L.A. Noire subject of Tribeca Film Festival special event

To hear Take-Two describe it -- "L.A. Noire has been honored as an Official Selection at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival [...] the first time ever that a video game has been recognized by the festival" -- you'd think that Rockstar's latest production was a small-budget longshot, competing for necessary distinction amid the eclectic slate of films that will be screened during De Niro and company's annual gathering of international movie makers and moviegoers in the lower Manhattan neighborhood.

Instead, the Team Bondi-developed "cinema-videogame hybrid," as Tribeca Film puts it, will be more of a sideshow -- though no less prestigious. As part of the "Tribeca Talks" special events series, L.A. Noire will be the subject of a one-night-only gameplay demonstration and discussion, featuring Rockstar representatives.

The event will be moderated by Tribeca Enterprises COO Geoff Gilmore, who sounds particularly excited about the film festival's latest discovery. "It's an invention of a new realm of storytelling that is part cinema, part gaming, and a whole new realm of narrative expression, interactivity, and immersion," he heralded in an announcement. "We are poised on the edge of a new frontier." Don't worry, Gilmore, it's safe to step on in -- the games industry has actually been settling this very frontier for decades.

The L.A. Noire event is scheduled for 5:30PM on Monday, April 25 at one of the School of Visual Arts theaters (an official festival venue; though not located in Tribeca). An hour has been set aside for the "live interactive screening" of one of the game's detective cases, plus an additional 45 minutes or so for the Q&A conversation. Tickets will be priced at $25 per attendee (some discounts available) and go on sale to the general public on April 18.