Tribeca Film Festival 2023

Rising Voices, Games & Immersive Experiences & the Hub

June 12, 2023 / Film & Cinema in Manhattan NYC / Manhattan Neighborhoods / Manhattan Buzz.

I headed into the Tribeca Film Festival on a Monday, June 12, 2023 - which was in the middle of the festival, which runs Wednesday, June 7th thru Sunday, June 18th.  On this day there were two major categories of events, both of which are of interest to me.  The first was Rising Voices, which seeks to elevate the voices and stories of those whose voices and stories aren't often heard, and the second was the gaming and immersive experience categories, which tries to leverage technology into storytelling in order to enhance it.

At right you see a visitor engaged at one of the service desks at the Tribeca Film Festival in June of 2023.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report on the Tribeca Film Festival 2023 in NYC.

Tribeca Film Festival 2023

Rising Voices, Games & Immersive Experiences & the Hub

June 12, 2023 / Film & Cinema in Manhattan NYC / Manhattan Neighborhoods / Manhattan Buzz.

Spring Studios aka The Hub - Epicenter for the Tribeca Film Festival

I arrived late afternoon at the Tribeca Film Festival Hub - Spring Studios.  Spring Studios has been the Tribeca Film Festival hub since 2015, which is roughly half the life of the festival.  It's centered at Varick Street, between Canal and Ericsson Place, just south and across from the Holland Tunnel, and more or less at the north end of Tribeca.

The mood and level of activity was generally pretty mellow, as it was a Monday and weekday, there wasn't the hustle bustle I generally encountered when attending on the weekends.  Given we've still not entirely shrugged off the CoVid pandemic, this was a welcome ambiance for me.

At right you can see the audience enjoying themselves during a talk by one of the Rising Voices film makers.

Rising Voices Feastures Upcoming Film Makers with Scarcely Heard Tales

After signing in, I headed up the 7th Floor where the Rising Voices program was being featured.  When I entered the theater, a young Asian woman was talking about her experience growing up as an Asian in the U.S. and dealing with and adapting to the cross-cultural influences within her own home and the world outside.  This was followed by another film, also produced by an Asian female photographer, who talked about the challenges of producing what might be her last exhibit, as she deals with a sudden loss of vision.

At right you see one of the attendees of the Tribeca Film Festival wearing the immersive / gaming goggles where he's getting a 3D experience which is aided / monitored by the woman sitting at the desk behind him in the lower right corner of the photo.

The Immersive & Gaming Section Tickles my Funny Bone

After watching the films, I headed down into the games and immersive floor, where many visitors had donned the interactive goggles to head into worlds, created by others, by themselves.  Back in the 70's and 80's students used to rely on chemicals to escape their reality, while today that's no longer necessary, as we can escape into audio and visual experiences, without inhaling or ingesting anything.  I find it kind of funny to see people wearing those goggles, immersed in the technological rabbit hole and completely oblivious to the world around them.

Spring Studios aka the Hub Continues to Evolve & has a Casual Conversational Feel to it

Since the hub wasn't crowded, I did a bit more exploring of the facility than I had done in the past.  I found a computer room library, with tables of computers and keyboards, and very quiet and empty during the few moments I was there.  I ventured into a new restaurant and bar, with an expansive wall of windows, that was casually populated with a mix of folks from various walks of life.  And I returned to the two rooms I inevitably visit while covering the festival - both of which face west into the green space across Varick street where some of the cars coming out of the Holland Tunnel circle through before continuing on into the city.

At right is the dining / bar area of the Tribeca Film Festival. It's a comfortable, relaxed setting - ideal for getting acquainted, or better acquainted, with other attendees or folks in the film industry.

The Festival Returned in 2021 & Moved Past CoVid Pretty Quickly

For me this was a year of returning to the Tribeca Film Festival, after a hiatus that began around the time of the pandemic.  Like most entertainment programs, the festival went on hiatus in 2020, returning with caution in 2021, and more vigorously since. The festival had been adjusting its calendar time from April to May prior to the pandemic, and then shifted into early June in the wake of the 2020 hiatus, where it has remained since. 

There's still nearly a whole week [ends Sunday, June 18th, 2023] to catch some of the movies, talks, interactive and related programs being offered at the Tribeca Film Festival of 2023.  Enjoy.