It’s officially fallen in New York City, but Thursday evenings are a refreshing summery day. Some of the Hollywood star-like women gather on the rooftop of the Tribeca Greenwich Hotel penthouse to toast the winners of the Tribeca and Chanel women’s filmmaking program.
The nearly entirely female crowd will be announced by ju-describers Sarah Paulson, Meghan Fahi, Caitlin Dever, Alison Janney, Payal Kapadia, Issa Ray and Jenny Slate, who will be the winners of this year’s Grand Prize. Their arranged wedding day.
For the past three days, Dube and Evangelista have been one of a selection group of filmmakers to participate in intensive workshops, one-on-one script development sessions and intimate conversations through the Lens Mentorship Program. As winners, they receive full funding to produce short films with the support of Tribeca Studios.
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For Paulson, the beauty of working through these young filmmakers’ projects was a distance from commercial components that could alleviate creative freedom. “I was inspired because I was hit in the face for the purity of my original interest in the medium in the first place,” Paulson tells Variety. “You can find yourself in the pursuit of artistic acceptance and dive into what’s really important to you, but it’s mixed with the commercial elements of life that you need to live to make a living, and some of these are the exact opposites.”
“But somehow,” she continues, “You have this moment with all these young filmmakers at the beginning of their careers and life. They are so pure with ideas, confidence, curiosity and exploration, and do not feel the boundaries and limitations of commercial filmmaking. It was so powerful and powerful.”
From my talk with Paulson, it is clear that the program, along with fellow ju judge Fahy and the grand prize winner himself, is a mutually beneficial experience. “Most of us are used to being on the other side, so sitting on the couch on the other side of the table was something we all felt very aware,” Fahee says. “We got feedback on how happy everyone is that we’re smiling at them, but I think it’s because we all really believe in stepping into the room, trying to achieve something, being really nervous and facing something that you don’t feel very comfortable with.”
The young filmmakers on the other side of the table were given script notes and career advice, while the veteran ju-decides were given hope from the younger generation.
Paulson said: “They know what’s going on with AI. They know what’s going on inside the studio system. They know how difficult it is to make a film, but here they have their ideas. Light.”
Below, Paulson talks about variety through the lens program, finds inspiration for the next generation of filmmakers, and how he found hope in today’s unprecedented political moments.
First of all, how was your Emmy’s night?
All of these winners were for me, like communication between people who not only carve boxes but also pay jobs based on (real talent). It was a big night, and a big night with inspiring speeches for women over 40 years old. Maybe it’s a big rush and it’s going to be an influx of stories of people in their 40s and 50s.
There were a lot of people who deserved to win, right? The person I thought I should win didn’t win. So my argument is that the value of the work was not crowned with the statue, so it is not so important, worthy or worthy? And, in my opinion, the answer is no. The people I admire will not diminish in light of the victory of others.
Would you like to see more on movies and TV?
I love the drama of a good kitchen sink. Looking back at these films in the ’70s and ’80s, like “Alice No longer Lives Here”, “The Women Is Influenced”, “Opening Night”, and even “Postcards from the Edge”, it feels like there was a time to look back at these films, like these films made about personal and interpersonal relationships. There were no events or explosions. Or the world is coming to an end, or lava is everywhere on the streets of Manhattan. It was like how people deal with each other and how you made your life work. What was life? There was so much research into it at another time of filmmaking, and there doesn’t seem to be much space for it. Or, if that happens, it happens more on TV. It’s great because it’s also a great job.
It feels like we’re seeing more in the books. Are there any books you would like to adapt to?
I wonder if “Intermezzo” (by Sally Rooney) will become a film. I liked the book in a really unnatural way. I was obsessed with the book, I was really obsessed with it.
Also, “The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store” (by James McBride) is an incredible book and I think it will be made into a film, but I don’t think I’ve written it yet. But it was a book I loved. I’m reading so much right now. Because it feels like a great place to live inside. But running away is not the mode we should live in. We wonder if we should live in a mode of awake and being.
What does it mean to you to be present in this political moment?
It’s a conversation I have with friends and the same as you are sure that you have a conversation with your friends. So, what do we do? Do you need a revolution? Do we need to enter the street so that we are not on the street? When you look around in a restaurant, you’re in Manhattan, people eat their dinner, roam and live their lives… I don’t know what an alternative is.
Shifting through her lens, it is clear that it is a very special experience for all involved and mutually beneficial to both the mentee and the ju apprentice.
I kept telling them all before they entered the room with the ju umpire, and I was like everyone of them, and I was able to assure you this, they are worried that they are not enough to offer you now. I’m worried they won’t say the right thing. They worry that they won’t award anyone the award, and that someone will be disappointed. And they will worry that it will not be enough to meet them at the table. Everyone is worried. No matter what level you are, everyone has fraud syndrome. And I think it’s just trying to stabilize the anxiety that somehow someone was better than the others.
What stood out to you about the script you saw?
The beauty of it, no one thought about it, is someone going to buy this and make this? Of course, they want to win the competition. But they want to make it – that’s more about it than anything. They all had the perfect idiosyncratic voice of the person who was making it. It was not bodied or easily digestible.
None of the questions I had (for them) had anything to do with how it was accessible about this, how I met at a moment of commercial opportunity, etc. It wasn’t about that at all. I asked them, “If the script lands on your desk, would you want to be a part of it?”
