Press materials available here.TRIBECA FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2023 GALA EVENTS
FEATURING WORLD PREMIERES AND PERFORMANCES BY CARLOS SANTANA, CYNDI LAUPER, AND FRENCH MONTANA; LIVE CONVERSATION WITH MEGAN THEE STALLION, AT NEW YORK'S BEACON THEATRE
MATT DAMON-PRODUCED SARAJEVO DOCUMENTARY KISS THE FUTURE FEATURING U2 TO OPEN FESTIVAL; A BRONX TALE 30TH ANNIVERSARY IS CLOSING GALA
PLUS: DISNEY AND PIXAR'S ELEMENTAL ADDED AS CENTERPIECE FILM
Passes Available at Tribecafilm.com; Single Tickets on Sale May 2
NEW YORK - (April 27, 2023) - The 2023 Tribeca Festival, presented by OKX, today announced its lineup of Gala events, along with Opening, Closing, and Centerpiece selections.
This year's Festival kicks off on Wednesday, June 7 with the North American premiere of Kiss the Future, a stirring documentary that follows the story of a community of underground musicians and creatives throughout the nearly four-year-long siege of Sarajevo, as well as the 1997 U2 concert celebrating the liberation of the Bosnian capital. The film serves as a testament to art's enduring ability to cast light even in the darkest of circumstances and reflects Tribeca's founding mission of utilizing the power of storytelling to heal communities. Kiss the Future, produced by Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Sarah Anthony, and featuring U2's Bono, The Edge, and Adam Clayton, officially opens the 12-day festival and sets Tribeca's tone with its theme of artists-activists.
We know U2's marquee is helpful in getting the lives of these local heroes to a wider audience, but even at my most puffed up I couldn't have imagined our tiny role being given so much care, attention, and screen time by Nenad Cicin-Sain, said Bono. If defiance is the essence of romance, then the people of Sarajevo are the most romantic figures. Viva Sarajevo!
Ben and I are proud of this film and are honored that it has been selected to open the Tribeca Festival, said Damon. We are grateful to the people of Sarajevo and to U2 for giving us the opportunity to help tell this special story. Though this event happened almost 30 years ago, we feel it has strong relevance to today's world, serving as a powerful reminder that human creativity can provide a powerful antidote to even the most horrific of situations.
To close the Festival, Tribeca is commemorating the 30th anniversary of A Bronx Tale with a special screening of the classic film on Saturday, June 17. After the movie, the film's director and star Robert De Niro, producer Jane Rosenthal, and writer and co-star Chazz Palminteri are participating in a live conversation with the editor of The New Yorker David Remnick.
A Bronx Tale is a very personal project that marked my directorial debut, said De Niro. I'm pleased to celebrate its 30th anniversary at Tribeca with my longtime producing partner and Festival co-founder Jane Rosenthal, the wonderful Chazz Palminteri, and a live New York audience at the iconic Beacon Theatre.
This year's Centerpiece Gala is the New York premiere of Disney and Pixar's Elemental. Set in Element City, where fire-, water-, earth- and air-residents live together, the film is about Ember, a fiery young woman, whose friendship with water-guy Wade challenges her beliefs about the world they live in and the person she wants to be. Directed by Peter Sohn, Elemental is voiced by Catherine OHara, Leah Lewis, and Mamoudou Athie.
The remaining Gala selections include the world premieres of music documentaries about Grammy-winning artists Carlos Santana, Cyndi Lauper, and French Montana with dedicated performances by each artist after the screenings. Additionally, Grammy-winning Megan Thee Stallion is participating in a live conversation. The Gala events, sponsored by City National Bank, take place at the Beacon Theatre on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
Music is an instrumental form of storytelling, and the Tribeca Festival is thrilled to weave dynamic performances into our Gala events. Our lineup features the best of soul, rock & roll, pop, and hip-hop, said Tribeca Festival Director and VP of Programming Cara Cusuamno. We hope our audiences are inspired by activism in art and riled up by the electrifying acts paired with the screenings.
The Tribeca Festival is curated by Festival Director and VP of Programming Cara Cusumano, Artistic Director Fr d ric Boyer; VP of Programming Sharon Badal and VP of Shorts Programming Ben Thompson; Senior Programmers Liza Domnitz, Faridah Gbadamosi, and Jarod Neece; Programmers Jos F. Rodriguez, Casey Baron, Jason Gutierrez, and Jonathan Penner; VP of Games and Immersive Casey Baltes and Immersive Curator Ana Brzezi ska; Curator of Audio Storytelling Davy Gardner; Music Programmer Vincent Cassous; and Chief Content Officer Paula Weinstein, along with a team of associate programmers.
The full feature film lineup is detailed below. For more updates on programming follow @Tribeca and #Tribeca2023 on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and to purchase passes and ticket packages for the 2023 Tribeca Festival, go to tribecafilm.com/festival.
About the Tribeca Festival
The Tribeca Festival, presented by OKX, brings artists and diverse audiences together to celebrate storytelling in all its forms, including film, TV, music, audio storytelling, games, and XR. With strong roots in independent film, Tribeca is synonymous with creative expression and entertainment. Tribeca champions emerging and established voices, discovers award-winning talent, curates innovative experiences, and introduces new ideas through exclusive premieres, exhibitions, conversations, and live performances.
The Festival was founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in 2001 to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of lower Manhattan following the attacks on the Wor
