Tribeca Film Festival 2009 Mini-Preview: Documentaries

The chilling documentary Cropsey explores the disappearance of five children on Staten Island in the '80s. "Growing up on Staten Island, filmmakers Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio had often heard the urban legend of 'Cropsey.' It was a cautionary tale invented to keep them out of the abandoned buildings that remained of the Willowbrook Mental Institution. Cropsey was supposedly an escaped patient who would come out late at night and snatch children off the streets—sometimes with a hook for a hand, other times with a bloody ax. But in 1987, Jennifer Schweiger, a 13-year-old with Down syndrome, disappeared from their community. For Zeman, Brancaccio, and the other kids of Staten Island, their urban legend became real."

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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.