Tribeca goes live! - 16th June 2021

Tribeca Film Festival has brought the leading lights of motion pictures flocking to New York as culture returns to the city's streets.

All eager to support independent filmmaking, festival juror, actor Bryan Cranston, articulated sentiments of many in attendance.

Bryan Cranston: "To have the Tribeca Film Festival come back after Covid lockdown, when everybody was contained, and quarantined and tight, and now to be able to loosen that up and enjoy and celebrate. It's what society needs, not just in, you know, New York for the Tribeca but all around the world to celebrate art."

Aiming to breathe life back into Lower Manhattan's TriBeCa district, harrowed by the 9/11 World Trade Centre attacks, a team of celebrities spearheaded by actor Robert De Niro founded the Tribeca Film Festival in 2002.

For actress Sharon Stone, this year's festival serves a similar purpose post pandemic.

Sharon Stone: "We all lost. There really aren't any of us here that didn't lose - we all lost. We lost our jobs, we lost our bearings, we lost our loved ones, we lost our sense of security and self. We all lost in this epidemic."

2020 proceedings pivoted entirely online and while digital aspects have been retained for this 20th anniversary year, the live events promise to rekindle a sense of community and lead people to reconnect.

Actress Helen Hunt, a former TriBeCa resident who recalls the inaugural festival, expects a repeat of the 2002 phenomenon.

Helen Hunt: But I remember when it started and how much healing it brought at the time. So it's doing it again."