Tribeca Film Fest starts with 'The Five-...

Tribeca Film Fest starts with 'The Five-...

Glen Wilson

Emily Blunt and Jason Segel star in “The Five-Year Engagement,” which kicks off the Tribeca Film Festival.

The 11th annual Tribeca Film Festival opens Wednesday night at the Ziegfeld Theater, with the gala premiere of Nicholas Stollers comedy The Five-Year Engagement, starring Emily Blunt and Jason Segel.

Didnt get your invite? Dont feel too left out: everyones welcome at the first full day of screenings Thursday. But youll have to plan wisely if you want to make the most of so many options.

As the introductory lineup, Thursdays schedule offers a little bit of everything. Those looking to focus on foreign films should consider Una Noche, in which two Cuban teenagers dream of escaping Havana for what they believe will be a better life in Miami. Teens also find themselves in trouble in the Finnish thriller Rat King, about a dangerous online game. And if you saw the award-winning Yossi & Jagger at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival, youll certainly want to catch up with its sequel, Yossi, about a lonely Israeli doctor still coming to terms with his sexuality.

Among the documentaries, High Tech, Low Life tracks the risky work of rogue Chinese bloggers, and The World Before Her chronicles some surprising sacrifices and achievements of beauty queens in India. Teens and adults alike may appreciate Town of Runners, about two Ethiopian girls aiming for the Olympics, while Dont Stop Believin shares the nearly-unbelievable story of a Filipino singer who became a rock star overnight.

Those with limited attention spans will enjoy the Escape Clause shorts program, a lineup of six brief films featuring actors like Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lily Tomlin, and Modern Familys Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

And if you dont have ticket money to spare, well, there's a option for you, too: Grab a group and head over to the World Financial Center Plaza around sunset for a free, outdoor screening of Jaws. You wont get to walk a red carpet, but its still a pretty good way to kick off the citys biggest cinematic celebration.

Schedules, tickets, and directions can be found at tribecafilm.com.