HISTORY OF THE JACOB
BURNS FILM CENTER
The Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC) began in 1998 when a group of
individuals interested in creating a cultural arts center in Westchester
County purchased the old Rome Theater in Pleasantville, New York.
The Rome Theater, a beautiful Spanish mission-style, historic
landmark
building, was built in 1925 as one of the first movie theaters
in Westchester County. Opened during the golden age of cinema,
the
New York Times called it "The Show Place of Westchester
County."
It was an active cinema, showing films until 1987, when it closed
its doors due to competition with neighboring multiplexes. The
group,
led by founder Stephen Apkon, secured
the building and an adjacent lot, formed a nonprofit organization
(originally known as The Friends of the Rome Theater), and began
working to make the dream of a film center a reality.
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| Facade
installation in the late 1940s |
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JBFC
Ribbon Cutting, with (from left) Executive Director Steve Apkon,
Glenn Close, Ang Lee, Paul Schrader, Westchester County Executive
Andy Spano, Janet Maslin and director Francis Veber.
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In 2000, a capital campaign was launched to
raise $5 million to fund much of the project costs. Early on,
the project
received a donation of $1.5 million from the Jacob
Burns Foundation, a Pleasantville-based nonprofit family
foundation. It was in honor of that leadership gift that the
proposed
center received its new name. The name was announced and construction
began in April, 2000.
Since the JBFC opened its doors to the public
in June, 2001, the Westchester community and those from surrounding
areas have enjoyed thousands of films from around the world. The
Film Center is committed not only to presenting this wide array
of films but also to hosting a range of related experiences, including
art exhibitions, book signings, live performances, and a wealth
of after-screening interviews and discussions with filmmakers, scholars,
critics, and authors. In addition to our extensive film programming
offerings, JBFC designed and has provided outstanding film and visual
literacy education programs for teachers and students of all ages
through curriculum-based programs, after-school enrichment, curriculum-enhancing
film programming, and film production experiences.
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| Stephen Apkon |
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STEPHEN APKON
Founder & Executive
Director
As Founder and Executive Director
of the Jacob Burns Film Center, Inc., Stephen
Apkon
has combined a lifelong passion for film with
his desire to revitalize Pleasantville, NY, his hometown. Together
with a group of like-minded individuals, he formed a nonprofit organization,
purchased the old Rome Theater and began the journey to create the
Burns Film Center. Mr. Apkon has brought vision, direction, and leadership
to this burgeoning arts organization whose mission is to bring a
diversity
of film and educational programs to Westchester County and its
surrounding communities.
From 1992 to 1999, Mr. Apkon was a General Partner in Crossroads
Partners, EEC, a private merchant banking partnership based in
Westchester.
Before then, from 1988 to 1992, he was a Principal at Odyssey
Partners, LP, a private Manhattan-based investment partnership
primarily
involved
in management buyouts in industries as diverse as technology
and retailing. From 1986 to 1988, he was an Associate in the
Merger
and Acquisitions
Department of Goldman Sachs & Co. in Manhattan. In 1998,
Mr. Apkon formed the Friends of the Rome Theater, now known as
the
Jacob Burns
Film Center, Inc.
A native of Framingham, MA, Mr. Apkon graduated from Georgetown University
in 1983. In 1986, he received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School,
where he graduated with distinction. He is a member of the Board of
Directors of World Hunger Year, a Manhattan-based hunger advocacy
organization; and the Board of Directors of Teatown Lake Reservation.
Mr. Apkon, 46, his wife, Lisa Hertz Apkon, and their three children,
Talia, Ori and Maayan, live in Pleasantville, NY.
THE JACOB BURNS FOUNDATION
The
Jacob Burns Film Center was named in honor of a leadership gift to
the Film Center’s capital campaign from the Jacob Burns Foundation.
The Foundation’s president and the grandson of Jacob Burns,
Barry Shenkman, is a member of the Film Center's Board of Directors.
From
the beginning, Barry and his
family have lent their counsel, support and leadership to the vision
for this new cultural institution.
The Jacob Burns Foundation, based in Pleasantville, NY, is a nonprofit
family foundation that focuses primarily on the arts, legal education,
legal ethics and Jewish philanthropic causes. Major arts grant recipients
include Channel Thirteen, the Metropolitan Opera and Lincoln Center
Theater in New York City, and the Westchester Arts Council and Purchase
College, here in Westchester County.
Founded
by the late Jacob Burns (b. 1902, Russia; d. 1993, New York) of
Manhattan, a lawyer, artist and philanthropist, the Jacob Burns
Foundation, since its inception in 1959, has given away millions
of dollars to not-for-profit organizations in the U.S.
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| Jamie
Shenkman, Lynda Shenkman Curtis, Rosalie Burns and Barry Shenkman
of the Jacob Burns Foundation |
The Foundation became involved with the film
center project because of the need for a regular venue for challenging
films in the northern suburbs outside of New York City; because
it recognized the need for providing educational programming focusing
on visual literacy and the appreciation of film; and because it
saw an opportunity to make the area more vibrant.
Coincident to this and on an historic note, when Jacob Burns’
father, George Burns (nee Zorak Bialack from Kiev, Russia) immigrated
to the U.S., he settled in Washington, D.C., circa 1915, where he
opened, what may have been that city’s first silent movie house,
on 14th St. NW. As a teen, it was Jacob Burns’ job to deliver
the film to the theater, on his bicycle, and to work the pedals
of the player piano throughout the show.
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