Crafting Creative Paths: Insights from Tribeca Filmmakers
The 2024 Tribeca Film Festival brought together an array of voices, each offering a unique perspective on creativity, perseverance, and the transformative power of storytelling. From seasoned directors to emerging writers, these filmmakers share intimate reflections on their journeys, revealing how they navigate the intricate landscapes of imagination and artistry.
We asked filmmakers featured in the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival to share how they’ve weaved their creative paths. From Dream to Screen… here are their thoughts!
How would you describe your creative practice?
Callie Carpinteri (Director/Writer) - DIRTY TOWEL
My creative practice usually begins from personal inspiration. A lot of times I write from what I’m feeling and from my own experiences to create a story that deeply resonates with me. When I have a core idea or theme that I want to explore, I develop the story from there and let the genre and tone come naturally depending on what the story is. Next, I focus on writing the script, getting feedback from trusted friends to strengthen and perfect it.
Once the script is written, I work on finding a team that is passionate about the film and that I think will be great to work with. I’m very big on collaboration so this is my favorite part of the creative process. I love when I find the right people because it becomes truly such a rewarding, fun, and productive practice bringing the film to life. From there, my creative practice remains a blend of my own personal inspiration and vision as well as the ideas and support of my team.
Roxy Shih (Director) - BEACON
I don't think filmmaking defines me. I think I am a person who is just trying to stay present and love every moment of this little life that I live. I really love crocheting. I believe that you should, this is my belief. It doesn't have to be for everyone, but being mindful in terms of doing something with their hands, meditative practice, whether it's cooking or playing music, just making sure you're not thinking too far ahead into the future and not staying too close to your past. Just trying to experience life every day as it comes and finding joy in choosing to be happy every day. I think that's my biggest success in life. It's nice that I premiered at Tribeca, and I'm lucky to be a filmmaker at this day and age where women and queer people are allowed to be. We are giving that space and opportunity. There's still a long way to go, but at least I can represent that. I'm just grateful for my life and I'm grateful for everything I have. And to me, that is the biggest success is when I could recognize.
Delaney Buffett (Director/Writer) - ADULT BEST FRIENDS
I spend a lot of time (probably too much) with the script (whether writing or analyzing). People warned me as a director you get asked an overwhelming number of questions, so I feel if I know the story and the characters like the back of my hand, I will be better equipped to help the cast and crew do their parts on the day.
Katie Corwin (Writer) - ADULT BEST FRIENDS
When we are on a roll writing or editing, I’m giddy and can’t stop smiling. We’re having so much fun together, just making each other laugh. Acting requires me to be more dropped in. Even in high energy, comedic scenes, I like to slow my brain down, so I can be as intentional as possible.
Alyssa Litman (Writer/Director) - PERFECT TEN
I always start with a personal connection to a story. Whether it’s something that actually happened to me, or a situation that I can really see myself in. When I work on the script I’ll usually have a few funny but anxiety inducing scenes in mind and then I’ll build out the natural turns for the rest of the story. As far as directing goes, I’ll do research on images, whether that’s art, fashion, or locations in real life. And I definitely watch movies that have the feeling I’m trying to invoke with my film. Then I put all of this together in a lookbook to make sure everything is cohesive and everyone understands what I’m thinking. The more preparation I do, the more confident I feel to try new things on set while still keeping my vision in mind. I’ve been so lucky to work with very talented actors who make such smart choices, and I feel like my job as a director is to have a variety of ideas to infuse in each take so we’re not just asking them to do the same performance over and over with no feedback. It could be as simple as “this time do the scene like you really gotta pee”, which ended up being one of my favorite takes of the bar conversation in PERFECT TEN. When things are working really well, the actors are making moments I didn’t know could be there, and are hopefully excited to try an angle I suggest that they didn’t consider when they first read the script.
Nay Tabbara (Director and Writer) - EBB & FLOW
My stories come mostly from lived experiences and other fascinations. Sometimes, they also come from dreams I had that I wake up and write down and develop further later. But the main way I’m usually able to lean into my creative practice is by journaling. It just always helps me to sift through all the dirt of self-judgment and self-censorship to sit down to write or conceptualize, and it forces me to be present. Before any writing session, I spend a bit of time writing about the project in order to “leave the worries at the door” and dive into my process.
