History of the Festival
Our Origins, Milestones and Evolution
Our Story
RIFF Over the Years
The Rochester International Film Festival was started in 1959 by a group of Kodak engineers who were working with film for home movie cameras. The original festival featured films shot on 8mm film. The narrow gauge of this film caused it to be compared to a shoestring. This shoestring appearance led to the original name for the festival – Movies on a Shoestring. “On a Shoestring” also referred to the budget of these early amateur films.
Our heritage of featuring films shot on shoestring-like, 8mm film was the inspiration for our Shoestring trophy. This trophy is given to each filmmaker whose film is selected to be part of the festival. While we now go to a professional trophy shop, originally the trophies were handmade by members of our organization. This involved making a wooden block base, lacquering shoestrings, sending them off to be plated, and finally attaching the plated shoestring to the wooden base along with a plaque announcing the winner.
This dedication from our members still exists today. While we no longer make our trophies, our all-volunteer staff screens anywhere from 110 to 160 films each year to select the winners. We organize the shows at the Dryden, promote the festival and entertain the visiting filmmakers.
1959
The first “Movies on a Shoestring” screening of 16 films by local filmmakers takes place at the Rochester Public Library.
1960
The festival is shown at the Dryden Theatre in the George Eastman House. The festival travels to several other locations until finally returning to the Dryden in 1975.
1960
A film from Toronto, Canada makes the festival international.
1965
The festival is renamed the Rochester International Movie Festival to recognize the increasing number of international submissions.
1971
The festival is renamed the Rochester International Amateur Film Festival, to reflect our stature as one of the world’s leading festivals to showcase the work of amateur filmmakers.
1972
The first year of the “Best of the Fest,” a permanent collection of films selected by our audiences as being the best of each annual festival.
1983
The first video entries are accepted.
1996
The festival is renamed the Rochester International Film Festival. The name change reflects the improved quality and professionalism of films submitted to the festival.
2012
The festival accepts digital QuickTime files for the presentation of films.
2014
2015
The festival is all-digital.
2020
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 62nd annual festival is presented as an online streaming festival.
2021
The festival returns to an in-person festival at the Dryden Theatre.
2024
Donations and a grant administered by the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts allow the festival to provide more travel stipends, resulting in a greater number of filmmakers attending.