The Tribeca Film Festival was founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff, reportedly in response to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the Tribeca neighborhood in Lower Manhattan,although there are reports that its founding was underway prior to the events of .The mission of the festival is “to enable the international film community and the general public to experience the power of film by redefining the film festival experience.” The Tribeca Film Festival was founded to celebrate New York City as a major film making center and to contribute to the long-term recovery of lower Manhattan.

In 2006 and 2007, the Festival received over 8600 film submissions and held 1,500 screenings.The Festival’s program line-up includes a variety of independent films including documentaries, narrative features and shorts, as well as a program of family-friendly films. The Festival also features panel discussions with personalities in the entertainment world and a music lounge produced with ASCAP to showcase artists. One of the more distinctive components of the Festival is its Artists Awards program in which emerging and renowned artists celebrate filmmakers by providing original works of art that are given to the filmmakers’ competition winners. Past artists of the Artists Awards program have included Chuck Close, Alex Katz, and Julian Schnabel.