Contessa Gayles (Director/Cinematographer) - THE DEBUTANTES
My creative practice is centered on healing and liberation.
Can you talk about your career path, any unexpected turns, and any lessons you’ve learned along the way?
Rachel Wolther (Director/Screenwriter) - THE FRENCH ITALIAN
My path to writing and directing this film has not been a straight line. Even though I’ve spent my entire life wanting to be a writer, and by 17 knew I wanted to make films, it was still not easy or obvious how I would get to the point where I was actually making my own movie. I have worked many different jobs in the film industry, followed leads that turned into dead ends (although some turned into wonderful friendships!), and all the time working a variety of random money jobs. It’s only through persistence and sheer luck that I was able to get The French Italian over the finish line.
Roxy Shih (Director) - BEACON
My twenties was very much about just trying to become visible. And that is such a valid thing because sometimes you think no one will care if I tell my own story, but really, you have to infuse your authenticity into everything you do, even if it's not written by you. That has to be honest. And also, community is the most important. Help your community create space for each other. And also to advocate for authentic representation and authentic authorship. Write what you know. But also that doesn't mean only write your own experience. You can infuse it into any type of genre, any type of setting. But as long as you surround yourself with people that could give you a real accurate experience of what that may be, then you're doing the right thing. You will become visible if you just live as yourself and you speak as yourself, and the right people will come to you. But when they do, choose carefully.
Delaney Buffett (Director/Writer) - ADULT BEST FRIENDS
After graduating school, I knew I wanted to work in Film & TV, but I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do. My first job out of college was an assistant in the marketing department at HBO. In watching my bosses work with the creatives behind the shows, I got a better grasp of what everyone did: producer, director, composer, etc. As much as I loved my job, I wanted to know more about the actual process of making a movie, so eventually I transitioned from the office to set. On set, I had no idea what I was doing. It was a complicated process. There was a lingo I didn’t understand. But I had patient bosses who told me it was okay to ask questions when I was confused. I learned quickly because I didn’t pretend I knew what I was doing. In this industry, there is something to be said of the “fake it till you make it” mentality, but I personally have had better experiences in saying “I have no idea what that means'' because then that much more informed person will take the time to explain it to me. I think it is important to be open to learning new things at every stage in your career because you will just be armed with so much knowledge for the future.
Katie Corwin (Writer) - ADULT BEST FRIENDS
Don’t be afraid to adjust your dreams. There can be this idea that if you stop or pivot, you “gave up.” But I don’t think that’s true. I think you should be constantly assessing what is serving you and what is not. Even though I grew up wanting to act, after a while, it stopped feeling rewarding to me. Instead of forcing myself to stay the course no matter what, I started writing. And, ironically, that move eventually helped me enjoy performing again. Stay flexible and allow yourself to change - or change back - without judgment.
Alyssa Litman (Writer/Director) - PERFECT TEN
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is you have to be patient. I had starts and stops at various assistant positions, and I watched many people get their first opportunity before me. There were times I was worried I had gone too long focusing on only one aspect of what I wanted to do, whether that was writing over directing or tv over features. Now I realize that everything is cumulative and makes you a better filmmaker, nothing is a waste. My ability to produce this film on a small budget, write toward the resources we had and work with the actors we cast were all a product of the assistant jobs that I did before I got my first official writing job. I’ve realized this industry is a marathon not a sprint and there’s going to be peaks and valleys over the course of a long career. Being able to survive the times when things are slower or more scarce is the key, but it’s hard to know it’ll work out until you get a few wins.
Nay Tabbara (Director and Writer) - EBB & FLOW
My film career started out as an Assistant Director on film sets and I loved working in that department. I not only learned more about film techniques and tools to execute the work, but it most importantly taught me how to lead a team. Being an AD, you have to work closely with everyone, embody an incredible amount of patience while also being very alert and present and finding the balance in leadership. And that has helped my directing journey immensely. It has also taught me how to trust collaborators and how to find the right ones that can contribute to the vision of the story and the healthy energy of a movie set. I wouldn’t say there were any majorly unexpected turns in my career yet. I always knew I wanted to write and direct, and after working on the movie set The Insult in Lebanon in summer 2016 and observing and learning so much from watching the great Lebanese director Ziad Doueiri work, I felt it was time for me to pursue that path and get more training, which is when I started to apply for grad film school and then afterwards moved to NYC to pursue my training at NYU. I’m always open to new experiences and new adventures within my work and the projects I collaborate on, and I’m excited to see what other turns it can take.
