Tribeca Film Festival 2009 Mini-Preview: Documentaries

The 8th Annual Tribeca Film Festival kicks off next Wednesday, April 22nd and continues through May 3rd. Earlier this week we looked at some of the highlights from the narrative feature category; here's a taste of some of the feature-length documentaries screening during the festival. For starters, there's the premiere of Burning Down the House: The Story of CBGB. Directed by Mandy Stein, the documentary features archival footage of performances by Patti Smith, Talking Heads, Television, Bad Brains, and The Ramones, and explores the unlikely transformation of a club named Country Bluegrass Blues into a punk rock mecca.

Last week Executive Director Nancy Schafer talked us through some of the fun events happening during the festival, which include free stuff like the drive-in movies and the family street fair, the post-screening Q&A's with directors such as Spike Lee and Steven Soderbergh, and a "work in progress" premiere screening of the documentary, Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful.

Tickets went on sale Tuesday for American Express Cardmembers, who get first dibs on tickets through Saturday because Am Ex is a major festival sponsor. On Sunday, single tickets go on sale to downtown residents (below Canal) at the Tribeca Cinemas ticket outlet only, and on Monday they go on sale to the general public. All ticket details are here. Click on the film stills above for details on some of the intriguing documentary features at this year's festival.