Robert De Niro on helping revive Lower Manhattan after 9/11
As the dust settled on New York City following the 9/11 attacks, Robert De Niro and his longtime business partner, producer Jane Rosenthal, looked for ways to pull Lower Manhattan out of the ashes. The Tribeca Film Festival, which debuted in 2002, has not only successfully launched a new generation of filmmakers; it has also helped revitalize the city in what De Niro called "an act of defiance." Tracy Smith talks with De Niro and Rosenthal about their festival's mission: to use art as an antidote to what they see as traumatic times facing America.
TL;DR
- Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal founded the Tribeca Film Festival in 2002.
- The festival was created to help Lower Manhattan recover after the 9/11 attacks.
- It has launched a new generation of filmmakers and revitalized the city.
- De Niro views the festival as an "act of defiance" and a way to use art against traumatic times.