
Searching for Mr. Rugoff
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The feature documentary Searching for Mr. Rugoff is the story of Donald Rugoff, who was the crazy genius behind Cinema 5, the mid-century theater chain and film distribution company. Rugoff was a difficult (some would say impossible) person but was also the man who kicked art films into the mainstream with outrageous marketing schemes and pure bluster. Rugoff's impact on cinema culture in the United States is inestimable, and his influence on the art film business-from the studio classics divisions to the independent film movement to the rise of the Weinsteins-is undeniable. Yet, mysteriously, Rugoff has become a virtually forgotten figure. The story is told through the eyes of former employee Ira Deutchman, who sets out to find the truth about the man who had such a major impact on his life, and to understand how such an important figure could have disappeared so completely.
Cast

Donald S. Rugoff
Self (archive footage)

Elyce Bonnell
Self

Peter Broderick
Self

Bea Brydson
Self

Nat Chediak
Self

Costa-Gavras
Self

Ira Deutchman
Self

Jean Donnelly
Self

Robert Downey Sr.
Self

Jerome Gary
Self

John Goldstone
Self

Jim Hudson
Self

Annette Insdorf
Self

Harlan Jacobson
Self

Mary Kay Kammer
Self

Larry Kardish
Self

Sarah Kernochan
Self

Wendy Keys
Self

Steve Kutner
Self

Warren Lieberfarb
Self

Brian Lindquist
Self

Stephanie Look-Teller
Self (voice)

Todd McCarthy
Self

Gary Meyer
Self

Ted Pedas
Self

Richard Pena
Self

Evangeline Peterson
Self

Tom Ropelewski
Self

Edward Rugoff
Self

Ralph Rugoff
Self

Julian Schlossberg
Self

Robert Shaye
Self

Lisa Sherman
Self

Paula Silver
Self

Gary Springer
Self

Bill Thompson
Self

Hilary Wall
Self

Lina Wertmüller
Self

John Willis
Self
