Foundations for a Storytelling Future Built at Tribeca X

Jordan P. Kelley, Content Director, BrandStorytelling

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Tribeca X, the brand and industry focused specialty event within the Tribeca Film Festival, took place yesterday, June 14th, at Spring Studios New York. The Indeed Theater served as the day’s nerve center, hosting conversations and breakout sessions with industry thought leaders as they shared their insights and perspective on AI assisted story finding, purpose-driven stories, the rapid proliferation of distribution channels, and building a more diverse and inclusive environment within the creative industry.

Tribeca Festival Co-Founder Jane Rosenthal kicked off the day, followed by morning sessions with industry heavyweights Linda Boff, Alan Wexler, and Diane Von Furstenberg, with conversations moderated respectively by Jim Cooper (EIC, Digiday) and Seth Meyers of Late-Night fame.

Morning subjects revolved around maintaining corporate longevity by staying flexible, adapting to consumer needs, putting corporate social responsibility first, and leveraging the power of storytelling to achieve all the above.

Additional morning speakers included Gary Vaynerchuk (CEO, VaynerMedia), Mark Rotblat (CRO, Tubi), Alex Kalomparis (SVP of Public Affairs, Gilead Sciences) George Arison (CEO, Grindr), Jarvis Sam (Founder & CEO, The Rainbow Disruption), Haider Rafique (Global Chief Marketing Officer, OKX), and moderator Sherry Philips (CRO, Forbes).

Participants were then asked to join in the conversation by participating in one of several breakout sessions, which ranged from subjects including brand story distribution, measurement, and the implementation of AI, AR, and VR into storytelling and brand building.

In the afternoon, audiences were introduced to multiple case studies around creating inclusive and inspirational content for audiences. Indeed, U.S. Bank, and Stacy’s Pita Chips shared how they’re invested in long-form inspirational storytelling with the goal of fostering emotion and action in consumers. Speakers included Jennifer Warren (Vice President, Global Brand and Creative, Indeed), Kelly Colbert (SVP, Head of Brand Advertising & Creative Strategy, U.S. Bank), and Rhasheda Boyd (VP, Marketing, Frito-Lay) in a conversation moderated by Sara Colamarino (Consultant, SC Blueprint Inc.).

One award per category was given to films from the field of Tribeca X Official Selections - with ‘Gorillaz Presents… Skinny Ape’ winning in the Immersive category, ‘Making an Impossible Airplane’ in Audio, ‘Full Bleed’ in Series, ‘Translators’ in Shorts, and ‘Earthbound’ in the Feature category.

A successful and educational day at Tribeca X closed with Al Roker, Emmy Nominated Filmmaker Eternal Polk, Mara Downing (Vice President of Global Brand and Communications, John Deere), and moderator Brent Lang (Executive Editor, Variety), who discussed the rise of brand storytelling as a change agent, spotlighting their new film ‘Gaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land’. The film demonstrates how a first-person narrative can build trust, empathy, and a call to action, as well as strike a balance between message and marketing.