Twenty-one years ago, Robert De Niro co-founded the Tribeca Film Festival with Jane Rosenthal. While its dates sandwich it between more prestigious festivals like Cannes and Venice, film fans can’t sleep on the festival, especially because of its world premieres. And Tribeca is also a major event that helps kick off the summer months in NYC. During the opening night celebration, Martin Scorsese and New York City Mayor Eric Adams stated that De Niro “revitalized the city after 9/11” and that “the Tribeca festival is an indomitable institution and beacon of the city.”
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Shane Atkinson is among the 127 filmmakers bringing their art to the festival this year. Best known for his work on short films and writing “Poms” with Diane Keaton, Atkinson makes his feature-film debut at this year’s film festival with the comedic thriller “LaRoy.”
As summarized in The Playlist’s Tribeca Preview, “LaRoy” tells the story of Ray Jepsen, a hardware store owner who can’t believe he ever married the local beauty queen. But when Ray finds out that she’s having an affair, Ray decides he’s going to kill himself. However, before he can pull the trigger, he decides to take a job as the hitman he was accidentally mistaken for. Unfortunately for Ray, he soon realizes he should have just killed himself instead.
John Magaro stars in “LaRoy” as Ray, alongside Steve Zahn, Dylan Baker, and Megan Stevenson. Atkinson’s debut had its world premiere at Tribeca last night, but there are still two in-person screenings over the weekend. Ahead of those screenings at Village East by Angelika, watch an exclusive clip from “LaRoy” below.