Tribeca Film Fellows

Twenty students will have access to all things cinema delivered in a six-week intensive youth development program focused on the craft and business of film.  Each year, TFI selects twenty NYC youth filmmakers, ages 16-19 to participate in our Tribeca Film Fellows program.  Programming will include a creative project, panel discussions, workshops, mentoring by festival film directors, screenings, and special events, throughout the Tribeca Film Festival.

Through this fellowship, students will gain a deeper knowledge of higher education and career opportunities in media through intensive workshops and direct contact with seasoned filmmakers.  They will also become better educated about the independent film community and the role of international film festivals in the industry.  Finally, Fellows will forge new positive relationships with peers, educators and festival filmmakers that will assist with their individual, scholastic and career development.  Our Fellows will continue to receive support after the Festival through one-on-one college and career counseling in the fall. 

Mentorship:

Each Film Fellow is assigned a mentor throughout the program; meetings are one-on-one and are used to guide the Film Fellows through the film proposal process.  At the end, film fellows will have a polished proposal to pitch to the Youth Achievement Award panel and more importantly a wealth of knowledge garnered from their mentor.

Filmmaking:

The Film Fellows program is uniquely dedicated to serving New York City youth filmmakers where they receive one-on-one instruction and mentorship in filmmaking to capture the essence of the city they live in through a creative project. Cityscapes will be presented as an introduction to Our City, My Story at the Festival.

Youth Achievement Awards:

Each year, TFI awards four Film Fellows with $1,500 Youth Achievement Awards that are given based on excellence, sustained effort and the presentation of a film proposal. These awards are intended to make our students goals of both filmmaking and higher learning one step closer to becoming a reality.

Screenings:

Film Fellows each attend numerous screenings during the Festival—including a variety of shorts, narrative or documentary features, homegrown or foreign, all will add to their film knowledge base.