LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION
The Tribeca Film Festival kicks off its 12-day showcase of international features, documentaries, and shorts tonight, but as always, it’s the home-grown flicks that will have the locals clamoring for tickets. In the April issue of CITY, on newsstands now, Erin Bremer speaks with two filmmakers whose documentaries about some of New York City’s iconic landmarks will show during the festival. Amos Poe, director of Empire II, aimed his camera out the window of his West Village apartment for an entire year, capturing the Empire State Building and other city sights, and then compressed over 60 hours of footage into a poetic, three-hour visual ode to Manhattan. In Hotel Gramercy Park, meanwhile, director Douglas Keeve, documents the history and reinvention of the once-“democratic” but nearly defunct Gramercy Park Hotel (above) into Ian Schrager and Julian Schnabel’s present-day hot spot. To read CITY's exclusive interviews in their entirety, click here for Poe and here for Keeve. For more information on the festival, including ticket sales, go to www.tribecafilmfestival.org

Also on tap this weekend:

Explore one of the world's longest existing art forms at the just-opened Gallery of International Naïve Art, where untrained artists from all over the world portray colorful utopian scenes of the towns and villages from which they hail. Open Tuesday to Friday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday Noon to 6 p.m. 454 Columbus Ave., New York, (212) 877-0097. Or go to www.ginagallerynyc.com

Didn’t get enough of Earth Day? Visit Green Your… for a comprehensive guide to making all the elements of your life eco-friendly. Who knew that your existing air conditioner, cell phone, and even your dating techniques could be tweaked so that they are better for the planet? Go to www.greenyour.com

SHOOT CITY MAGAZINE'S NEXT TRAVEL ISSUE COVER
Admit it: On your last vacation you took that one perfect photo—a picture so beautiful, so stunning that you still swear it's good enough for the cover of a travel magazine. Well here's your chance to prove yourself right. CITY's second-annual ONE CITY, MANY DESTINATIONS travel photography contest boasts the ultimate grand prize: CITY’s cover shot. Amateur and professional photographers from around the world are invited to submit for juried competition images that best capture a unique moment in the life of a city or other travel destination. A jury of internationally renowned photography and travel aficionados will pick one winning image to appear on the cover of CITY’s Fall ’08 Travel issue, on sale September 30, 2008.

The grand-prize winner will also receive a prize package that includes an all-inclusive, week-long trip for two to Austria. The Austrian Tourist Office will pick up the tab on the whole experience—from round-trip airfare to rooms at luxury hotels to dinner at the top restaurants in Vienna, Salzburg, and wherever else your journey might take you. The best part? While in Austria, the grand-prize winner will have the opportunity to shoot a sponsored-editorial travel photography story for CITY's 2009 Spring Travel issue.

The work of 15 additional finalists will appear in a special travel photography portfolio inside CITY’s Fall ’08 Travel issue. All finalists will win additional prizes. Last year, CITY received more than 4,000 entries to the inaugural contest, with New York–based photographer Konstantino Hatzissaros’ stunning image of two Burmese monks (above) winning the coveted spot on CITY’s cover.

To enter this year's contest, visit www.city-magazine.com/photocontest