Tayyaba
This year the Tribeca Film Festival kicked off under a veil of haze in New York, which was brought about by the the Canadian wildfires as the smoke drifted south. A lot seemed to happen this year around; The Festival announced ‘De Niro Con’, Martin Scorsese gave a tribute to De Niro, the Mayor of New York presented him with the key to the city, and Jane Rosenthal gave a speech. Here’s what we know:
What is the ‘De Niro Con’?
The Tribeca Festival announced ‘De Niro Con,’ which is a three-day fan event this fall in celebration of Robert De Niro’s 80th birthday. ‘De Niro Con’ will take place from September 29 to October 1 at Spring Studios in New York City. It will have film screenings, panels and talks by the actor’s close associates and friends. Martin Scorsese also gave a warm tribute to his close friend and collaborator, Robert. Scorsese and De Niro have 10 brilliant projects between them, from ‘The Irishman to Taxi Driver’. He talked about the “good fortune” of their meeting over 50 years ago with a very heartfelt speech and proudly stood next to him while he was handed the key to the city.
“You deserve this key to the City of New York because you have opened our hearts for years and for generations. We all grew up on you. I don’t care what ethnicity, what community — South Jamaica, South Bronx, Lower East Side. Doesn’t matter where you are. Everyone knew this New York taxi driver was able to drive this to new abilities that we are now. Thank you, brother, for this”
Mayor of NYC to Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro has the key to New York City and our hearts
Mayor Eric Adams paid his respects to Robert De Niro on behalf of the inhabitants of New York City. He presented the key to the city to De Niro on stage. Robert commented that he was “honored to accept that recognition on behalf of my 8½ million neighbors.” Mayor Adams also advised the residents of New York to be careful on the occasion of Canadian wildfire smoke infiltrating the city. Jane Rosenthaal, co-founder of Tribeca Festival thanked the crowd for “braving the Canadian winds”. To hear this speech, there were many notable figures attending including Mark Ruffalo, Ben Affleck, Sarah Anthony, Pam Grier and Matt Damon.