Tribeca Film Fest: Day Two, and the Game is On

Things are officially underway with the Tribeca Film Festival after yesterday's official kickoff and premiere of United 93, which had its official launch at the Ziegfeld theater and was also shown at the Loews complex on the Upper West Side. Director Paul Greengrass and festival organizers Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal spoke before both screenings, as did Gordon Felt, whose brother Edward was a Flight 93 passenger. It wasn't your usual film festival kickoff, that's for sure. But it was very powerful and very moving. More to come on the experience shortly, but I will say that I don't think it is too soon to show that film. It just really, really felt that way.

The point of the Tribeca Film Festival, though, was to create something positive in the wake of September 11th, so with that in mind I turn to the excellent slate of events that launched today in earnest - even as I type, HuffPo operatives are in place to screen political documentary Encounter Point, International Narrative competition entrant Choking Man (starring Mandy Patinkin, who is not left-handed), and Risky Business-style comedy-drama (comeda? dramedy?) Fifty Pills, which features not only Kirsten Bell of Veronica Mars but is also one of three movies in which Eddie Kaye Thomas appears. I'm pretty sure he's the most-screened actor at the festival. Stifler's mom would be proud!

Coverage thus far includes a Melissa Lafsky's first-person account of yesterday's press conference, featuring some hilarious editorial spice; Michelle Orange's ruminations on TFF documentaries, Rowan Riley with some inside scoop on this year's mockumentary theme; Joshua David Stein's smart and thoughtful take on Saint of 9/11; and Stu Van Airsdale's backstory on what NYT columnist Frank Rich has to do with Colour Me Kubrick. Good stuff, all, and more to come. HuffPo is on it - more posts to come tonight and another full slate of coverage tomorrow. Watch this space!