CITY OF NEWBURGH – Newburgh filmmaker Robert Fontaine Jr. and a group of partners have started organizing a film and music festival for the city that draws as inspiration the famous South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.

The plan is for a 10-day festival to be held from June 9 to June 19, 2019, and either be called the “Newburgh International Film & Music Fest” or “East by Northeast,” Fontaine said.

It would combine a film competition with music from local and national acts, art, food and a market showcasing green technologies.



“Newburgh alone has all these architecturally beautiful places to not only show films but to stage concerts,” he said. “The city’s easily navigated. It’s just prime festival material.”

Fontaine is the writer and director of the made-in-Newburgh film “Mi America,” which was picked up by HBO after it premiered in New York City and Los Angeles theaters.

His partners include Wherehouse owner Dan Brown; local artist Stuart Sachs, acting coach Wayne Pyle; Giancarlo Lorusso, who produces films with Fontaine and manages Newburgh’s Umbra Soundstage; and businessman Roy Martinez.

They are already talking with corporate sponsors and have trademarked “East by Northeast,” Fontaine said. They also want to use some of the festival’s revenue to support local revitalization efforts and organizations, he said.

“There’s a lot of opportunities to do a lot of good things with the money that can be made from a festival,” Fontaine said. “And if it goes well it’s going to be monumental.”