival really works.

Chris Myers visits from the print traffic department and shows the Fellows what it takes to get over 300 films on screens all over the city for audiences to enjoy

The Fellows take a tour of the Filmmaker/Industry/Press Lounge with Tribeca Staffer Mee Lee

It seems to me that every night I come home happy even though it takes me about an hour and a half to get home because I live on Staten Island. My parents always ask me how come I have a smile on my face every time I get home and I just tell them what happens every day during our meetings and screenings. This group of kids in this program are like so different and unique. Everyone has there own style and that’s what I like about this bunch. There is not a day that I don’t laugh because of a joke one of us Fellows say and you can’t forget about Josh, he’s a pretty cool guy who has given me some tips on filmmaking. Lisa and Flonia are like totally awesome and I appreciate what they have done to get this program started (nice job on the book). Sydney and I met last year so we are like homies and I think she has done a great job with the SAI program last year and this year’s Film Fellows program. You can’t forget the Festival volunteers who are like so chill and outgoing and they help so much with getting lunch prepared and a whole lots of stuff.

Well that’s enough about what I think about the program so far, I wanted to talk about my mentor and all the tips she gave me.

On Saturday, April 29, my mentor, Diana Logreira, came by to take a look at my proposal. When I first saw her, she looked familiar but after like a half hour into our conversation she told me she was a guide at the Museum of Moving Image and that’s where I remembered her because I went on a trip there last summer and she was the guide. I don’t want to tell you about my proposal because I’m sure you will find out on Sunday when we have to present them, but Diana just gave me some tips on how to better improve my proposal. She told me to have a better analysis of my characters so that I have a better idea about my film. She also gave me some tips on how to pitch my proposal to producers and different media organizations. Diana gave me a copy of her documentary, An Outsider, which is about an Arab immigrant and his life here in America as a Laundromat owner. I really related to this film because I have always wanted to make documentaries about immigrants and their struggles in life here in America. So, my meeting with Diana went by very well and I can’t wait till the next time I see her.

Oh yeah, one more thing, I advise you to always keep your filmmaker badge on until you reach home because you never know whose on the ferry, train, or bus. On Sunday, some guy from ESPN asked me if my film was in the Festival and I said no, but he still said he wanted to see my film. So, I gave him my card and I told him to email me. So, I know how annoying it is being stared at while you're going home but you never know who’s out there. I can’t wait till Wednesday (MI3 screening).

Meeting Siofra Campbell was one of the best days so far of the entirely awesome Tribeca Film Fellows Program. Siofra is from Ireland. She was very down-to-earth about talking about hot-shot celebrities and learning about our crazy schooling system in the U.S. With having fun and lots of laughs, she also taught me a lot. Working from the middle outwards is one of the best advices I’ve ever received. Even though I had to start ALL over again with writing my proposal, I feel that my final piece is going to be way better than what it was. Initially my idea was very broad. With some help from Siofra, I narrowed it down into a piece that’s more compelling and overall a better piece. She didn’t feed me what I had to do; she guided me from beginning to end. Now after I finish writing my proposal (for the second time), I feel I can actually film it and maybe even find some way to air it. I just want to send a shout out to Siofra- the ultimate and coolest and best and overall greatest mentor possible. Nobody is as good of a mentor as Siofra is!!!!!

LIAM AHERN is currently a junior at Stuyvesant H.S. and wants to be a writer/director. He has been directing films and plays for the last three years and is now looking for industry experience.


DORENE AHMAD is a senior at Midwood H.S. who plans to major in film in college. She hopes to direct music videos one day.


NADIA BURGESS' goal is to make films, period. She wants to learn all aspects of filmmaking and make it her tool of power to get messages across.


LUIS CABANILLAS is 18 going on 19. He attends Bread and Roses H.S. and loves to write screenplays about reality, horror, and social issues. Thanks to Tribeca, he made a short documentary. He hopes to be an accomplished filmmaker in the future.


Born and raised in NYC, KIRI DAVIS resides on the Upper West Side and attends Urban Academy H.S. She is a hard working 17-year-old who has her own jewelry line, produces a youth show for public access TV, and has directed several short films. Her goal is to work in the film industry where she can continue to make films that are important to her.


JONAN EVERETT is an aspiring actor/filmmaker from New York. He starred in Angel, an HBO Films picture about a troubled youth trying to find his way. He wants to make dramas, action, and sci-fi films.


CASEY FELDMAN's life is based around music, film, his friends, and combining the three. He is a Trinity School sophomore and hopes to always be surrounded by film.


JAZMIN FERNANDEZ first became interested in art when she watched her father draw everyday. She hopes to get into the film industry and make visual art come to life.


DESIREE GORDIAN is a highly motivated individual who is currently working on an independent short narrative. She has been involved in youth media with Global Action Project and hopes to continue making films and traveling the world.


A junior at Staten Island's Susan F. Wagner H.S., ELVIR LEKPERIC is active in sports and likes meeting new people. After college, he wants to pursue a career in Education (Film/English). He attended the 2005 SAI documentary film program, which was the experience of a lifetime.


Seventeen-year-old RICHARD MEMMINGER likes to play basketball and make documentaries.


PAOLO MARCHICA attends Winston Prep.
He and his film partner constantly write films and shoot the ones that are most unique. His goals are to make more films and to get into a college with a great film program so he can spend more time on films.


NAEEMA MUHAMMAD is a college-bound high school senior attending Millenium H.S. She plans to use her talents as a writer and documentarian to pursue film and advertising.


SHARAY PAIGE attends Harvey Milk H.S. She enjoys filming in her spare time because that is the best way to capture a moment in time that will never be seen in the same way.


PREETI PALLWAL attends LaGuardia H.S. for art. She loves art, music, and film, and her goals are to continue to create art and make films.


Nineteen-year-old WILLIAM QUINONES has made a short documentary At Risk and plans to go to college for business and film.


MAGEN RODRIGUEZ is a sophomore at Telecommunications H.S. She wants to be known for using her imagination to create art.


MAX ROSENBAUM is a sophomore at Riverdale Country School and an aspiring filmmaker. He loves being able to tell stories and to change the world through film.


SUZANNE ROZIER is a senior at Stuyvesant H.S. and plans on double majoring in Japanese and film at Vassar College. She loves watching movies, traveling, writing, reading, and cooking.


DANIEL SANCHEZ attends the Renaissance Charter School and hopes to one day make the most acclaimed film ever. Other than that, he loves a good laugh and good conversation.


MONIQUE WALSH attends Art and Design H.S. and is inspired by filmmaking.