Opening this week, at Tribeca Cinemas, is the Architecture and Design Film Festival. Running for its third consecutive year, the festival promises to showcase some amazing films from around the world, as well as engaging panel discussions involving leading architects, designers, and filmmakers. Travelers looking for something interesting to do for the next four days should hop down to Tribeca Cinemas (54 Varick Street) and partake in the festivities.

Running from October 18th to the 21st, the AD Film Festival will showcase 25 films, ranging in length from 2 minutes to 103 minutes. The films, shown in the Cinema’s two theaters, are organized into 12 programs with names like “Design & Thinking,” “Invisible Bicycle Helmet,” “Life Architecturally,” and “Design is One: Lella and Massimo Vignelli.” Tickets are sold by program, with each program containing 1-3 films.

The AD Film Festival is the brainchild of Kyle Bergman, himself a nationally-recognized architect. Mr. Bergman believes that there is a natural link between film and architecture: “Maybe the most interesting similarity is that they are both really storytelling,” Mr. Bergman says. “When you make a film, you’re obviously telling a story, even if it’s a non-narrative film. And when you’re doing a building you’re always telling a story, whether you mean to or not.”

In addition to the films, the Cinema’s Varick Room (which also contains a full bar) will host engaging panel discussions involving leading filmmakers, architects, designers, and critics. Among those slated to speak this year are award-winning architect Massimo Vignelli.

For the past two years I have been attending the AD Film Festival, and am very excited to see what this year brings. Today, I will be attending one of the premier films called “16 Acres,” which concerns the rebuilding of Ground Zero in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11th, 2001. For those of us who were in New York on that awful day, this film promises to be a moving experience.

Previous years have attracted figures like The New Yorker’s Architecture Critic, Paul Goldberger, and legendary architect, Robert Venturi. The festival is a great chance for the general public to see, meet, and learn from leaders such as these.

So, whether one is an architecture enthusiast, an architect/designer themselves, or just a curious traveler, the AD Film Festival will have a lot to offer them.

Note: Stay tuned for full coverage of the AD Film Festival. I will be doing live blogging from the event and uploading stories to Examiner.com as well as:

My blog: www.JonathanDenby.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/jonathandenbyreporter

Twitter: twitter.com/jondenby

Architecture and Design Film Festival - www.adfilmfest.com

Running October 19th to October 23rd at Tribeca Cinemas, 54 Varick Street, New York.

Tickets can be purchased online at http://adfilmfest.com/tickets.html

Hotels Nearby

Hilton Garden Inn Tribeca - 6 York Street – (212) 966-4091 - ‪hiltongardeninn.com‎

Sheraton Hotel - 370 Canal St - (212) 966-3400 - ‪bookhotelshotel.com‎

SoHo Grand Hotel - 310 West Broadway - ‪sohogrand.com‎

The James Hotel New York - 27 Grand Street - (212) 465-2000 - ‪jameshotels.com‎

Hampton Inn Manhattan SoHo - 54 Watts Street - (212) 226-6288 - ‪hilton.com‎

The Greenwhich Hotel - 377 Greenwich Street - (212) 941-8900 - ‪thegreenwichhotel.com‎