For Annette Insdorf, sitting down and talking with Al Pacino about his latest film is just second nature.

The stage is at the 92nd Street Y, New York on the Upper East Side, where Insdorf spoke with the movie legend.

“The whole room was just in love with him. He has electric energy, so to speak,” Insdorf said of the star of films like "The Godfather" and "Scarface."

Insdorf has been moderating the 92nd Street Y’s signature film series for 35 years.

The Columbia University film professor was born in France, the child of Holocaust survivors from Poland, and raised in the Bronx and Queens, where she developed a love for the cinema.

“I grew up with this appreciation and association of movies with big-screen glamour and sort of going outside yourself to a world you didn’t know,” Insdorf said.

Meryl Streep, Francis Ford Coppola, Hugh Jackman and Liam Neeson are among some of the greats of the silver screen she has spoken with over the years.

For Insdorf, the key to a great interview is doing a tremendous amount of preparation — really doing your homework.

“I love interviewing film artists. I love hearing about process. I never ask questions about things that are gossipy, who are you loving these days, it’s always about how do you approach this film, how do you make this,” Insdorf said.

Insdorf says she feels fortunate to get to talk about something she loves, and share that affection for film with her students and audiences at the 92nd Street Y.

“Today I taught a four-hour class, I showed them 'Cabaret,' and then I come here to the 92nd Street Y, where I get to interview some of the most talented people in the film world. I’m a lucky lady,” she said.