A l’estil “Juan Palomo, I cook it, I eat it”.
The saying, which is attributed to a burlesque poem by Quevedo, applies in this case to Robert De Niro.
A co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival in 2001, with Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, in a show of New York’s resilience after the 9/11 attacks, De Niro will star on closing night on June 17. On this day, tribute will be paid to the 30th anniversary of the premiere of A Bronx Story, the film he directed and starred in with Chazz Palminteri. The production was in charge of Rosenthal.
So, without a doubt, on its own merits and with artistic justice, everything is at home for a festival that starts this Wednesday.
The opening gala corresponds to the North American premiere of Kiss the future, a documentary about a community of musicians under siege in Sarajevo, and the U2 concert in 1997 to celebrate the liberation of Bosnia. Under the production of Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Sarah Anthony, the choice of this story seems a metaphor for this edition number 22.
Tribeca is a very eclectic film festival, the most modern festival of all, less competitive and more open to the technological world. This time, and more than any other, many of the stars come from the world of music.
“Music is an instrumental way of telling stories,” said Cara Cusumano, director of the festival.
In addition to praising the quality of soul, rock, pop and hip-hop performances, in the year that is considered the 50th anniversary of his birth, Cusumano acknowledged that they have waited a long time to host Paul McCartney, and this once the stars have aligned for his presence to become a reality.
The former Beatle will take part in the live recording of Conan O’Brien’s podcast and present his book of photographs in six cities that he took in 1964, including the Big Apple.
The rocker Johnn Mellencamp will also sit down to talk with another famous television personality such as David Letterman, now retired from the late night shows, a genre he helped create.
Hailee Steinfeld fans will also have their moment, on the crest of the wave for her performance in the successful film Spider-man: crossing the multiverse, a phenomenon at the box office. Bill Porter, Chance the Rapper or Diplo will participate in the storytelling conversations.
The festival offers the film premiere of the 2021 live recording of the Broadway show The Waitress (inspired by the 2007 film of the same name). Sara Bareilles, its theatrical creator and protagonist, will perform after the screening.
But on the heels of the inaugural gala, Tribeca is releasing a series of documentaries about music artists including Cyndi Lauper, French Montana and Carlos Santana. The three films will have their debut at the Beacon Theatre, one of the usual venues for the contest’s big parties, and all three will feature performances by the honorees.
Without a doubt, one of the most attractive dates is the premiere of the documentary dedicated to Gloria Gaynor, which could have no other title than the success that identifies her globally: I will (I will survive), an anthem for many people. The veteran superstar will complement this premiere with her live art.
Another production, Uncharted, shows how Alicia Keys, New Yorker by birth and symbol of her city, explores the terrain of women’s inclusion in music.
All this billboard, somewhat unheard of so far in this contest, leads to the conclusion that this Tribeca, as Cusumano emphasized, is different from everything that has been done before.
