Robert De Niro working on documentary celebrating the art of his late father
Following the success of Killers of the Flower Moon, Robert De Niro is now working on a new project with French street artist and photographer JR. The Past Goes Fast promises to explore the life and art of De Niro’s father through his work and private diaries.
Speaking at the Tribeca Storytellers event at Art Basel, De Niro described Robert De Niro Sr as a great and “genuine” artist. The documentary has been two years in the making, involving De Niro tracing his family history by revisiting his father’s studio, which has been untouched for 30 years.
In a short teaser clip, audiences saw the studio, full of artworks and personal diaries. De Niro noted he didn’t read them himself and instead asked JR to read them aloud.
“There’s so much in there,” said JR. “It’s so deep; it’s like reading something from an artist that was struggling a lot with self-esteem and being recognised.” When he was growing up, De Niro didn’t know his father was gay, and the diaries have allowed him to connect more closely to his experiences.
“There’s nothing comfortable about looking back, looking at our families, looking at the story of our parents, about things we shouldn’t know about,” JR acknowledged.
Part of the process of emotionally readying De Niro involved a series of performances included in the film. At one point, JR asks him to carry a large print of his father, created by JR and lays it out in a field before lying on top of it.
“That was a very moving day,” JR recalled. “I kept telling you, you got to look into your father’s eyes, at least from the camera point of view. It was hard for you to do so.”
He mentioned the support De Niro had during filming, adding: “That day, we had your very close friends, like Martin Scorsese, who were also there in that scene. I feel your friends and the people you have worked with over the years they will help you in this journey. And that’s something incredible.”
