Tribeca Festival 2023; what is Tribeca Festival and how did 9/11 inspire Robert De Niro to found the festival?

The annual Tribeca Festival begins its 2023 season next month, with the Tribeca area in Lower Manhattan perhaps not as ‘glamorous’ of an area as the French Riviera, but the festival itself is just as pertinent as the Cannes Film Festival. Look no further than some of the films that premiered at the event throughout it’s now 21 year history - the MCU’s powerhouse crossover franchise ‘The Avengers’ (or ‘Avengers: Assemble’ here in the UK) debuted at the 2012 Tribeca Festival before becoming a box office juggernaut.

But the formation of Tribeca Festival comes from a more harrowing beginning rather than the glamorous affairs of other film festivals. In fact, one of the festival's co-founders, Oscar winner Robert De Niro, was so affected by an event in US history that he made it his mission to use the idea of a festival to revitalise the area of Lower Manhattan. That event being the September 11 attacks that took place in New York in 2001.

In the aftermath of the attacks, the Tribeca neighbourhood ("Triangle Below Canal Street”) was significantly impacted, with the area suffering from the loss of lives, destruction of buildings, and a sense of grief and despair. Recognizing the need to bring back life and cultural vibrancy to the neighbourhood, De Niro, film producer Jane Rosenthal and real estate investor Craig Hatkoff initiated the Tribeca Film Festival as a way to unite the community and honour the resilience of New Yorkers.

The festival's location in Lower Manhattan held symbolic significance. By hosting the event in the heart of Tribeca, the founders aimed to reclaim the neighbourhood and demonstrate that it was a resilient and vibrant community. The festival not only celebrated film and the arts but also emphasised the spirit of unity and strength in the face of adversity.

The inaugural Tribeca Film Festival took place from May 8 to May 12, 2002 as the founders curated a diverse selection of films, including independent features, documentaries, shorts, and panel discussions. The festival aimed to provide a platform for filmmakers to showcase their work and promote artistic expression while also attracting visitors to the area and boosting the local economy.

In the years since, with more artforms being involved at the festival, including video games - long considered now as pertinent of a storytelling platform as film and television - the festival rebranded in 2020 to become simply the Tribeca Festival; a celebration of the many multi-disciplinary ways that storytelling can be conveyed to an audience. 

Despite its expansion into other countries including Qatar (Tribeca Doha), it still carries the name of that neighbourhood that means so much to De Niro and the founders, and has become one of the premiere festivals on the arts calendar every year.