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Movie Maniac: Waiting in line is part of the fun at Tribeca

I'm back after catching the first weekend of the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, and I'm exhausted. As with many festivals, you spend long periods of time standing in line to get tickets or to get into screenings, or both. As one festivalgoer said to me, "If your feet don't hurt at the end of the day, you're not doing it right."

If my feet were any indication, I was a pro.

But waiting is part of the fun. It puts you right in the middle of the excitement and the spectacle. Still, the films are the reason to endure it all.

Here are the six movies I was able to see:

• "Somers Town" is director Shane Meadows' study of two unlikely teenage friends -- one homeless, one living with his alcoholic father -- in London. Meadows explained in the Q&A after the screening that the film was originally intended to be a short, but then was stretched to 70 minutes -- and it felt like it.

• "Trucker" lets Michelle Monaghan ("Gone Baby Gone") shine in a feisty role as a tough, lonely truck driver who must suddenly care for her estranged son. Monaghan, who was present for the Q&A, is the only reason to see the film, which treads into standard, predictable territory.

• The world premiere of "Lake City" had stars Sissy Spacek and Troy Garrity in attendance, although the film was a bit of a letdown, a story about a Southern family trying to get over a tragic loss, amid ominous threats from a misinformed drug dealer (a surprisingly good Dave Matthews). The ever-spectacular Spacek rose above the flat material.

• Finally, some movies I loved. "Bitter and Twisted" is a small Australian film that examines a dysfunctional family in a new, refreshing, poetic way. It's a stunning debut from attending writer/director/star Christopher Weekes.

• William H. Macy was on hand for the world premiere of "Bart Got a Room," about an awkward teen's quest to find a prom date. Writer/director Brian Hecker's comedy is jubilant, heartwarming and at times downright hilarious.

• And Ben Kingsley was warmly gracious (and funny) at the screening of the superb "The Wackness," following the unusual friendship between a pot-smoking psychiatrist and a young drug dealer. It was the perfect cap to a whirlwind movie-going weekend.

Rod Pocowatchit applied to Tribeca's All Access Program for underrepresented filmmakers. He's still underrepresented. Reach him at rpocowatchit@wichitaeagle.com.