As the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival prepares to light up the Big Apple with an incredible amount of films, events and nerdy conversations from April 13-24, we're here to make sense of it all, and let you know what movie fans are excited for.

5 Star-Studded Movies We’re Buzzing About

Elvis & Nixon

This offbeat comedy is based on the real-life 1971 incident when Elvis Presley (Michael Shannon) showed up unannounced on the White House front lawn in pursuit of a meeting with President Nixon (Kevin Spacey). Why? So he could become an undercover federal agent and bust teen drug users, of course!

The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

In one of the festival’s buzzier titles, Jason Sudeikis stars in a rare dramatic role as a man who befriends a mysterious young runaway (Maisie Williams) following the unexpected death of his free-spirited wife (Jessica Biel).

Don’t Think Twice

Our favorite film from this year’s SXSW Film Festival travels to New York for a premiere at Tribeca, which gives us another reason to tell you about it! Directed by and starring comedian Mike Birbiglia, Don’t Think Twice follows a NYC improv group whose tight loyalties to one another are tested when one of their own lands a dream gig on a Saturday Night Live-type show.

With a cast that also includes Keegan-Michael Key, Gillian Jacobs and Kate Micucci, the film has both laugh-out-loud funny and somber moments as it begs the question: how would you react if your best friend snagged the dream you’ve been chasing your whole life?

A Hologram for the King

We love a good fish-out-of-water story, especially if it stars Tom Hanks. In A Hologram for the King, Hanks stars as a down-on-his-luck businessman who travels to Saudi Arabia to sell his latest idea to a wealthy monarch and in the process he finds love and finds himself, natch.

Youth in Oregon

This road-trip dramedy is already emerging as a fest favorite thanks to its stellar ensemble cast (Frank Langella, Billy Crudup, Christina Applegate, Mary Kay Place and Josh Lucas) and quirky story about a man (Langella) traveling to Oregon to legally end his life and the reluctant son-in-law (Crudup) sent along to try to talk him out of it.

Bonus:  Little Boxes

This unique dramedy about a biracial family who moves from New York City to the suburbs and is ill prepared for the many obstacles they face along the way has a unique and relevant concept and presents a familiar theme in a fresh way. (We know -- we've seen it.) The family is likeable, and the film has a calm, cool flow -- maybe due to its jazz-heavy soundtrack. You'll be able to relate, too, if you're an older creative type who feels like another generation is forcing you off the cool kid's table but you still want to do what you love.

4 Wild Experiences You Can Only Have at Tribeca

If virtual reality is your thing, then you’ll want to spend a lot of time discovering the many different types of VR filmmaking on display at the festival this year. From its varied Storyscapes section to its first-ever Virtual Arcade, you’ll be able to do everything from fly above the clouds to cruise through South Central Los Angeles in a convertible.

Here are a few VR projects we’re dying to check out.

The Bomb

This 55-minute immersive experience that explores our relationship with nuclear weapons is a festival highlight this year. From the official description: "To simulate the power of nuclear weapons, the bomb will combine film and original animation created by Stanley Donwood, and will be projected 360° on eight massive floor-to-ceiling screens, created by United Visual Artists, that will surround the audience as the progressive rock band the Acid performs in the room."

Invasion!

This animated film is about aliens who come to destroy Earth and meet their match in the form of some adorable bunnies. Bunnies who save the planet? We’re in!

Seances

From director Guy Maddin, Seances has our interest because no one audience can have the same experience watching it. From the festival description: "By dynamically generating a series of film sequences in unique configurations, potentially hundreds of thousands of new stories will be conjured by code. Each will exist only in the moment—no pausing, scrubbing or sharing—offering the audience one chance to see this film."

Killer Deal

The most important thing to know about Killer Deal is that it comes from the director of the first three Sharknado movies, Anthony Ferrante. The basic setup is that it tracks a struggling machete salesman whose hotel room comes with an unwelcome guest. You can piece together the rest, but be aware the big selling point of this one is that it places the viewer right in the middle of the "splash zone."

3 Epic Conversations We Want in On

One thing Tribeca does better than other fests is its series of conversations featuring actors, filmmakers and other notable figures in Hollywood. This year features folks like Francis Ford Coppola, Tina Fey, Idina Menzel, Tom Hanks and Patti Smith. Here are three other conversations we want in on.

J.J. Abrams and Chris Rock – The Star Wars and Star Trek director chats it up with this year’s Oscars host. Hilarity will surely ensue.

Alfonso Cuarón and Emmanuel Lubezki – Last time these two got together, they produced the film Gravity. Now the Oscar-winning director and cinematographer (dude’s won three in a row) reunite for a conversation that will surely touch on their potential future collaborations.

Joss Whedon and Mark Ruffalo – One guy directed The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron and the other is an Avenger. We expect this conversation to veer off in some deliciously geeky directions.

2 Under-the-Radar Docs We’re Eyeing

Hard Lovin’ Woman

Did you know actress Juliette Lewis was in a band? In this hard-rockin’ documentary, actor-director Michael Rapaport tracks Lewis as she pursues her first love: music. What’s particularly intriguing about this premiere is that it’s followed by a performance from Lewis’ band, Juliette and the Licks.

14 Minutes from Earth

What happens when a 57-year-old Google executive decides to stage a secret mission to explore the Earth’s stratosphere… by dangling from a helium balloon? That’s what we aim to find out in this doc, featuring all the ups and downs (literally) that come with attempting to reach record heights without the use of a rocket.

The 1 Event We’re Most Looking Forward To

40^th Anniversary Screening of Taxi Driver

"You talkin’ to me?"

Oh, we certainly are. One of the most, well, talked-about events at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival is this screening, partly because we’re itching to watch this Martin Scorsese classic about a New York cabbie’s slow descent into madness on the big screen, but also because the screening is followed by a Q&A with – get this – Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd and Paul Schrader.