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 800 artists from around the world and welcoming over ten thousand audience members.

Our annual festival takes place at the end of summer and is a concentrated culmination of everything we do.

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