A $400 million film studio is not the only thing legendary actor Robert De Niro is bringing to Astoria.
Tribeca Film Festival, which De Niro co-founded in 1989, will present free community screenings in Astoria Park next month using a traveling 40-foot state-of-the-art LED cinema screen.
“Our founding mission is even more relevant today and we wanted to ensure that we could reach all corners of New York,” Tribeca Festival Co-Founder and CEO Jane Rosenthal said. “Tribeca was started to bring people together, and that’s what we aim to do again this year: to connect communities across all five boroughs and share our festival experience, safely, while supporting local businesses.”
De Niro is building his Wildflower Studios at the nearby site where Steinway & Sons had a former piano storage facility at 87 19th Ave. on Steinway Creek. In addition to Astoria Park, the Tribeca Film Festival is also coming to Flushing Meadows Corona Park and the 30th Street Playground in Far Rockaway.
Film screenings include “Selma” in Astoria Park on Saturday, June 19; Steven Spielberg’s highly anticipated “In the Heights” in Flushing Meadows Corona Park on Wednesday, June 9; “Belly” in Rockaway Beach on Thursday, June 10; and many more.
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that Tribeca would be the first in-person film festival to take place in North America since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
“As our numbers continue to decline and more New Yorkers get vaccinated, we can begin to turn the page on COVID and look forward to getting back to the new normal,” Cuomo said. “Events, venues and businesses all across New York state are reimagining how they operate for a post-pandemic world, and Tribeca Film Festival is no exception. This is a huge step forward in our state and our nation’s reopening that will let the rest of the world know New York is back and better than ever.”
The free community screenings are in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies.
“The Tribeca Film Festival was born out of tragedy, helping our city recover from the attacks of 911,” former Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. “This year, the festival is once again sharing the joy and creativity of the movies as we rebound from a difficult time. At Bloomberg Philanthropies, we’re excited to help bring the festival to even more people through a series of free movie screenings in neighborhoods across New York. We hope you’ll join us, and enjoy the show.”
For more information and a list of the screenings, visit the Tribeca Film Festival website here.
“There is no greater hub for diversity, culture or the arts than The World’s Borough, making it the perfect host for a festival as significant and as quintessentially New York City as Tribeca,” Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said. “Queens is thrilled to celebrate 20 years of Tribeca with a wide selection of fantastic films for our families from Rockaway to Astoria and beyond to enjoy as one Queens community.”
