Taylor Swift Talks Directing at Tribeca Film Festival

Taylor Swift blurred the lines between sold out arenas and quiet independent film screenings during her Storytellers session at Tribeca Film Festival. She wrote, directed, and starred in All Too Well: The Short Film and brought it to the Beacon Theater to screen and later discuss her artistic process. Swift was joined on stage by Mike Mills, director of 20^th Century Women, C’mon C’mon, and I Am Easy to Find. The latter being a short film with the band The National, a member of which, Aaron Dresner, is a frequent collaborator with Taylor Swift.

The crowd was filled with young fans of Taylor, or Swifties as they refer to themselves who frequently erupted into cheers after remarks from Swift or Mills, causing them both to acknowledge it felt almost like a concert rather that a film screening. “It’s better that they’re screaming than if they’re skeptically quiet” remarked the singer.

Mike Mills proclaimed himself a filmmaker who wants to be a musician and asked Taylor how she expanded into filmmaking from music. “Once I started directing music videos, I didn’t want to not do it. I found it incredibly fulfilling” she said. Swift, known for her lively stories in her music mentioned how natural she felt the transition was from imagining a story as she writes a song, to bringing that vision to life on the screen. She has directed nearly every one of her music videos since The Man, released in 2020.

Later in the interview they surprised the crowd by bringing out Sadie Sink, and Dylan O’Brien the two main characters in the short film. Both actors praised Swift on her direction throughout the process. Both stated how much artistic vision Taylor brought while allowing them to also collaborate and feel free to bring their own take on it.

After the Q&A, a stool and red guitar were brought out for Taylor as the crowd erupted. “We’re running a little long, but does everybody have 10 minutes?” she asked before performing to an elated crowd the 10 minute version of All Too Well.

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