Robert De Niro begins latest edition of Tribeca Festival

NEW YORK: The improvement in the COVID-19 situation in New York has brought people back to their pre-pandemic routines, and it seems veteran actor Robert De Niro now can't wait to make people experience the magic of Tribeca Festival once again.

According to Variety, De Niro along with renowned producer Jane Rosenthal have launched the latest edition of the festival, which runs from June 9 to June 20.

The 2021 edition has been touted as the first major in-person film festival to be held in North America since the beginning of the pandemic.

According to Rosenthal, the festival will give a push to the economy.

"A film festival comes to town in every sense. What that does for these local economies is huge. For us to do this throughout the boroughs is a positive thing, especially right now when our economy is suffering and unemployment levels are high and tourism is low," she said.

Rosenthal wants people to enjoy the feeling of togetherness once again.

"Our mission is to bring people back out from their homes. It t was originally about bringing people back downtown who were afraid to come there or people who were afraid to come to New York. This time, it's about creating new rituals now that we're able to gather together and enjoy things together again," she added.

Elaborating more about the latest edition, De Niro said, "It is similar mission and we're keeping with the tradition of why the festival was started in the first place. Last year we did a virtual festival because of how bad the situation was. This year we're reemerging from it, coming out of it and taking the next step."

Speaking about the festival, the organisers have dropped 'film' from the event's name, replacing 'Tribeca Film Festival' with 'Tribeca Festival'. The festival will showcase over 60 films, TV series, a lineup of shorts, podcasts, and more. Online screenings of many projects are also being offered.

For the unversed, De Niro and Rosenthal created the Tribeca Film Festival, first held in 2002, in the hopes of revitalising lower Manhattan after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.