About RFJ

Rochester Film Journal is the creation of Erich Van Dussen, who writes for a living, and watches movies when he needs a different screen to sit in front of. These two passions first converged in 1992, when his debut column (a review of Michael Mann’s The Last of the Mohicans) appeared in the now-defunct Rochester’s Entertainment And Lifestyle magazine. Later, his opinions on new and classic film and video releases were published each week in the Messenger Post newspapers – 10 weekly papers and the Canandaigua Sunday Messenger – for 12 years, before the freelance budget dried up. Over the years, reviews, interviews, and articles about Rochester’s film culture have also appeared under his byline in Wolfe Community Newspapers, Rochester Magazine, Upstate New Yorker magazine, and Take One Rochester; besides this site, his online writing has included work for MyRochester.com and the popular “Mostly Movies” blog at MPNnow.com. (Most of those outlets don’t exist any more, which should not be completely blamed on Erich.)

In August 2011 Erich joined the staff of the 360|365 Film Festival, Rochester’s premier annual movie event, as a Programmer. He has introduced countless films as a volunteer at the Dryden Theatre of George Eastman House (including Double Indemnity, twice). He is taking his time developing a book about sex, violence and hypocrisy in Hollywood’s MPAA ratings system; in fact, by the time the book is finished people will likely no longer be violent or sexual, and will probably more closely resemble the chairbound humans of WALL-E.

By day, Erich is an award-winning writer and marketing communications strategist who has publicized books by Stephen King; coordinated the promotion of a satellite launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida; covered murder trials and county politics; and analyzed the decline of the U.S. postal industry with a zeal that was, looking back, bewildering. He lives in Penfield with his fiancée and Jackpot Jones Local Hero, a bull terrier named for his favorite film, Bill Forsyth’s Local Hero (1982). Jones’ favorite food is TiVo remotes.