Introducing Students to the Jets, Sharks and the Man Behind Elmo

Thanks to AT&T for making the 2011-2012 Tribeca Youth Screening Series possible!

West Side Story may be fifty years old, but the students who saw the film at our December 15th Youth Screening found that there were still many elements that spoke to them. "I can relate to all of these characters -- these are the types of people that are on my block," one observed in the post-screening discussion led by filmmaker and activist Loira Limbal (Estilo Hip Hop). Another noted that the film tried "to show what was happening and what was going on in these teenagers' lives. No one really talks about that in our communities."

While the audience, made up of New York City high school students, found the 152 minute runtime and musical format different and sometimes challenging, they were engaged by the story and its representation of different communities in Manhattan. "I didn't understand the choices Maria made. I would have never made the choice to date Tony if it was going to cause my family that much trouble," said one viewer, while another observed the impact of diverse portrayals of immigrant groups: "It is important because people start thinking that this stuff is true. Then they keep saying the same stuff about these people." The students talked about the casting of white actors as Puerto Ricans, noting that they thought the accents were over the top and they were "trying too hard" to be authentically Latino.

On December 14th, we showed an audience of middle school students Being Elmo, Constance Marks and Philip Shane's documentary about Kevin Clash, the puppeteer behind the beloved Sesame Street character. Filmmaker Philip Swift led the Q&A with a class of young ladies from The Young Women's Leadership School in Brooklyn, touching on topics like starting to pursue your dreams from an early age.

The students discussed the importance of having a good mentor, like the one Clash had in Jim Henson, and volunteered their own career goals, which included homicide detective, veterinarian, historian/librarian, actress and forensic scientist. They pointed out the everyone loves Elmo: "I think this film was engaging for us and for adults too -- I heard you guys laughing in the back when we did!"

We'll be listing the films for our January screenings soon!