After receiving harsh criticism in 2007 for considering quantity more important than quality, the Tribeca Festival hopes to enjoy a more pleasant reception this year.

People complained last year that tickets were too expensive or that the added uptown theaters made the festival’s navigation too difficult, resulting in missing tightly scheduled screenings due to travel delay.

Film executives complained the festival was not commercial enough, while others complained it was too commercial.

But the festival’s founders are hopeful they can surpass the criticism and do better this year.

The festival started six years ago, founded by Jane Rosenthal; her husband, Craig Hatkoff; and Rosenthal's producing partner, Robert De Niro. It followed the September 11 terrorist attacks and it was supposed to help the downtown community recover and rebuild.

Rosenthal was very much impressed by the tragedy on Sept.11, saying that she could have been right in front of the two towers when the first plane hit the building, if her driver had not decided to stop the car at a yellow light.

“Aside from Sarajevo, there's no other film festival that was started because of an act of war,” she said. “As filmmakers, we were still uncovering, we were still trying to dig out when we started this festival. Literally, when we started, there were tanks on Canal Street.”

For the 2008’s edition of the festival, the founders decided to cut the festival’s lineup with around 25 percent, leaving 121 features, in comparison with the 157 features it had last year.

The screening hubs have also been changed. The two of them are settled in Union Square and Tribeca. And the tickets’ price has been reduced from $18 to $15, with several weekend and midnight shows at just $8.

"One of our growing pains was learning how to say no, condense and hone in on the best films," explains Nancy Schafer, one of the festival's executive directors, according to Reuters.

The festival includes many film genres, from obscure indie films to very commercial ones.

The lineup includes the documentary about orphans in Malawi, “I Am Because We Are,” written and produced by Madonna, whose adopted son was born in the above mentioned African country.

“Elite Squad,” a very violent police thriller that was successful in its native Brazil, also features at the festival, along with the British comedy “Somers Town” and Errol Morris’ Abu Ghraib documentary, “Standard Operating Procedure.”

“War, Inc.,” a satire starring John Cusack as a hit man who falls in love with a reporter played by Marisa Tomei, is also expected to generate some buzz at Tribeca.

Mariah Carey’s fans will be pleased to see the singer and aspiring actress in the road movie drama “Tennessee.”

The Wachowski brothers’ film, “Speed Racer,” featuring Emile Hirsch and Christina Ricci, is due to close the festival.