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It may have been one of the most enthusiastic audiences during the entire Tribeca Film Festival. A thousand middle and high school students filled the main theater, cheering on filmmakers their own age. The films were short and so were the young filmmakers' resumes. But they walked the same long red carpet as Robert De Niro and Jessica Alba, an experience the students say was life changing.

"I think it's amazing. We never thought that it would actually make it here," said Academy High School for Film and Music student Dionis Quezada.

Quezada was one of three young student filmmakers from the Life Academy High School for Film and Music in Bensonhurst Brooklyn. The students made a short film about searching for Dominican culture in New York. Their film teacher submitted the movie to Tribeca on a whim and then forgot about it, never even telling the students until he heard they had made it into the festival.

"He was like, 'Guys you won!' I was like, what? The Tribeca film festival? Oh my God!" said Academy High School for Film and Music student Jose Valdez.

"For my students to see themselves on the big screen and to get that sense of accomplishment that they really did something and other people are noticing them I think is really good for their confidence and future learning," said Life Academy High School for Film and Music teacher Gideon Rafel-Frankel.

Every year, the film festival includes short films made by local kids. It's called "Our City, My Story" and this year included a film on teenage motherhood, and an exploration of the effects of the atomic bomb on young Japanese New Yorkers. The 14 films, ranging from funny to somber, from artsy to intellectual, screened twice -- at night for family and during the day for other students.

"It's important that they're heard and that people understand that it's a new age and people are making videos and making films and the next generation is already at work," said Lisa Lucas, Director of Education, Tribeca Film Festival.

"We never had a chance like this before. This is our first editing time and we never knew that it would make it to the Tribeca. This is such a big thing for us," said Academy High School for Film and Music student Slimane Rabout.

The student filmmakers, their teachers, and classmates in the audience all say participating in the festival has been inspiring and something they hope is not a once in a lifetime experience.