Hot on the heels of the announcement of the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival's opening night film, Baby Mama, the festival has unveiled its World Narrative and World Documentary Feature Film Competitions, as well as the films in its Encounters section. Sporting a sleek, slimmed-down new look, the seventh edition of the festival will unspool in Lower Manhattan from April 23 through May 4 with a slate of 122 feature films.

 

The dozen films in this year's World Narrative Feature Competition gathers a compelling international cross-section of bold creative visions. Presenting both established directors and newcomers from Ireland to Mexico and Egypt to China, this international line-up features an Egyptian radio host, a Swedish vampire, a female trucker, and Australian surfers, while taking audiences inside personal and political relationships around the globe.

 

Also featuring 12 films, this year's World Documentary Feature Competition is marked by gripping personal tales that offer fresh, nuanced perspectives on global subjects and events, reflecting the complexity of human experience around the world. These films visit places rarely seen on screen, from a Baghdad high school to the prisons of New Jersey; the analysis and detail that goes into major theatrical productions; others offer up-close looks at the unseen players behind major international stories, such as the courageous women who helped end Liberia's civil war.

 

The 11 narrative and 10 documentary films included in this year's Encounters section mix high-profile talent and notable subject matter in ways sure to spark conversation during the festival and after. The program includes performances by veteran actors Frank Langella, William H. Macy, Sissy Spacek, and Danny Glover; new work from venerable New York filmmakers Melvin Van Peebles and Bill Plympton; profiles of public figures John F. Kennedy, the Dalai Lama, and Che Guevara; and portraits of artists Celia Cruz and Diego Rivera.

 

Also announced was the return of the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival, a special program of 11 films with a focus on sports and competition.  And new this year is a program called Behind the Screens: Films and Conversations about Truth, Clarity, and Responsibility, a series of film screenings followed by exclusive, in-depth discussions with filmmakers and actors.

 

Select passes and packages are already available.  Individual tickets will become available to American Express cardholders on April 12, to Lower Manhattan residents on April 18, and to the general public on April 19.  This year's prices have dropped to $15 for evening and weekend screenings, and $8 for daytime weekday and late-night screenings.

 

Stay tuned for more announcements coming very soon, and to get the lowdown on the individual films playing in these three sections, check out the press release.  We look forward to seeing you at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival!