By JAKE COYLE AP Entertainment Writer

NEW YORK Apr 26, 2007 (AP)— The sixth annual Tribeca Film Festival opened Wednesday night at a gala hosted by former Vice President Al Gore as the festival expanded its social mission with a slate of global warming-themed films.

The festival, which was founded after the Sept. 11 attacks to rejuvenate Lower Manhattan, opened with the premiere of nine short films produced by SOS (Save Our Selves), an organization to raise awareness on climate change.

The night signified not only the opening of this year's festival, but also the growing connection between filmmakers and the issue of global warming. Gore, who starred in the Oscar-winning documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," said artists play an important role in the movement.

"Art, music, film, dance, poetry all the arts have long been our greatest tools to explore the regions of imagination that defy our efforts to think rationally about subjects that our emotions tell us are too painful to contemplate," he said.

Gore spoke optimistically of the potential for change. "Somehow, we do have to penetrate that shell of denial," he said.

Tribeca, which held its first festival in 2002, was founded by Robert De Niro, his producing partner, Jane Rosenthal, and her husband, the entrepreneur Craig Hatkoff.

"The Tribeca Film Festival sprang from needs of community," Rosenthal said. "We've learned that every bit helps."

Though festivals customarily open with the premiere of a high-profile feature-length film, Rosenthal told The Associated Press ahead of Tribeca's opening that the decision was easy.

"I don't know what a traditional festival is," Rosenthal said. "Being able to shine a light on an issue and show interesting short films is better than showing some mediocre movie."

SOS founder Kevin Wall said the organization has commissioned 60 short films. The nine shown Wednesday night generally ran about five minutes long and sometimes felt like public service announcements.

They included visions of a flooded New York City, an animated hippo and turtle talking about changing temperatures, footage from a giant landfill in Brazil and a reminder of the especially harsh effect global warming is expected to have on Africa.

Directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, whose documentary "Jesus Camp" played at Tribeca last year and went on to land an Oscar nomination, showed a film entitled "One Less Car" that showed the benefits of riding a bike in New York City.

Rob Reiner, whose films include "When Harry Met Sally" and "Stand By Me," presented a 15-minute film on the reunion of Spinal Tap, the mock heavy metal band immortalized in his 1984 mockumentary "This Is Spinal Tap."

The band will play in London on July 7 as part of the global Live Earth concerts, also produced by SOS. The concerts will raise funds for the Alliance for Climate Protection, of which Gore is chairman.

The festivities concluded with a three-song set from Jon Bon Jovi. He played Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," his own "Livin' on a Prayer" and the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun."

"I'm not here to pick a fight," Bon Jovi said. "I'm here as a dad; I'm here as a husband; I'm here as a citizen of the country and the world."

Others in attendance included Martin Scorsese, Petra Nemcova, Jimmy Fallon, Diego Luna, Christopher Walken, Paul Haggis and Josh Lucas.

At a press conference earlier Wednesday for the festival which runs until May 6 New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called Gore "the world's hottest leading man."

On the Net:

http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/

http://www.liveearth.org/

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.