Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro co-founded the Tribeca Film Festival in 2002 with producer Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, partly to bring people back to lower Manhattan after the September 11 attacks. It has since premiered thousands of independent features and documentaries and built year-round programmes funding new filmmakers. Rosenthal runs the operation; De Niro's name gave a new festival instant credibility.