Anant Singh a juror at De Niro’s Tribeca Film Festival

The Festival takes place in New York from May 1 - 9. It was founded in January 2002 as a public charity by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, Martin Scorsese, and Craig Hatkoff to inject new life into a degenerating New York neighborhood and has become one of the major film festivals in the United States. This year's festival has been expanded to include a New York celebration of the Tenth Anniversary of South African Democracy, which will then continue with a special partnership between South Africa and the Tribeca Film Institute.

The Festival will also be featuring eight films from South Africa, including: "Cry, The Beloved Country" which was produced by Singh. There will be a gala screening of the film on 4 May with Archbishop Desmond Tutu as guest of honour.

The other South African films included on the programme include: "Open a Door - South Africa: Chicken and Eggs", "The Man Who Stole My Mother's Face", "Mix", "With All My Children", "Being Pavarotti", "Cape of Good Hope" and "Cinderella of the Cape Flats".

"I am honoured by the invitation from Tribeca to be a juror at this year's Festival," said Singh. "I feel proud by this acknowledgement, especially as a South African filmmaker in our country's 10th year of democracy. It is also opportune that the Tribeca Film Institute has created a special partnership with South Africa in this special year. This is certainly as a result of Robert de Niro's visit to South Africa in July of last year when he fell in love with the country, and I am thrilled to be a part of this initiative," continued Singh.