Here's what you need to know about the esteemed Tribeca Film Festival

This article is a part of #KanvasLive, an interactive, cross-platform content series brought to life on the Kanvas app and AOL.com. See more on coverage here.

Cinephiles rejoice -- it's that time of year again! That's right, we're talking about the Tribeca Film Festival.

For about two weeks each year, independent films are been honored in one of the cornerstones cities of American cinema, New York City. And although the 2016 festival has only been happening since April 13th, its rich relationship with New York City began long before that.

In 2002, when New York was still very much in mourning over the September 11th, 2001 attacks, film legends Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff founded the Tribeca Film Festival in order to help overcome loss through art and restore vitality to a grieving city.

Highlighting a series of documentaries, narrative features and short films, Tribeca Film Festival has gained great esteem in its 15 seasons. With a mission 'to enable the international film community and the general public to experience the power of film by redefining the film festival experience,' Tribeca invites actors, directors and stories that span a variety of backgrounds and budgets to celebrate cinema and compete for the sought-after honors awarded at the end of the festival.

We sat down with the cast and director of 'Between Us', one of the screened films:

The festival will feature buzzed-about indie flicks like 'Little Boxes', a movie about a mixed-race fifth grader who moves to a new city, as well as old favorites like 'Taxi Driver', which will be screened on April 21st at the Beacon Theatre. Also featured throughout the films are A-list stars like Katie Holmes, Ellen Barkin, Meryl Streep, Ricky Gervais, Chris Rock and more. Needless to say, the 2016 lineup will not disappoint.

In case you're still interested in catching some of the esteemed films featured at this year's festival, it's not too late! You can purchase tickets on the Tribeca Film Festival website -- the festival ain't over until Sunday, April 24th!

And if you can't make it to the festival this year, be sure to follow along with AOL on Kanvas to stay up to date with all of the can't-miss moments.

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Check out some of the past celebrities who attended Tribeca Film Festival:

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