Most likely to sell out quickly are films from the Spotlight section, which includes premieres of both fiction and non-fiction projects from—as the fest committee modestly proclaims—"the world's highest profile film talents." From France, the absurdist wit of avant-garde essayist Chris Marker (La Jetée) is as much about kitties as it is politics in The Case of the Grinning Cat, while grand maestro Claude Chabrol teams up with actress Isabelle Huppert for the seventh time in his judicial-system thriller, Comedy of Power. Former Kids in the Hall funnyman Bruce McCulloch directs Ray Liotta in the marital comedy Comeback Season; and fellow Canadian auteur Guy Maddin conspires with the great Isabella Rossellini in a much-hyped homage to her famous filmmaker father, Roberto, in My Dad is 100 Years Old. Almost every title in this category looks to be a worthwhile watch, but remember that many of these films already have distribution. Sometimes the best reason to attend a festival is to find the hidden treasures that need your word-of-mouth support just to get seen.

Films in the "Showcase" category have found acclaim at other fests, but now make their New York premieres at Tribeca. For narratives, check out the stylish tale of Japanese family malaise, Hanging Garden; the creepy conjoined-twin rockers flick Brothers of the Head; and the Chilean meet-the-parents drama The Sacred Family. On the doc side, stand-out contenders include the politically irreverent Al Franken: God Spoke; the ode to crossword puzzle fanaticism Wordplay; and Gil Rosselini's (the family legacy continues) self-documented battle with an illness that left him a paraplegic, Kill Gil (Volume 1).

The Discovery films are debut premieres from up-and-coming filmmakers, such as Seifollah Samadian, whose documentary, Once Upon a Time in Marrakech, is about NYC and Morocco film students studying under acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami (with a guest appearance by Martin Scorsese). Seth Grossman's drama The Elephant King focuses on the peculiar relationship between two American brothers on a hedonistic binge in Thailand, and director Mark Fergus's Southwestern thriller finds Guy Pearce as a salesman who believes he's fated to die at the season's First Snow. Somewhere between vérité and noir thriller lies Street Thief, in which two filmmakers (Malik Bader and Miles Harrison) find themselves complicit in the crimes of a gruff Chicago burglar they're chronicling for a documentary.

Taking a quick look around at the remaining sections, the Restored/Rediscovered films are newly restored and preserved prints of essential classics (including Joseph H. Lewis's perfectly nasty 1955 noir The Big Combo, and Louise Brooks' final starring role in 1930's silent Prix de Beauté). The Midnight movies are exactly what they sound like, real off-the-wall fare for adventurous film geeks. Air Guitar Nation might make a more entertaining synopsis than documentary, but I'm looking forward to the bloody French freak-out, Sheitan. If the mention of blood sounds revolting, maybe the Tribeca Family Festival is more your speed. Besides such soon-to-be-released Hollywood kid flicks like Over the Hedge and the Robin Williams vehicle RV, this all-ages section will premiere an all-new incarnation of Lassie starring Peter Dinklage, who, it has been confirmed, will not be playing the titular collie.

On a final note, though there is much to see and do at this year's festival, I find myself biting my tongue whenever Tribeca's premieres of United 93, Poseidon, and Mission: Impossible III are mentioned, since mega-budget summer movies don't belong at a fest promoting "independent spirit." For the sake of the talented 200-plus filmmakers pushing to get their works seen, why not branch out and simply wait for these three to come to a theater near you. Happy festing!