On Saturday, Taylor Swift made a rare public appearance at the Tribeca Film Festival, speaking with indie filmmaker Mike Mills about her short film for “All Too Well.” At New York’s Beacon Theatre, she spoke with Mills for an hour, giving a fascinating glimpse into her creative process. Meet Film Geek (Taylor’s Version), a whole new side of Dr. Swift.
Taylor has been virtually deafeningly quiet on social media for the majority of the year. She gave her NYU commencement speech last month, but she went even more personal here, sharing how John Cassavetes and Barbara Stanwyck affected her filmmaking. (Her brain!) She showed the movie and invited stars Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien to attend. And, to top it all off, she finished with a 10-minute solo acoustic rendition of “All Too Well.”
Taylor adopted a tough cineaste persona, which was fitting for such a prestigious film festival. She summed up her objectives with a Cassavetes quote: “I’ve never seen a helicopter explode.” I’ve never witnessed somebody blowing someone’s head off. So what’s the point of making films about them? But I’ve seen individuals destroy themselves in the most insignificant of ways.” Swift continued, “Wow, I got a sense of that.”
Is 10 minutes of “All Too Well” simply not enough for you? Taylor Swift’s opus, with new instrumentals and a retailed outro, was surreptitiously made accessible to watch on Saturday (June 11) while the singer-songwriter-director screened and discussed her All Too Well short film at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.
The new cinematic version of “All Too Well,” officially titled “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (The Short Film,” runs 11 minutes and 26 seconds. Swift’s “10-minute” version, which was published on her re-recorded Red album, lasts 10 minutes and 13 seconds.
Swift’s current remix of the song closes with the dramatic “They say all’s well that ends well/ But I’m in a new hell every time/ You double cross my thoughts” line of the song repeating, slowly fading out as she tragically recalls, “It’s meant to be enjoyable, turning 21.”
Swift spoke about All Too Well: The Short Film, starring Dylan O’Brien and Sadie Sink, and sang “All Too Well” for the lucky audience at the Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday. Swift directed, wrote, and starred in the production, which debuted in November.
Stream her song “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (The Short Film)” on Spotify and Apple Music right now.