Adam Curtis' "The Power of Nightmares" provoked audiences here in Tribeca, as the filmmaker screened the original 3 part BBC series that screened in Britain last fall. A new, re-cut theatrical version will debut at the Cannes Film Festival next month. In a Village Voice piece ahead of the festival, filmmaker Curtis offered some insights on the film:

In today's New York Times, Stephen Holden expresses his love for the Tribeca Film Festival, at one point even suggesting that it could grow to rival Cannes and also surveying a few of his fest favorites, among them "The Beat That My Heart Skipped" and "Favela Rising":

Mentioning these few films while leaving out so many others unexamined gives me pause. To browse the festival program is to find oneself longing to get lost in movies for a month or two. The sheer quantity of artistically ambitious work offered by the TriBeCa program is something that no other New York film festival or institutional series can begin to match. The masterpieces may be few and far between, snatched up by others. But the abundance of satisfying alternatives to Hollywood studio product from everywhere is encouraging. In the case of the TriBeCa Film Festival, more is more.

In Tuesday's Variety, Ian Mohr takes a look at the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival:

Tribeca has emerged as an intriguing -- and at times flustering -- hodgepodge of upscale galas and downtown fetes, the funky (the fest's Tribeca Drive-In series) and fun (its Family Film Festival). Screening of the opening film is being held nowhere near Tribeca proper, for example, but smack-dab in Midtown at the Ziegfeld, with an after-party at MoMA.

Star stalkers take note, Newsday weighs in not with a list of movies to see, but rather with a guide to 10 Tribeca bars worth drinking in during the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival. Trivia question: How many of them are owned by Robert De Niro?

Beginning April 19, Hollywood comes to the Hudson -- to Tribeca, specifically, for the fourth annual film festival. That means lots of glamour strolling the streets of this one-time manufacturing neighborhood, and plenty of people-watching. What better way to watch the stars go by than to settle down with a glass of wine or a cold beer? Here are ten places where you can relax with a cocktail in Tribeca.

In Reuters, Larry Fine reports on TFF 2005:

Forty-five countries are represented in the ambitious Tribeca schedule that boasts 59 world premieres among its 158 feature films. Thirty-seven movies were shot in New York in a program that includes documentaries, shorts and a number of newly restored classics.

Co-founder Jane Rosenthal said the festival has evolved dramatically since she began it with business partner De Niro.

"The first year, we did it in response to Sept. 11 and tried to give our neighborhood a new memory and something to look forward to," Rosenthal said about the festival, held in a neighborhood that had been in the shadow of the World Trade Center towers.

The festival, the fourth annual, includes a family film program, street fairs, panel discussions and public showings of the movies. It has drawn nearly a million visitors and resulted in $125 million in economic activity for Lower Manhattan over the first three years, according to the organizers.

For the Associated Press, Christy Lemire reports in on the 4th Tribeca Film Festival, which will kick off tomorow:

"I think it's a stronger film program than ever, and part of the reason is when you mature a little bit, you get better," Rosenthal said. "Also, I believe the filmmakers are planning for us now. We're on the calendar."

But she added that bringing dollars to lower Manhattan -- the festival's primary purpose -- is still just as important as offering quality films. Festival organizers say the first three years drew a million visitors and more than $150 million.

"They do go hand in hand. You can't separate it," she said. "First and foremost, our mission clearly was about economic development for downtown. That said, our mission also was to create innovative programming and help promote global awareness that this was about the films."