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New York is about to enter its De Niro era—again. But this time, it's not just on screen. It’s around you.
Opening today, June 19 at Mercer Labs, Museum of Art and Technology in Lower Manhattan, De Niro, New York is a first-of-its-kind immersive film installation that reimagines the legendary actor’s career through 360-degree projection, spatial audio and mind-bending scale. The 20-minute experience is part of Summer Nights at Mercer Labs with Tribeca, running Thursday through Sunday evenings through July 13.
Originally premiering in the Hexadome at the 2024 Tribeca Festival in honor of De Niro’s 80th birthday, this new iteration of the film pulls audiences into the heart of De Niro’s cinematic world. Directed by Sam Gill and Luke Neher and produced by Tribeca Studios and Little Cinema, the piece condenses scenes from more than 40 of De Niro’s films into one continuous visual and emotional journey.
For Roy Nachum, co-founder and creative director of Mercer Labs, the project was personal. “Working with such an incredible talent—an icon—was a dream come true,” Nachum told Time Out exclusively. “I’ve been admiring De Niro for a long, long time, and it was a great moment to work with Tribeca on that because that can open people’s eyes to see how we can create a film in 360.”
Mercer Labs, already known for pushing boundaries in experiential art and tech, had never hosted a fully immersive film until now. “I think what’s surprising is the mistakes,” Nachum said. “We have 26 projectors and directional sound—that’s equal to 26 cinema rooms. When you see things in different scales and the conversation between one wall and how it would react with the floor, the magic happens in the space. It’s like something you’ve never seen in your life.”
Tribeca's Chief Operating Officer Pete Torres echoed that sentiment. “You could experience it from different sides at all times. I’ve seen the piece probably 700 times, and every time it’s impressive,” he said.
Beyond the tech and artistry, the experience is a love letter to New York—and to De Niro’s role in its post-9/11 cultural revival. “There’s this moment in the film when De Niro moves downtown and people are asking, ‘Where is Tribeca?’” said Torres. “Now look at it. This project carries that same spirit—bringing people back downtown, inviting them to explore something new.” (De Niro co-founded the Tribeca Festival with producer Jane Rosenthal in 2002, helping to restore the cultural vibrancy of Lower Manhattan in the wake of the September 11 attacks.)
The biggest challenge? Editing down decades of cinematic brilliance into a tight 20 minutes. “You could do four, five, even 10 hours of this,” said Torres. “But we had to get it down to 20 minutes. The team from Little Cinema and the Tribeca Studios side did so much work to bring it down to a reasonable time. It just shows how impactful his career has been.”
Tickets are $70 and include a drink and a souvenir. (Guests under 21 will receive a non-alcoholic beverage.) Mercer Labs and Tribeca Fest also hinted that this may be just the beginning, with plans already in motion to expand immersive collaborations. But for now, catch De Niro, New York only in New York—and only for a few short weeks.