Now approaching its sixth year, Tribeca Talks continues to provide funny, smart, serious, and timely panel discussions and conversations at the Tribeca Film Festival. Last year’s series was no exception with conversation pieces ranging from the ever prevalent issue of alternative film distribution with pioneers such as Steven Soderbergh and Todd Wagner to the biology of King Kong with Academy Award winning creature architect Joe Leterri.

Tribeca Talks’ audiences were on hand for great stories and lessons from headline makers such as Lost and Alias creator J.J. Abrams, the legendary Morgan Freeman, and the man with his finger on the pulse of American music, T Bone Burnett. Joining the ranks of previous Tribeca Talks professors like Martin Scorsese and Sydney Pollack, Harold Ramis (a Tribeca Talks “alum” from 2002!) was joined by a dais full of his great admirers as they took a look back at the influence of Ramis’s comedy on American anti-establishment humor.

The series also took a close look at several important issues facing the world today. Deborah Scranton, director of The War Tapes, joined Jarhead scribe Anthony Swofford and others to discuss the hands-on filmmaking experience of soldiers embedded in war torn countries. In conjunction with the opening night premiere of United 93, Tribeca Talks presented a free discussion for the public entitled “Visions of History & Truth: Artists in Action After 9/11.” The panel was moderated by WNYC’s Brian Lehrer and included United 93 producer Lloyd Levin and Ann Hoog, a curator of the September 11th Documentary Project at the Library of Congress.

Other panel discussions included a close look at the ever growing market for faith based films, the major inroads Latina women have made on film, and a tongue-in-cheek discussion on mocking the truth with the likes of Michael McKean, Jeff Goldblum and Ed Helms of The Daily Show.

The Tribeca Talks series continues to produce sold out events with exciting original content created live on stage at the festival, sculpting inspirational concepts and challenging subject matter.