A Full Menu at Tribeca

Though the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival arrives Wednesday with fewer features in competition than last year, it is still an event of such galactic proportions that one is advised to resort to theory or metaphor when attempting to contemplate its totality. Call it quantum film-going. In addition to 120 features and 79 short films representing 40 nations, there are programs celebrating everything from new films from Tina Fey and the Wachowski brothers to the music of pub-rock-progenitor-turned-genius-songsmith Nick Lowe. Panels and Q&A topics run the gamut from filmmaking for cell phones to the nonfictional scientific legacy of Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece, "2001: A Space Odyssey." In addition to the high-profile premieres of Ms. Fey's "Baby Momma" and the Wachowskis' "Speed Racer," the festival's main-event galas and special screenings include one very welcome restoration and one highly puzzling sequel. Sergio Leone's 1968 film "Once Upon a Time in the West," a fabulously rich Western tapestry that plays like a cowboy opera in which the principals stare instead of sing, will be presented in an all-new print that restores the director's much-mangled masterpiece to its original 165-minute length. Andy Warhol's infamous 485-minute cinematic endurance test "Empire" (1964) inspired filmmaker Amos Poe to create "Empire II," a comparatively brisk and dynamic three-hour remake-sequel that liberates Warhol's rigid, single-angle look at the Empire State Building.

The festival's sidebar for discussions and panels is itself split into four separate categories. "Tribeca Talks 2008" will host moderated discussions with directors Mike Figgis and Shane Meadows, a symposium on the brewing global media event Pangea Day, workshops about the evolving definition, creation, and exhibition of new media, and the creative perils and opportunities of the Internet.

"Behind the Scenes" presents the actress Sissy Spacek, author Amy Tan, and media maverick Melvin Van Peebles behind the water pitcher.

To mark its 40th anniversary, Kubrick's "2001" is but one of the "Conversations in Cinema" that will be held with the likes of musicians Lou Reed and Gloria Estefan, and the documentarian Errol Morris.

Finally, "Tribeca Film Festival at the Apple Store" invites Clive Owen, Amy Poehler, screenwriters Tony Gilroy and Paul Haggis, and other top-shelf creative names to hold forth at the Apple Store's Genius Bar.

Making full use of lower Manhattan's untapped film exhibition potential, Tribeca has staked out the World Financial Center's outdoor plaza for three free "Film Festival Drive-In" outdoor screenings. The last of these, "Fan's Favorite Football Flick," will unveil the winner of a public vote, sponsored by ESPN, among 16 beloved football films.

The sports network has, in turn, teamed up with the festival for the "Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival," a show within the show featuring a baker's dozen of athletic-themed movies. If that isn't enough of a field day, the festival and network are having one of their own during Tribeca/ESPN Sports Day, a family-friendly outing centered on athletic competition. The kids are also welcome at the 2008 Family Festival sidebar and the annual Tribeca Film Festival Family Street Fair on May 3. The New School's Kellen Gallery will display artworks contributed by prominent fine artists as prizes for the winning competition filmmakers, and a variety of venues will host "Music at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival," including a rock 'n' roll show at Webster Hall headlined by the band the Hold Steady, and a show at the Canal Room where Mr. Lowe and others will perform intimate short sets as part of the Tribeca/ASCAP Music Lounge concert series.

All told, despite the scale-down this year, the Tribeca Film Festival's roster of activities and varied cultural opportunities makes some wonder whether the festival can be seen from Earth's orbit.