Last weekend I had the amazing opportunity to see four films at the Tribeca Film Festival. The entire experience made me very grateful. I was lucky enough to stay in one of the nicest hotels I have ever seen and walk amongst A-list stars.

The first film I saw was a compilation of shorts called California Dreaming, given the name based on the location of the shorts. The six shorts included were: The Duke: Based on the Memoir “I’m The Duke” by J.P. Duke, The Board, The Chauffeur, Girl Band, That Dog, and Super Sex. The shorts brought the audience on a roller coaster of emotion from an overwhelming feeling of sadness during some and laughing so hard that tears streamed down our faces during others. My favorite two shorts were Girl Band and The Board. Girl Band was about following your dreams, while The Board was a how-to-guide to getting your seventh grade crush to go out with you.

The next film I saw was The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. Serious note, you know the feeling in your throat when you are about to hysterically cry, but the waterworks have yet to be fully turned on? That was the feeling that consumed me throughout this entire movie. As I looked around the theater, the man next to me on my right and my friend accompanying me on the left, both had eyes filled with tears, as did most others. The movie stars Jason Sudeikis; he plays Henry, a family man trying to make the best decisions to provide for his developing family. His wife, Penny, played by Jessica Biel, who also helped produce the film, is pregnant when she tragically dies in a car accident. Henry is trying to deal with this tragedy in his life as the dreams of his future family have been stolen from him so unexpectedly. Maisie Williams [Arya Stark on GoT], plays Millie, a NOLA orphan. Millie and Henry develop a friendship to ease the pain of their loses in life. If you ever get the chance to watch this film, grab some tissues and settle down into your seats. After the film ended, I was privileged enough to stay for the Q&A with Biel, Justin Timberlake, and director of the film, Bill Purple. JT composed for the film. The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea actually took around eight years to finish writing the script, with major changes constantly discussed, cut, or added. Biel’s character also was not supposed to be pregnant in the final cut of the script, but she was actually pregnant in real life, so they changed the character. JT said that watching his wife die in the film was too real.

The next film that I saw was the Tribeca Tune In: For the Love of Spock. The documentary followed the life of Mr. Spock, as well as Leonard Nimoy, who played him for 50 years. Spock had been an icon in popular culture since the first episode of Star Trek. As an outsider, and for lack of better words, alien, he made audience members that did not  feel like they fit into society’s social norms feel like they have someone advocating for them. For the Love of Spock was directed by Nimoy’s son Adam, although the two had a rocky relationship throughout a majority of their lives, the two came together towards the end of Leonard’s life. Originally, the film was supposed to be exclusively about Spock,  but Leonard died in the developmental stages of the film and Adam decided it should honor both Mr. Spock and Leonard Nimoy. Unfortunately, I could not stay for the Q&A with Adam, producer David Zappone, current Mr. Spock Zachary Quinto, and Access Hollywood’s Scott Mantz, because I had to get to my last film. I did, however, get to sit behind Leonard’s grandson Mickey.

The last film I saw was a documentary called All This Panic. The documentary takes course over three years while it follows two sisters that live in New York City, Dusty and Ginger, as well as their friends. I do not know how these girls were picked and I do not mean to sound insensitive, but they had a lot of personal problems going on during an important period of growth. The film is best described as candid, despite the fact that the girls know that they are being filmed. The film covers everything from boys, sex, self discovery, to death of parents, and declarations of negligence. I give a lot of credit to the girls that were filmed, because it was a lot of work unfolding before my eyes and their story definitely expanded my view on how rough other people have it.

Overall, my experience was so awesome that I cannot even find words to describe it. I would like to thank Professor Novak and Professor Grossman for giving me the opportunity to go to Tribeca.