Richard Leong reports on Felicity Huffman in the Tribeca Film Festival film, "Transamerica," a movie that has had both buyers and audiences buzzing at the festival:

When, if ever, will an erotic film not marketed as pornography show a man and a woman enjoying spontaneous, passionate full-frontal sex? With the appearance of Michael Winterbottom's "9 Songs," the answer is now. Stephen Holden reports in the New York Times.

A new documentary made in North Korea offers a glimpse of daily life in a reclusive Communist state so shuttered to outsiders that even foreign diplomats have taken tips from the film. President Bush famously called North Korea part of an "axis of evil," but director Daniel Gordon's film "A State of Mind" shows a different side of the country. He shows a mother cooking, children playing and families picnicking. Richard Leong reports in Reuters.

Sebastian Telfair was at Jay-Z's Manhattan nightclub with his family, watching TV and waiting for the announcement from the Madison Square Garden podium that would send him across the country and change his life. The Brooklyn point guard with a dazzling mix of smarts and skills was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 13th pick in last year's NBA draft. That moment is captured by director Jonathan Hock and cinematographer Alastair Christopher in "Through the Fire." The documentary made its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. Christy Lemire reports for A.P.

[Tribeca daily dispatch by Eugene Hernandez.]

Seeing a good movie really can make for a fun evening. In the case of the Tribeca Film Festival last night, two heartwarming documentaries made for a great night downtown. David LaChappelle's "Rize", which I watched twice back at Sundance, is a terrific film about the emergence of a fast-paced form of dancing in South Central Los Angeles, the people that LaChapelle follows include local celebrity Tommy the Clown, leader of a group of kids turning to clown and krump dancing as a way to express themselves. So, the real discovery for me last night was Sebastian Telfair, showcased in "Through The Fire", Jonathan Hock's loving look at the basketball player's senior of high school as he struggles with the decision to either go to college or try to break into the NBA.

An award-winning documentary about gun violence by two young directors from Brooklyn will make its New York debut at the Tribeca Film Festival. "Bullets in the Hood: A Bed-Stuy Story," which won a special recognition honor earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, will be featured on a program of short films.
A.P. reports.

Appropriately enough, the first in an expected wave of movies and television projects explicitly about the trauma of 9/11 will make its debut in New York on Friday at the TriBeCa Film Festival, which itself was started to bring a measure of financial and psychic relief to Lower Manhattan months after the attacks. But the new picture, "The Great New Wonderful," is anything but explicit. David M. Halbfinger reports for the New York Times (free subscription required to view).

Amazon.com and the Tribeca Film Festival launched the online screening room for the first Amazon Theater/Tribeca Film Festival Short-Film Competition, with more than 1,000 short films, no more than 7 minutes long, being streamed online. Viewers will vote for their favorite films, randomly screened for Amazon.com visitors through May 20th.

The five highest ranked films will then be screened for one month online, customers will vote and the winner will receive $50,000 for a next film in the form of an American Express prepaid card. Customers who vote will be entered into a drawing to win a trip to New York for a premiere screening of the finalist films, while 10 first prize winners will win a Martin Scorsese Collection DVD box-set, and an jury-autographed festival poster. Online celebrity reviewers will include Gwyneth Paltrow, David Duchovny, Ice Cube, Donald Sutherland, Taylor Hackford, John Hamburg, Stanley Tucci.