Actors Taye Diggs, Autumn Federici, Gary Entin, Troy Brookins, Edmund Entin and Eric Guilmette attend the world premiere of Microhouse Films and Lifetime's Reunion Island during the ALZA Festival. | Getty Images for Lifetime. It remains to be seen if people really want to watch vertical content on horizontal TV screens, but many filmmakers and creators were confident that their latest projects would play well at Alza - New York City's first microdrama film festival. Founded by former Tribeca Festival chief operating officer Pete Torres, Alza, which took place October 16th through 18th, was billed as a showcase for the "the creativity, innovation, and growing cultural impact of stories made for the vertical screen." The festival featured a selection of microdrama and film premieres as well as industry-focused panels with executives who all seemed to genuinely beli …
New York’s first microdrama film festival searches for its audience
The Alza film festival was a fascinating snapshot of how the entertainment industry is trying to reinvent itself.

Key takeaways
New York's first microdrama film festival, Alza, aimed to showcase vertical screen storytelling and its future impact.
- Alza was New York City's first microdrama film festival, held October 16-18.
- Founded by Pete Torres, it highlighted vertical screen storytelling and innovation.
- Industry experts believed vertical entertainment would shape the future of media.
Summarised automatically by AI from the original article by The Verge. AI can make mistakes, so check the original for details.
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