Never mind splashy screenings for the likes of Baby Mama and Speed Racer. Tribeca '08 will largely be a forum for the Little Films That Can. And many won't. Some projects may have the money for a reasonably slick marketing push; some won't have enough coin to fly the director's family out for the premiere. Regardless of the camp into which they fall, we thought it only fair to allow the people in charge of these films, the directors, to appeal to our readers themselves.

We posed the same five questions to every filmmaker accepted into the festival and offered them the chance to reply. Below are the responses we've received, virtually unedited. (We've made a few snips for clarity; that's it.)

Lucia Gaja, director of My Life Inside

1 Why should someone watch your movie, in 100 words or less? (Don't just paste in your marketing blurb. Persuade our readers.)
You should come and see my movie because it talks about the American ¨justice¨ that a Mexican woman had to face when she got accused of murder. It's about how sometimes the american dream can be the worst nightmare of your life.

2 Without spoiling your plot, describe a scene in your film that audiences will love.
This is a hard and emotional movie. I can´t say there´s a scene that you would love; I can just say that there are very compromising moments for the American system and very emotional situations, too—moments when you can get very angry.

3 If your protagonist were an animal, what would he/she be and why?
A tiger because she´s a fighter.

4 What will surprise me about this movie?
It depends on what you can find inside of it, and on how you see life.

5 How would describe your filmmaking style or philosophy? How is that reflected in this project?
I believe that documentary film making, like many other ways of expression, can be used to inform and tell real stories that many times would remain hidden or untold. Sensitivity and comprehension of society and of justice, can be protected in cinema, and movies can sometimes move the minds of others.

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