At most film festivals, you can get the best experience for your time and money by concentrating on the movies you aren't likely to see on the big screen any other way--after all, the obvious blockbusters will be coming to your local multiplex soon enough. At this year's Tribeca Film Festival, though, happening now in New York City, there's one serious exception to the rule: The Avengers. Comic book fans have been dreaming about this movie (or one an awful lot like it) from the day Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's first issue hit the stands in 1963, and with Joss Whedon writing and directing, there's good reason to believe that it'll live up to our expectations.

That means more than just big-budget superhero action: Fans expect Whedon to understand all the nuances that make Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Iron Man and the rest of the team powerful characters, and to bring them together in a way that makes this new franchise bigger than the sum of its parts. Tribeca Film Festival attendees had a chance to find out if he succeeded slightly ahead of the rest of the world--who wouldn't want to take advantage of an opportunity like that?

The Avengers is just one of several dozen offerings at this year's festival, though, with a wide selection of independent films and documentaries. If I were there, here are some of the other movies I'd be sure to check out in my search for Character Approved storytelling.