A Guide to the Tribeca Film Festival

A quick glance at the TV or a casual flip through the New York Times will reveal that the Tribeca Film Festival has gone out of its way to advertise this year. Film festivals aren't just for industry types and starlets on red carpets, they're a way to bring new films to audiences who appreciate cinema as an art form. And don't think the words 'film festival' mean inscrutable six-minute black-and-white art pieces about empty suitcases; the lineup has everything from family comedies to short romances to a documentary called "37 Uses for a Dead Sheep". But how can you take it all in? Here are some pointers toward getting the best out of this spring's lineup.

(1) Avoid movies you've already heard of! Sure, you can see "Poseidon" and "United 93"-but you'll be able to see those for weeks on end at your local multiplex along with the rest of the world. If you must go to celebrity-watch, go (maybe you'll run into Tribeca's own Robert De Niro), but a film festival is an opportunity to see movies you might otherwise never have a chance to experience. Check out the films tagged Discovery or Showcase for things that are relatively new to the world; you might be among the first people to see the next big indie sensation.

(2) Mix it up between shorts and features. Short filmmaking has never had the same hold on American audiences the way feature films have, but there is something to be said for variety, and the economy with which a short director must work to tell a story. And because there are more shorts than features being made out there, the competition is fiercer, which ensures better movies for the audience.

(3) If you're just testing the waters in the world of film festivals, Tribeca has special designations in the program for projects shot in, based out of or about New York.

(4) Similarly, if looking to track specific content, the festival has categorized all its films in subjects such as Aging, 9/11 or Sexual Politics. You can even use the Web site to sort movies by these categories for easy tracking.

(5) Try to take advantage of different screening locations if you can! Besides traditional theaters in Tribeca, this year's festival has expanded to other city locales, including outdoor screenings in the World Financial Center Plaza!

What goes better together than New York and movies? You're bound to find something interesting at this year's festival. So celebrate independent film and support the city of dreams!