Rockaway Film Festival

Rockaway Film Festival Bringing cinema to the film lovers of Rockaway Beach.

08/14/2026

RFF9 in motion🐬

Trailer by Patrick Kieley. Music by Actual Magic.

Tickets are going fast! Get them at rockawayfilmfestival.org.

Frances Chang is a New York–based composer, multi-instrumentalist, and artist whose work moves fluidly between experimen...
08/13/2026

Frances Chang is a New York–based composer, multi-instrumentalist, and artist whose work moves fluidly between experimental music, songwriting, and film. Her performances create immersive sonic landscapes that draw equally from acoustic traditions and electronic experimentation.

frances chang will play her songs in a duo with Andréa Schiavelli at the Arverne Cinema on Thursday, Sept 3.

This performance is included in your ticket to THE NIGHT IS FADING AWAY.

Thanks to Zankel Music Fund for helping us bring great music to the cinema. More info at rockawayfilmfestival.org

Thursday, September 3: THE NIGHT IS FADING AWAYAs a struggling movie theater faces closure, projectionist Pelu is demote...
08/13/2026

Thursday, September 3: THE NIGHT IS FADING AWAY

As a struggling movie theater faces closure, projectionist Pelu is demoted to night watchman. Unable to afford rent, he secretly moves into the theater, sleeping behind the screen. Word spreads, and his makeshift home gradually becomes a nocturnal refuge for other outcasts, an unlikely family taking shape in the dark.

This striking debut from Argentine filmmakers Ezequiel Salinas & Ramiro Sonzini pays tribute to cinemas as spaces of shelter, solidarity, and community for those society has overlooked.

Doors at 6:30 pm. Music by Frances Chang (frances chang) at 7:00 pm. Screening at 8:00 pm followed by Q&A with filmmakers.

In partnership with Greg Stewart. More info at rockawayfilmfestival.org.

Thursday, Sept 3: THE CEMETERY OF CINEMARumored to be the first film ever made by a Black African director, Mamadou Tour...
08/12/2026

Thursday, Sept 3: THE CEMETERY OF CINEMA

Rumored to be the first film ever made by a Black African director, Mamadou Touré’s 1953 short “Mouramani” has been lost to time, or maybe never existed at all. Determined to find out, Guinean filmmaker Thierno Souleymane Diallo embarks on a quest to track down the mythic reel. He digs through deserted movie theaters and defunct archives, interviewing anyone who might have encountered the film.

What begins as a personal search for a long-lost piece of history evolves into a vibrant, playful ode to cinema and a testament to the importance of preserving not just the medium, but also the convening space. 

Screening INSIDE at 4:30 pm. Tickets at rockawayfilmfestival.org.

Kyp Malone (Kyp Malone of TV On The Radio) returns to the Arverne Cinema on Wednesday, Sept 2 to commence our ninth fest...
08/11/2026

Kyp Malone (Kyp Malone of TV On The Radio) returns to the Arverne Cinema on Wednesday, Sept 2 to commence our ninth festival🌻

This opening night performance is included in your ticket to ETERNITY ONE.

Thanks to Zankel Music Fund for helping us bring great music to the cinema. More info at rockawayfilmfestival.org.

Wednesday, Sept 2: ETERNITY ONE by Marnie Ellen HertzlerThirty-five million years ago, a meteor struck the earth and car...
08/10/2026

Wednesday, Sept 2: ETERNITY ONE by Marnie Ellen Hertzler

Thirty-five million years ago, a meteor struck the earth and carved out what would become the Chesapeake Bay. Now, it’s home to Tangier Island, a small fishing community on the verge of being swept away by rising sea levels. 

In her sophomore feature, Baltimore filmmaker marnie_ellen documents a community grappling with daily erosion through the eyes of twelve-year-old Mary Ella as she grows up and imagines what her future will look like. With a hypnotic soundtrack by Beach House, our opening night film is an expansive look at our capacity to adapt and find meaning in the face of tremendous uncertainty.

Doors at 6:30 pm. Music by Kyp Malone (Kyp Malone) at 7:00 pm. Screening at 8:00 pm, followed by a Q&A. Tickets include an opening night party with DJ Roch D. In partnership with Blundstone USA. Special thanks to MEMORY. More info at rockawayfilmfestival. org.

Saturday, Sept 5: THE HISTORY OF CONCRETEWhen his basement floods, John Wilson sets out to fix it himself and finds hims...
08/07/2026

Saturday, Sept 5: THE HISTORY OF CONCRETE

When his basement floods, John Wilson sets out to fix it himself and finds himself deep in the world of concrete. 

Turning his lens on the overlooked substance that holds everything together, New York’s favorite cameraman compares the city’s crumbling infrastructure to the filmmaking industry as he struggles to get funding for his first feature. With his signature dry humor and idiosyncratic detours, John Wilson’s debut feature is a surprisingly tender examination of impermanence and the unexpected forms of connection running beneath the surface of everyday life.

John Wilson returns to the Arverne Cinema — a space enclosed with concrete blocks and abutting a defunct concrete facility — for a special advance screening.

Doors at 6:30 pm. Music by himanshu “heems” suri at 7:00 pm. Screening at 8:00 pm followed by Q&A. Your ticket includes an after party with Nebulus. In partnership with BjornQorn Sun-Popped Popcorn. Special thanks to Magnolia Pictures. More info at rockawayfilmfestival.org.

Our ninth annual festival lineup is here! View the full program at rockawayfilmfestival.org and get advance tickets with...
08/05/2026

Our ninth annual festival lineup is here!

View the full program at rockawayfilmfestival.org and get advance tickets with a Shell Pass. Shout out to CHIPS for our beautiful new website.

We can’t wait to watch these films together. See you at the Arverne Cinema in September.

Shell Passes are available for RFF9 🐚This year, we’re doing things a little differently. With your purchase of an all-ac...
08/04/2026

Shell Passes are available for RFF9 🐚

This year, we’re doing things a little differently. With your purchase of an all-access Shell Pass, you get a five-day early-access window to reserve your seat for festival screenings before everyone else. Plus complimentary fresh-popped BjornQorn (with all the nutritional yeast you desire), and access to festival opening and closing night parties.

There’s also Shell Pass Plus, which gets you an extra ticket to all screenings, a t-shirt, and an invitation to a garden luncheon.

You can purchase them at the link in our bio.

This Saturday, August 1, is Jerry Garcia’s birthday. Come celebrate at the Arverne Cinema with live music and an outdoor...
07/30/2026

This Saturday, August 1, is Jerry Garcia’s birthday. Come celebrate at the Arverne Cinema with live music and an outdoor screening of SUMMER TOUR, a freewheeling journey across America following a new generation of Deadheads.

Focusing his 16mm camera on the crowd rather than the stage, Mischa Richter finds friends in parking lots, concert venues, and on the open road, capturing off-the-cuff reflections and moments lost in the music in a state of pure bliss.

Live performance by Dead cover-band Rainbow Spirals.

Featuring Rockaway’s Matt Lilly, who will introduce the screening. Food by brothers rockaway. Sponsored by Zankel Music Fund.

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