NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The Tribeca Festival, which has evolved significantly since it launched in 2002 as a film-driven festival to reinvogorate Lower Manhattan post-9/11, kicks off its 12-day run June 7.
1010 WINS sat down with Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal, co-founders of the festival, ahead of its kickoff at their Tribeca office to discuss Tribeca's line-up -- and of course, about De Niro welcoming his seventh child, a daughter named Gia with girlfriend Tiffany Chen, in April.
The festival's opening film is the documentary "Kiss The Future," whose producers include Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. It follows the story of underground musicians in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war, and the eventual U2 concert celebrating the capital city's liberation.
The centerpiece film of the festival is the Peter Sohn-directed "Elemental," an animated feature from Disney and Pixar, where fire, water, earth and air residents live together.
And to close out the festival, a screening of "A Bronx Tale," in which De Niro starred and made his directorial debut. Rosenthal was also a producer on the film, which follows De Niro's Lorenzo trying to keep his son on the straight-and-narrow and away from local mobster Sonny (played bvy Chazz Palminteri) in 1960s the Bronx. The screening is in honor of its 30th anniversary.
1010 WINS: One of the most anticipated moments for Tribeca is what is going to be the opening film. "Kiss the Future" -- what was so special about this documentary that you guys were like, 'this is the opening film'?
ROSENTHAL: We so related to this documentary, as the founding of this festival was based on where artists and filmmakers and storytellers that started the festival after 9-11 to give our community a new memory and to bring some joy to everybody. And this film is about the musicians and artists of Sarajevo who kept their city going and then brought in U2 the end of the siege of Bosnia and it's a wonderful story of how these musicians and actors kept the city moving and the spirits of the community moving
1010 WINS: This film mixes filmmaking and music, and I’ll get into that when we talk about the Music Lounge, but do you want people to view Tribeca not just as filmmaking-focused but encompassing all these genres?
ROSENTHAL: Well, I think it’s about storytelling and I think that when you think about the music of U2, they tell stories. It's about storytelling. You think about Paul McCartney and John Mellencamp. These are great storytellers and you'll get to hear Mellencamp and McCartney tell their stories.
There's a wonderful doc that Gloria Gaynor has done about "I Will Survive,
and you know that song of hers as a disco song. Well, she wanted to be more of a gospel singer. She'll be performing afterwards. There's a wonderful documentary about Cyndi Lauper and about just as a woman trying to come up and be able to sing what she wanted to sing and also her work as a political activist in the LGBTQ community and then Cyndi will be performing afterwards.
1010 WINS: French Montana, too!
ROSENTHAL: French Montana, yes, everybody's in the house. There's also a great doc on (rapper) Biz Markie. It's a really fun festival and I think coming out of all these things that we've come out of - this is the first year we don't have COVID restrictions -- it's just going to be great fun to be back in the movie theater and to rock out a little.
1010 WINS: "A Bronx Tale" is the closing film. How did that happen? I know it’s a milestone, but was there anything beyond it being a milestone, that you were like, "I want this."
DE NIRO: Well, I didn't, that was Jane and everybody's decision, but I'm happy about it, and I look forward to seeing it, especially at the Beacon, that's a great theater.
1010 WINS: What are you looking forward to speaking with, say, (co-star) Chazz (Palminteri) on stage?
DE NIRO: I don't know. I'm curious if we're doing the interview before or after the screening.
ROSENTHAL: After.
DE NIRO: It's better after, yeah, I'm glad. And we have an earlier screening.
1010 WINS: Yeah, and then were you looking at bringing anyone back like Taral Hicks (who plays the lover interest of De Niro's character's son)?
ROSENTHAL: Well, Kathy Narducci (who played De Niro's character's wife) will be there and a number of others will be there.
Photo credit Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
Photo credit Walter McBride/WireImage
1010 WINS: The centerpiece film is completely different, than the two films we just mentioned, "Elemental," from Disney and Pixar. Bob, what did you think about that film?
DE NIRO: I didn’t see it.
1010 WINS: That’s alright, There’s no homework assignments!
ROSENTHAL: Well, it's about air and water and all the elements, but we're a festival that's always been a festival for everybody. So this is the centerpiece where you get to bring your kids. The whole family can come and enjoy the festival.
DE NIRO: I’m bringing my kids.
ROSENTHAL: There you go. It's a way to continue to celebrate with the whole family.
1010 WINS: Then finally, since you just mentioned your kids, a lot of times I feel you have a personal milestone and you remember it becuase it's pegged to something else in your life, like you changed jobs when you got married or had a child. Is this something that you're going to remember this Tribeca Festival? Like, ‘okay, I became a dad for the seventh time.’
DE NIRO: Yes, with my children, I just say, "well, how old are they? Okay. This happened then. Okay." I know from this period on, from that period that they were born on, I got it down. I know what it is. I definitely use that always as benchmarks, landmarks, whatever you want to call it.
1010 WINS: Thank you both for speaking with me, I can't wait for the festival.
ROSENTHAL: Well come to Spring Studio and come see our immersive work and the games that we're doing. It's another way of telling stories and you know you get to see something that you can't stream.
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