PLYMPTON'S "IDIOTS AND ANGELS" TO PLAY AT TRIBECA

"Idiots and Angels," a David Lynchian dark comedy by Oscar-nominated Bill Plympton, is among the three animated feature films to be screened at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, which opens in New York later this month. To run from April 23 to May 4, the fest will present 121 feature films from 31 countries and 79 short films from 30 countries. Part of the showcase "Encounters," Idiots and Angels is a 78-minute experimental drama about a morally bankrupt man scrabbling to hide the good in himself -- which manifests itself in a pair of angel wings that just won't go away. Showtimes are 5:30 p.m. Saturday, April 26 at AMC 19th Street East Theater 1; 9:30 p.m. Sunday, April 27 at Village East Cinema 1; 11 p.m. Wednesday, April 30 at AMC Village VII Theater 6; and 8 p.m. Saturday, May 3 at Village East Cinema 1. The voices of several A-list actors are featured in Aristomenis Tsirbas' Terra, a youth-oriented adventure drama. When the last remaining humans exhaust Earth's resources, an alien girl on the idyllic planet Terra must fight the earthlings who want to inhabit her planet! Also part of "Encounters," the 80-minute film includes the voices of Evan Rachel Wood, Brian Cox, James Garner, Danny Glover, Amanda Peet, David Cross and Luke Wilson. Terra can be seen at 4 p.m. Sunday, April 27 at BMCC Tribeca PAC; 8 p.m. Monday, April 28 at Village East Cinema 7; 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 30 at AMC Village VII Theater 3; and 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at BMCC Tribeca PAC. Part of the "Discovery" program, the 82-minute Sita Sings the Blues features a variety of colorful animation techniques. In this comedic adaptation, writer-director Nina Paley wittily interweaves the story of Sita, the leading lady of the ancient Sanskrit epic Ramayana, with the story of a modern American woman struggling to keep her marriage afloat. Also in the film are Annette Hanshaw, Reena Shah, Sanjiv Jhaveri, Aseem Chhabra, Bhavana Nagulapally and Manish Acharya. Sita Sings the Blues will be shown at 8:15 p.m. Friday, April 25 at AMC Village VII Theater 7; 3:45 p.m. Sunday, April 27 at AMC 19th Street East Theater 3; 10:45 p.m. Monday, April 28 at AMC Village VII Theater 1; 1:45 p.m. Thursday, May 1 at Village East Cinema 2; and 3 p.m. Friday, May 2 at AMC Village VII Theater 3. Animated shorts screening at Tribeca include: 7 Cities (dir. Reza Hemmatirad; 15 min., 2008, Short Narrative Competition) John and Karen (dir. Matthew Walker; 4 min., 2007, Short Narrative Competition) An animated animal couple tries to resolve their problems. With James Bachman and Emma Cunniffe. Last Time in Clerkenwell (dir. Alex Budovsky; 4 min., 2008, Short Narrative Competition) "Birds Rule!" Yellow Sticky Notes (dir. Jeff Chiba Stearns; 6 min., 2007, Short Documentary Competition)An animated meditation on the life-consuming "to-do list" is expressed through Yellow Sticky Notes. The United States premiere of this award-winning short, also written by Stearns. Zombie Gets A Date (dir. Leetal Platt; 3 min., 2008, Short Student Competition)It's a dinner to remember. With Hamilton Longyear. The Tribeca Film Festival was founded in 2001 following the World Trade Centre attacks to assist Lower Manhattan's economic and cultural revitalization. For more information about animated films screening at Tribeca, visit www.tribecafilmfestival.org/filmguide/?3311=171576.

Scene from Bill Plympton's feature drama Idiots and Angels.