10 films to see at Tribeca Film Festival

The mood in New York may not be as grim as it was in 2002, when the first Tribeca Film Festival aimed to revitalize a neighborhood squinting at the gap left by the Twin Towers, but these recession-plagued days are still fairly cloudy.

So what's the opening-night film this year? That would be "Shrek Forever After."

"Movies are escapist," says Jane Rosenthal, who founded the festival with Robert De Niro and has always positioned it as an audience-friendly event. "If you're going to cry, you've got to laugh, too."

There will be opportunities for both at the ninth annual fest, which kicks off Wednesday with the computer-animated ogre and continues through May 2 at several Manhattan venues. Of the 85 feature films being screened, here are 10 already drawing attention.

BEWARE THE GONZO (Thursday, 6 p.m.)

A rebel reporter at a prep-school newspaper launches his own crusade. Inspired by events at Bellmore's Kennedy High School; writer-director Bryan Goluboff and producer Craig Cohen are graduates. With Jesse McCartney and Zoe Kravitz.

GAINSBOURG JE T'AIME . . . MOI NON PLUS (Friday, 6 p.m.)

A biopic on the French provocateur Serge Gainsbourg, who famously sang a duet with his 13-year-old daughter titled "Lemon Incest."

NICE GUY JOHNNY (Friday, 8:30 p.m.)

Valley Stream's Ed Burns directs, writes and stars in this story about a rakish womanizer who takes his naive nephew to the Hamptons.

UNTITLED ELIOT SPITZER FILM (Saturday, 6 p.m.)

A work in progress, this documentary from Alex Gibney follows our former governor's rise and plunge.

SEX & DRUGS & ROCK & ROLL (Saturday, 9 p.m.)

One of punk's fiercest bandleaders, the late Ian Dury, is portrayed by BAFTA-winner Andy Serkis in a buzzed-about performance.

SPORK (Saturday, 10 p.m.)

A junior-high hermaphrodite enters the school talent show in this '80s-inspired teen flick.

LAST PLAY AT SHEA (Sunday, 9:30 p.m.)

Billy Joel's closing concerts at Shea Stadium provide the soundtrack to a documentary about the beloved sports venue.

JOAN RIVERS - A PIECE OF WORK (April 26, 7 p.m.)

One of De Niro's personal favorites, this documentary scrubs the makeup off the 76-year-old comedian and plastic surgery veteran.

THE KILLER INSIDE ME (April 27, 4 p.m.)

Casey Affleck stars in an adaptation of the novel by Jim Thompson, one of pulp fiction's nastiest practitioners.

FREAKONOMICS (April 30, 8 p.m.)

Gibney, Morgan Spurlock and other filmmakers look at the statistical hiccups that affect our lives.

The Tribeca Film Festival runs Wednesday through May 2 at various Manhattan venues.

TICKETS Individual tickets, $8-$25; passes, $39-$100.
INFO 866-941-3378; tribecafilm.com