Robert De Niro breaks silence on organizing Tribeca Festival just months after 9/11

Robert De Niro recently got candid and opened up about why he decided to announce the Tribeca Festival just months after 9/11.

For those unaware, the Tribeca Festival is an annual event in New York City that celebrates music, television, film, immersive storytelling, and games. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania, De Niro and longtime producing partner Jane Rosenthal did not abandon their idea despite the harrowing incident.

While conversing with PEOPLE magazine for People Talks, a new live talk series from People Inc., on Thursday, September 10, the 83-year-old American actor and producer talked about the origin of the Tribeca Film Festival alongside Tribeca Festival co-founder Rosenthal and Tribeca 25 director Matt Tyrnauer.

He shared, “We had talked about maybe doing a festival. It wasn’t really a serious conversation. We were sort of kicking it around. And then when 9/11 happened, we wanted to revitalize the neighborhood, to say the least. And so we talked about actually doing it and we said, ‘Let’s do it.’ Just made the commitment.”

Rosenthal went on to state that they made a conscious decision to help rebuild a neighbourhood after the destruction caused by the attacks. Also, he and the Goodfellas were not experienced in organizing a film festival.

“I mean, we felt we had to do something because I keep saying we weren’t firefighters or steel workers, so what could we do to help? Put on the screening, put on a show and try to provide a new memory,” he quipped.

It is pertinent to mention that Robert De Niro and Rosenthal announced the festival in November 2001, but it was held from May 8 to May 12, 2002.