CBS/AP/ February 11, 2009, 5:05 PM

Al Gore To Open Tribeca Festival

Al Gore will host the opening night gala of the Tribeca Film Festival, which will begin with a series of short films on global warming.

The festival, which will run from April 25 through May 5, is taking the rare step of opening not with a high-profile feature film but seven short films presented by the Save Our Selves (SOS) campaign.

"The SOS Short Films Program harnesses some of the world's most creative minds to educate, inform and inspire people across the globe to solve the climate crises," former Vice President Gore said Thursday in a statement. "Premiering the SOS films at Tribeca will ensure that these pieces will be viewed all over the world for years to come."

Photo Essay: A "Green" Al Gore
> Photo Essay: "An Inconvenient Truth" Premieres
Gore's film on climate change, "An Inconvenient Truth," won the Oscar for best documentary earlier this year.

Some of the same SOS films shown at Tribeca will be featured at the Live Earth concerts around the world on July 7, 2007, either on stage screens during band transitions or by broadcast partners who will screen them in advance of, as well as on the day of, the Live Earth concerts.

Tribeca's opening night gala, sponsored by General Motors with additional support coming from National Geographic, will include musical performances by Live Earth music acts.

It was also announced that "The Gates" will close the festival on May 5. Produced by HBO, "The Gates" documents Christo and Jeanne-Claude's artwork that raised 7,500 fabric-paneled gates in New York's Central Park in 2005.

Antonio Ferrera and Albert Maysles' film chronicles the artists' 26-year commitment to transform the winter darkness of the park into a garden of light and color.

The 12-day festival will also feature the world premiere of "Lucky You," directed by Curtis Hanson ("L.A. Confidential," "Wonder Boys") on May 1. The romance stars Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore and Robert Duvall. Set in the high-stakes world of Las Vegas, the film explores the relationship between a singer and a poker player living the shadow of his father, a poker legend. It opens in theaters May 4.

It was earlier announced that "Super-Man 3" will make its U.S. premiere at the festival April 30.

This is the sixth annual Tribeca Film Festival, which was founded in 2002 by Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal to help rejuvenate Lower Manhattan following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
11 Comments Add a Comment
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gunnerv1 says:
Did any of you notice that this Earth Shattering news is in the "Entertainment" section. (Where it belongs).
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gunnerv1 says:
I could care less about what the Chairman of EXXON retired on. I do care to point out the tree hugger's Icon, Al Gore, is a FAKE, A SHAM, A PHONEY, and A SCAM ARTIST. Plant a tree for me, because I sure as hel*l ain't!
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feedback3-2009 says:
We should hate Al Gore for this. This proves global warming is not real. It is all revealed in Spiderman 3 (Spiderman 4 will prove the Iraq war is justified).
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pussylib says:
iM A lIBERAL AND i THINK i VOTED FOR aL gORE THE FIRST TIME. I had TROUBLE With A hanging Chad. My Boyfriend CHAD that is.
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pussylib says:
How can you say that mike? im going to give you such a pinch....Al Gores point ofg view is the only point of view dont you know that? Were all going to die. The sky is falling...OMG MY PU$$Y HURTS
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extremophil says:
Is he going to ride his bicycle to the festival in order to stay "green"?
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mike71067 says:
"Oscar winning documentary"?? Documentaries are not even documentaries anymore. Documentaries are produced by journalists who present all the points of one side of the argument, then present all the counterpoints so that the viewer can make up his own mind. Michael Moore changed all that by producing films that present all the points that concur with his political beliefs, and not presenting any counterpoints. What you end up with is a one-sided op-ed piece, not a documentary. Al Gore's film is no different. It's not a documentary; it's an op-ed piece. Unfortunately, many people don't understand this, and view that load of rubbish as a valid news report.
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gunnerv1 says:
Al Gore is a FAKE and a Scam Artist. All you tree huggers out there are sending this Millionaire your hard earned money for his "Carbon Footprint" when he won't even take his own pledge. His house in Tenn. uses more energy in one month then I do in one year. What a phoney.
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thgossipgirl says:
The movie said to be premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 30 is Spider-Man 3, NOT Superman 3.

It is looking to be quite the film festival. Check out my site http://www.celebrity-gossip.net for the latest news!
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djermano1 says:
I need money that will appropriate funding for Ethanol production. America's plan with switch grass and corn is extremely far from reality. They have not enough land space, especially in concern to climatic tornado's hurricanes, earthquakes etc. in the Continental US. They have no stable unending supply of energy. Their plan raises the cost to food and meat, while polluting the land and water with fertilizers, dust storms, and pesticide poisoning that harms wildlife and human consumption.
My plan is to build the first City on the Ocean, on the Equator. We will be near the Maldive Islands as a start. I need funding to begin developing and producing the Aquatic rafts. Sugarcane is hydroponically grown in the Aquatic-rafts. This business is to provide liquid transportation fuel for the entire world, not just within the US borders.Our President today is only thinking about America's fuel consumption. He fails to address that the entire world with many governments have Ethanol needs as well. Certainly America can not overcome these problems with just switch grass and corn.
Those crops in my opinion are very poor choices.
Sugarcane is by far the best choice and my company will create millions of jobs on land and many out on the Equator. SugarCityCane/ ACET: Aquatic Charcoal Ethanol Technicorp is in fact the leader in Ethanol Technological Processes.
My website is http://www.sugarcitycane.com

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