Tom Berninger doc about The National’s rock tour kicks off festival.

The Tribeca Film Festival opened last night with the world premiere of Tom Berninger’s documentary Mistaken For Strangers at New York’s Tribeca Performing Arts Center, which kicked off 10 more days of premieres, events and talks.

The opening night event was introduced by Tribeca heads Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal.

The film, which follows director Berninger as he goes on tour with US indie rock back The National – handily fronted by his brother Matt – was a hit with the enthusiastic audience, who lapped up his flailing and funny misadventures as a roadie, while the film also dwells on the nature of family (the band is made up of two other pairs of brothers).

Post screening the guests headed to the Highline Ballroom for the opening night party, which included an impressive performance by The National, and set things up well for the upcoming festival, which is putting special emphasis on music and film over the coming days.

The Tribeca Film Festival features a strong selection of independent titles, with an especially vibrant documentary strand.

Its profile is rather different from last year, when it opened with Universal’s comedy The Five-Year Engagement and wrapped with Marvel’s The Avengers.

This edition closes with a special screening of Martin Scorsese’s 1983 classic The King Of Comedy, starring Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis.