Tribeca, 4/26.

"The great discovery of the festival is Turkish director Reha Erdem's Times and Winds," announces Howard Feinstein, who then offers quick takes on ten more offerings in his latest "Critic's Notebook" for indieWIRE.

Festival-goers on the opposite coast may want to know that Times and Winds is screening at SFIFF on May 8, 9 and 10. More from Michael Guillén, J Robert Parks and, in Sight & Sound, Hannah McGill.

Also at iW: Eugene Hernandez covers the opening goings on, including the screening of nine "SOS Films," green-tinted shorts introduced by Al Gore. Related: Agnes Varnum asks, "Are Green Docs Hot?"

More on that opening from ST VanAirsdale at the Reeler, where Michelle Orange offers her takes on Golden Door, Blue State, The Killing of John Lennon, Gardener of Eden, Beyond Belief and L'Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio.

Aaron Hillis for Premiere on This Is England: "British writer-director Shane Meadows (Dead Man's Shoes) would have made the late filmmaker Alan Clarke proud with this must-see, partly autobiographical dramedy about working-class skinheads, circa 1983." Related: Jason Solomons's longish interview with Meadows for the Guardian.

And now, a little point-counterpoint. Mark Asch's comments in the L Magazine sound familiar: "I'm not really sure what Tribeca does for the movies it shows, or the viewers who want to see them: it started as a way of revitalizing a post-9/11 downtown, and now seems to exist solely to draw attention - to the neighborhood, to the sponsors, to the festival itself. And as such, the films, whichever kind of the films you want to see, are kind of drowned out."

"[N]one of the fundamental complaints leveled at the festival differ from general qualms about the current state of New York as a whole, with its ballooning real estate and increasingly claustrophobic space to accommodate the proverbial 'starving artist,'" counters Eric Kohn. "The genuine argument, one of utmost importance, tends to get lost in the chaotic shuffle of tired art-versus-commerce squabbling: Do the movies have room to breathe? In fact, most filmmakers involved designate the festival as a veritable oxygen tank." And he talks with directors ranging from Ken Jacobs to Mary Stuart Masterson to prove the point.

Also in the New York Press, Sara Karl: "Tribeca Teaches is a new, five-week program taught by Tribeca Film Institute Teaching Artists and visiting filmmakers, during which students will produce their own films and create a 'classroom snapshot.'" In the South Bronx.

Posted by dwhudson at April 26, 2007 9:07 AM