Robert De Niro took a thinly veiled dig at Donald Trump at the opening night of Tribeca Festival on Wednesday. The Oscar-winner used his time at the podium to talk about Tribeca’s mission as a festival formed in the wake of 9/11 to shine a spotlight on a part of the city that had been devastated by the terrorist attack.
“We’ve always recognized the power of storytelling to pull people together,” De Niro said.
It’s a guiding principle that has become “especially important,” De Niro said, because “monstrous leaders…are trying to force us apart for their own immoral, cruel and corrupt purposes.”
And while he didn’t mention the president by name, De Niro, a frequent Trump critic, told the crowd at the Beacon Theatre: “You know who I’m talking about.”
Tribeca, which is now in its 25th year, kicked off with the premiere of “Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs That’s the Weight of the World),” a new documentary from Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. The film follows the music group and its leader, Maurice White, on their climb up the charts, documenting their influence on everyone from Stevie Wonder to Flea and the Obamas (all of whom appear in the doc).
“I’m vigilant on keeping a zen mind space and really not giving in to the toxicity,” Thompson said while introducing the film. “This [film] allowed me to tell a metaphysical story about how nine individuals sort of tricked us into positivity.”
Jane Rosenthal, who founded Tribeca with De Niro, reflected on the festival’s legacy, as well as its surprising resilience.
“I only thought we were doing this once to bring people back to lower Manhattan, and I can’t believe 25 years later we’re still standing here,” she said.
After the film showed to a sold-out crowd, Thompson and the surviving band members took the stage to play Earth, Wind & Fire hits like “September” and “Shining Star.”
