We take this brief break from our wall-to-wall SXSW coverage to link to the competition line-up for 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, currently posted at indieWIRE. As you know, Baby Mama will open the festival; according to The Reeler, Speed Racer will close it. Here’s a look at a few titles of interest in between:

Shane Meadows’ Somers Town, previously mentioned here.

Guest of Cindy Sherman. Official synopsis: “Analyzing his relationship with reclusive artist Cindy Sherman leads videographer Paul H-O to confront his own ego and identity in this personal and often humorous documentary, which features unprecedented access to Sherman and a unique view of the New York art world.”

Chevolution. Official synopsis: “How did the iconic image of Che Guevara end up on beer bottles and bikinis? This inquiry into the ethics and aesthetics of appropriation investigates how the enduring symbol of Cuba’s Communist Revolution skyrocketed to fame and was ultimately devoured by its own worst enemy: capitalism. English, Spanish with English subtitles.”

I Am Because We Are. Madonna saves orphans.

A President to Remember. Directed by Robert Drew. Synopsis: “Culled from “direct cinema” pioneer Robert Drew’s unparalleled behind-the-scenes footage of JFK at work in the Oval Office, and the events that brought him there, this remarkable film proves a timely update of the Kennedy mythos and an eerily intimate portrait of the now-legendary man himself.”

Shane Meadows has very quietly followed up his skinhead instant-classic This is England with Somers Town, a black-and-white, 75-minute feature fronted by England’s young star, Thomas Turgoose. The film popped up unexpectedly at the Berlin Film Festival last month, where it earned a rapturous Variety review and very little other press. Now Twitch has a slide show of images from the film, apparently put together by Meadows himself in lieu of a trailer. See it above.

• The Circuit has pictures from The Weinstein Company’s party, which was held in “a strange concrete bunker” outfitted with a bumper car dance floor. Also, Patti Smith is apparently going around telling people she is “beyond gender,” which cleverly preempts any joke we could have made.
• Also at Mike Jones’ festival blog, a diary entry from Vicci Ho, member of the Berlinale Teddy jury. Apparently, assigned seats don’t mean much at this festival.
• Shane Meadows is showing a new feature in Berlin, featuring his This is England star Thomas Turgoose. Variety explains why you haven’t heard about it.
• “Not a gore fest by any means - it would likely get a PG-13 rating in the US - the film is a tightly plotted, exceptionally well shot thrill ride that sets the rules of its world very early on, lets the audience know what to expect and then executes flawlessly.” Todd Brown reviews Dark Floors, “the Finnish horror film conceived and created as a starring vehicle for Finnish metal act Lordi,” at Twitch.
• The FILMMAKER Blog points to the launch of The Auteurs, a new site that will offer full-length classic and art house features for download. The site will also have an editorial and social networking component. I’ve requested a beta invite, and I’ll post more on the site once I’ve had a chance to explore.

Last night I watched a screener of This is England, Shane Meadows’ semi-autobiographical feature about growing up skinhead in Thatcher-era England. Suffice it to say, I was somewhat blown away. I’ll write more after I’ve fully mulled, but because the film opens today at the IFC Center here in New York, I wanted to do a round-up of what a few other critics are saying. The film is currently set to expand to at least 12 additional cities through September.

“Period specificities aside, the film illustrates an aspect of adolescence I’ve rarely seen better explored: how subculture membership can foster a sense of belonging in young people unsuited to the school-sponsored avenues of self-identification, or can get a kid laid who’d otherwise be hopeless.” — Nick Pinkerton, indieWIRE

“It’s a glorious collage of young person moods: loneliness, confusion, revolt and languor. Meadows builds on this endearing formula with an involving interrogation of hate, and a bold willingness to show how a racist mentality can offer outsiders the dangerous illusion of salvation. The spot-on juvenilia alternates between modes of cuteness and terror.” — Eric Kohn, The Reeler

“What a weird and unpleasant land Britain was in the early 1980s…I don’t think that Meadows set out to shoot a state-of-the-nation parable. He set out to explore a contradiction within skinhead culture: the tribal dislike of foreigners, and the diehard allegiance to Jamaican ska music. Yet it’s clear that This is England is much bigger than this irony.” — James Christopher, The Times

“Every time he floats to us, the audience, a sense of Shaun’s brightness, Meadows is heightening the drama and asking the question: how badly are these skinheads going to screw up this kid’s future? How far down the wrong path are they going to take him? And we’re constantly reminded that Shaun is already dealing with the death of his father and trying to compute who this Thatcher person is that everyone keeps trying to tell him is to blame.” — Ryan Stewart, Cinematical

“This Is England is smart, funny, charming and appalling. It again proves that Meadows, already much loved for A Room For Romeo Brass and Dead Man’s Shoes, is one of the truly powerful and unique voices in UK film today, a master of character with an uncanny gift for fusing nostalgia with harsh reality.” — Todd at Twitch