Jury Lineups Announced for Tribeca Film Festival

Mike Coppola/Getty Images The ticket line for the 2012 festival.

Imagine a cocktail party populated by recognizable guests who would otherwise probably never hang out together: some of them are highly knowledgeable about movies, some have made movies, others have appeared in movies and still others have at least seen some movies. Hold that image in your mind and tally off the boldface names in attendance, and you may come up with rosters not unlike the â€" shall we say, heterogeneous â€" juries that will preside over this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

The festival’s organizers on Wednesday afternoon announced the jurors who would choose the winners in its seven competitive categories, calling them, with some understatement, “a diverse group of 41 industry leaders.” For example, the jury for the world narrative category will consist of the writer-directors Kenneth Lonergan (“You Can Count On Me,” “Margaret”) and Paul Haggis (“Crash,” “Million Dollar Baby”); the actresses Blythe Danner and Bryce Dallas-Howard; and the cultural journalist Jessica Winter. And the winner of the world documentary category will be chosen by the documentary filmmakers Joe Berlinger (“Paradise Lost”) and Sandi Dubowski (“Trembling Before G-d”); as well as Whoopi Goldberg, Mira Sorvino and Evan Rachel Wood.

Other juries announced on Wednesday include best new narrative director, whose notable names include the actors Radha Mitchell (“Red Widow”) and Ari Graynor (“For a Good Time Call”) and the screenwriters Naomi Foner (“Running on Empty”) and Tony Gilroy (“Michael Clayton”); best new documentary director, which includes the actors Taraji P. Henson (“Person of Interest”) and Josh Radnor (“How I Met Your Mother”); narrative short film competition, which includes Sheila Nevins, president of HBO’s documentary film division, the music-video director Chris Milk and the actress Christine Baranski; and the documentary and student short film competitions, which includes the ESPN Inc. president John Skipper, the actresses Eva Longoria and Abigail Breslin, the screenwriter Danny Strong and the celebrity chef Bobby Flay.

This year’s Tribeca Film Festival will run from April 17 through 28.