History

Rockaway Film Festival started in 2018 as a four-day experiment to bring cinema back to Rockaway, where there hadn’t been a movie theater in over thirty years. Since then, we’ve grown into a year-round organization offering screenings, live music, performances, and other opportunities for people to gather.

Defined by its location between the Atlantic Ocean and Jamaica Bay, the Rockaway Peninsula is exceptional as both a barrier island with beaches and salt-water marshes — and also a city neighborhood. Our programs are informed by this distinctive landscape and our tickets are always $10 or free to make sure they’re accessible for everyone.

Over the past nine years, we’ve created temporary cinemas in parks, warehouses, and even on floating barges, spotlighting over 750 artists from around the world. Each summer, we welcome thousands of audience members from across the city to the Arverne Cinema for joyful, mind-opening experiences.

Rockaway Film Festival is a 501c3 founded by Sam Fleischner, Courtney Muller, and Greg Stewart.

Team

Staff

Sam Fleischner

Co-founder, Artistic Director

Jorge Morillo

Technical Director

Courtney Muller

Co-founder, Program Director

Board of Directors

Monisha de Quadros

Treasurer

Colin Gillespie

Secretary

Nadia Hallgren

Jake Hudson

Dan Nuxoll

Prerana Reddy

Chair

Andrew Vanwyngarden

Rockaway Film Festival would like to thank VBX™~Vernam Basin Terminal for generously hosting us at the Arverne Cinema.

We are proud to be sponsored by Istic Illic Pictures, Stellar Bookkeepers and NYC Ferry. Rockaway Film Festival made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Rockaway Film Festival is funded in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.