Angelina Jolie screens her film at the Tribeca Film Festival

Academy Award-winner Angelina Jolie attended the Tribeca Film Festival on Friday (27 April) night to host a screening of her documentary, A Place in Time.

The premiere wasn't packed with the usual group of paparazzi and camera crews. Instead, Jolie invited students in the New York public school system as her guests.

The Jolie directed movie captures the lives of people and animals in more than 25 countries. In early 2005, she hired nearly 40 film crews to shoot during a six-day period. Each crew aspired to offer an inside look into the lives of people living worldwide in hopes of raising intercultural understanding.

Jolie also enlisted her celebrity friends including Sean Astin, Colin Farrell, Ryan Gosling, Anne Hathaway, Djimon Hounsou, Wyclef Jean, Jude Law, Bai Ling, Jonny Lee Miller, James Haven, Hilary Swank, and Nandita Das to participate in the documentary.

Prior to the screening, the Jolie participated in a question and answer session with the students. One student asked Jolie what advice she gives to aspiring filmmakers?

Jolie responded:

"This one came together in the end because it started in a pure place. It wasn't, 'I want to make a movie, or I want people to come and see a movie.' I didn't plan to get lucky and work with a school board. It was just we all felt there was something beautiful that wasn't being shared. I think is something comes from an organic place that is genuine and then you follow through, no one can ever tell you something is wrong with it. No one can ever knock you down when they say that doesn't really work because you say, 'Yeah, but we love it. It's honest and it's ours.'"

The National Education Association (NEA) have formed a partnership with Jolie to distribute the film through its organisation.