Callie Carpinteri (Director/Writer) - DIRTY TOWEL
Growing up, I always loved creative writing. In fact, I loved it so much that I dreamed of becoming an author and started imagining novel ideas. As I got older, my love expanded to include shows and movies as well. However, it wasn’t until senior year of high school that I took a class called AICE Media Studies where we were taught how to analyze films - the composition, color, story, everything - as well as had to make our own. I found myself caring more about that class than anything else. However, no one in my family knew anything about the film industry and was worried, so I ended up starting college at the University of Florida as a political science major. On the first day of classes, I realized I couldn't ignore my passion. Despite not having any true knowledge or support on how I’d make it, I decided to switch my major to film. It was the best decision I ever made. To anyone reading this and scared to switch their major to what they love: just do it. Once in the major, I knew I loved writing so naturally my first thought was to try screenwriting. It took a while to learn but I really enjoyed it and knew I wanted to continue to do it. On the production side, I had absolutely no idea what the different roles meant. One of the best things I learned was you never know until you try. I decided to try different roles until I found one that felt right. I explored everything from producing to editing and more until I had the chance to try directing.
The first film I ever truly directed was a thesis film my junior year called “Indecision.” I had no idea what I was doing but I did know one thing: I absolutely loved it. I loved having a hand in each aspect of the film process, I loved leading a team, and I loved working with the actors to bring it to life. From then on, my goals became more solidified in writing and directing.
When I graduated from UF in December of 2022, I moved to LA two weeks later. It was the scariest decision of my life but ultimately the most fulfilling. Although I wasn't entirely sure what the next steps would look like, I knew I needed to just believe in myself. In March of 2023, Dirty Towel was born out of a passionate conversation with my co-writer and cousin, Emma Parks, and I. I’m so grateful everyday that we decided to make this film. It taught me so incredibly much about independent filmmaking and solidified that writing and directing is truly what I want to do. The biggest and best lesson I’ve learned is to just keep doing it. Even when life is crazy, I always find myself wanting more than anything to be making films. It’s that passion and drive that keeps me going and why I’m hopeful for the future.
What’s the best advice you’ve received as a filmmaker?
Rachel Wolther (Director/Screenwriter) - THE FRENCH ITALIAN
The best advice I ever heard was not to worry about what everyone else is doing. Only you can make your film in your voice, so you just have to do your best.
Contessa Gayles (Director/Cinematographer) - THE DEBUTANTES
“Build your own table.”
Roxy Shih (Director) - BEACON
Decenter yourself is probably the best advice I have. It's never about you. It's always about the work. And there's always one more room, one more chair you could pull up to the table. We're not fighting each other, we're making space for each other.
Delaney Buffett (Director/Writer) - ADULT BEST FRIENDS
Stay true to your voice.
Katie Corwin (Writer) - ADULT BEST FRIENDS
Make something you personally would be excited to watch.
Alyssa Litman (Writer/Director) - PERFECT TEN
Feed your cast and crew well. And more broadly make your cast and crew as comfortable as possible. If everyone feels taken care of then there’s nothing stopping them from doing their best work, and you’re setting the project up for success.
Nay Tabbara (Director and Writer) - EBB & FLOW
The best advice I’ve received as a filmmaker was from one of my professors at NYU who always said that the most important thing in filmmaking is to follow your gut. If something feels off in the script and you’re ignoring it, it will go wrong on set, and it will go wrong in post - solve it before you even turn on the camera.
Callie Carpinteri (Director/Writer) - DIRTY TOWEL
The best advice I’ve ever received was to just do it. Don’t wait around for other people to give you opportunities when you can get out there and create them for yourself. Don’t wait for the so-called “right time.” The right time is when you decide to make what you want to make and just do it. It’s what prompted me to make this short film, regardless of some people telling me not to, and it’s how I’ve been able to keep pursuing this dream.
