Rockaway Film Festival

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Far Rockaway, NY
Rockaway Film Festival

Bringing cinema to the film lovers of Rockaway Beach.

05/04/2026

Saturday, May 9: MINDING THE GAP with filmmaker in person.

As a teenager, Bing Liu spent his free time making skate videos with his friends. With an intimate, unflinching camera, he ended up capturing poignant observations about modern masculinity in small town America in this coming-of-age journey of courageous vulnerability.

Screening INSIDE at 2pm. Tickets at rockawayfilmfestival.org.

04/30/2026

Our free teen series is back! These three films show the power of the camera, each asking the same question from different angles: what do we see when we really look, and what does the act of looking change?

Saturday, May 9: MINDING THE GAP
Sunday, May 31: ALL LIGHT, EVERYWHERE
Sunday, June 28: TEENAGE WASTELAND

Open to all ages and free for people ages 13-22.

More info at rockwayfilmfestival.org. Presented with the support of , , &

04/21/2026

“A cinematic action-painting.” — Ken Jacobs describing his 1964 film WINDOW, which we will project on 16mm this Sunday, April 26.

Free tickets at rockwayfilmfestival.org.

04/17/2026

Sunday, April 26: The Whole Shebang: Celebrating Ken & Flo Jacobs

We are honored to join the city-wide tribute to Ken and Flo Jacobs, two pioneers of experimental cinema who both passed away in 2025. Their radical inventions and interventions of images transcended familiar notions of time and space and inspired generations of avant-garde filmmakers.

This program features some of Ken and Flo’s many interrogations of depth — and also the movement of water — including a world premiere and other rarely screened work.

Clip 1 from CAPITALISM DEFEATS LIFE ON EARTH, CAB IN RAIN (2017), clip 2 from BI-TEMPORAL VISION: THE SEA (2019).

Free screening. Very special thanks to & .

More info at rockwayfilmfestival.org.

04/07/2026

Saturday, April 18, join us for a free work-in-progress screening of DISCARD RECORDS, a love letter to NYC told through its trash.

While serving as the NYC Department of Sanitation’s Public Artist in Residence, sTo Len unlocked the door to a forgotten municipal TV studio and discovered a treasure trove of training videos, PSAs, interviews, cartoons, and news broadcasts documenting decades of .

Filmmaker joins founder for a post-screening conversation.

Screening INSIDE at 1PM as part of our Earth Day Celebration. Reserve free tickets at rockawayfilmfestival.org.

03/31/2026

When she became a mother in 1969, artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles published a manifesto declaring acts of everyday maintenance — like housework or childcare — to be performance art. Seeing similarities between the invisible labor of women and that of municipal maintenance workers, she became the first artist in residence at NYC’s Department of Sanitation.

Join us for a free screening of MAINTENANCE ARTIST on April 18 at 6pm. Arverne Cinema (Inside).

Post-screening conversation with director Toby Perl Freilich and , former commissioner of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs.

Reserve free tickets at rockawayfilmfestival.org. Image credit: Photo by Robin Holland © Mierle Laderman Ukeles. Courtesy the artist and Ronald Feldman Gallery, New York

03/27/2026

Spring is here, and we’re opening for the season with our annual Earth Day celebration — a full day of film, conversation, and cleanup on April 18. All free, and all centered around one of NYCs most overlooked subjects: its trash.

We’ll screen two films. DISCARD RECORDS by , recent Public Artist in Residence at the NYC Department of Sanitation. And MAINTENANCE ARTIST, Toby Perl Freilich’s portrait of Mierle Laderman Ukeles — the revolutionary artist who became the first Artist in Residence at the NYC Department of Sanitation. Both filmmakers will be present!

Between screenings, we’ll head to Dubos Point Wildlife Sanctuary for a shoreline cleanup. The objects we collect will become material for collaborative printmaking.

Presented in partnership with , , , , Valé Collective, & .

More info at rockawayfilmfestival.org.

03/20/2026

There’s one week left to submit your film to be considered for our ninth annual festival! The deadline is March 27. More details at rockawayfilmfestival.org.

Clip from Walden: Diaries, Notes, and Sketches (1969) by Jonas Mekas.

03/11/2026

Huge thanks to all the artists who graced the stage of our benefit last month , , , .biz &@ _taraka_. Big love to our beloved community for showing up on the coldest night in NYC in 20 years. Gratitude to the generous sponsors who made our raffle winners so happy, , , , . Thanks for hosting the best dance party of the year. The joy was real.

01/23/2026

The circus continues on February 7 with our favorite audacious clown, Alex Tatarsky (.biz).

Join the party and help us raise money so we can keep coming together for unique collective experiences at the coastal edge of New York City.

Tickets and more info about our Winter Benefit at rockawayfilmfestival.org. 📷 .

01/21/2026

Fresh off his world tour, our dear friend and neighbor will take the stage as part of our winter benefit variety show. His performances are electric and not to be missed.

Stay tuned for more clown updates and get your tickets while they last. All proceeds support another year of programs in Rockaway!

Link in bio or at rockawayfilmfestival.org.

Address

Far Rockaway, NY
11692

Website

http://rockawayfilmfestival.org/

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