History
The Rochester International Film Festival, the world's oldest continuously-held short film festival, has been produced each year since 1959 by Movies on a Shoestring, Inc. Each festival includes a wide variety of narrative films, documentaries, and animations submitted by independent filmmakers from all parts of the world. All filmmakers are invited to submit entries for consideration. Each film selected for the festival is awarded our distinctive Shoestring Trophy. Since films are made to be seen, we offer appreciative, movie-wise audiences to view your work at the Dryden Theatre, George Eastman House International Museum of Film and Photography in Rochester, NY. Movies on a Shoestring Inc.was founded in 1959 by a group of Rochester-area movie enthusiasts to provide a venue for independent filmmakers to present their cinematic creations. The name was a double entendre: most amateur filmmakers shot on 8 mm back then, and the narrowness of the stock led it to call it